SOCIAL SKILLS
4 Practical Interventions to Help
Develop Social Skills
By Monica C. HUDNALL, MA, CCC-SLP
Social skills can be broadly defined as the ability to develop and maintain
relationships. Deficits in social skills are a core feature for children as well as
adults with autism.
F
or school-age children with high-function-
ing autism, limitations in social skills ad-
versely impact conversation skills, peer ac-
ceptance, and self-perception. Available
research indicates that children with autism
spectrum disorder (ASD) may have less need
for interpersonal closeness, tend not to seek
assistance from others for their problems, and tend
not to see people as part of potential solutions to
their problems (Kelly et al., 2018). These social chal-
lenges are largely attributed to deficits in social rec-
iprocity and social cognition. Difficulties with social
reciprocity include difficulty initiating and respond-
ing to bids for interaction, limitations with maintain-
ing turn-taking in interactions, and problems with
providing on-topic responses. Challenges with social
cognition include difficulty managing emotions, un-
derstanding other people's perspectives, develop-
Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 74 |
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