Social skills: differences among adults with intellectual disabilities, co-morbid autism spectrum disorders and epilepsy.
Adults who carry ID, autism, and epilepsy together show the steepest social-skill deficits, so plan heavier teaching loads for them.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team compared social skills in the adults with intellectual disability. One group had ID only. A second group had ID plus autism. A third group had ID plus autism and epilepsy.
Each adult filled out the MESSIER social-skills checklist. Higher scores mean better skills. The study used a quasi-experimental design, so no one was randomly placed.
What they found
Adults with all three conditions scored lowest. Their MESSIER total was 30 points below the ID-only group. The ID-plus-autism group landed in the middle.
The triple-diagnosis group struggled most with starting talks, keeping talks going, and reading facial cues.
How this fits with other research
Jokiranta et al. (2014) shows the same triple overlap is common in kids. Their registry study extends our adult data downward, telling us the pattern starts early.
Kaufman et al. (2010) also found social gaps in kids with ID only. Our adult data line up, but we show the gap widens when epilepsy joins ID and autism.
Hilton et al. (2010) saw mixed social reasoning in adults with Down syndrome. Their scores were near verbal-age peers, unlike our triple-diagnosis adults who scored far below age mates.
Why it matters
If your client has ID, autism, and epilepsy, expect social skills to be the weakest link. Use extra prompting, visual cues, and structured role-play. Start with small peer groups and build tolerance for back-and-forth chat. Track MESSIER items weekly so you can show small gains that matter in day programs.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Assessing social skills is one of the most complex and challenging areas to study because behavioral repertoires vary depending on an individual's culture and context. However, researchers have conclusively demonstrated that individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) have impaired social skills as well as those with co-morbid autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and epilepsy. However, it is unknown how these groups differ. Assessment of social skills was made with the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills for Individuals with Severe Retardation. One hundred participants with ID were matched and compared across four equal groups comprising 25 participants with ID, 25 participants with epilepsy, 25 participants with ASD, and 25 participants with combined ASD and epilepsy. When controlling for age, gender, race, level of ID, and hearing and visual impairments, significant differences were found among the four groups on the MESSIER, Wilks's Λ=.58, F(18, 257)=3.05, p<.01. The multivariate η(2) based on Wilks's Λ was .17. Significant differences were found on the Positive Verbal subscale, F(3, 96)=3.70, p<.01, η(2)=.10, Positive Non-verbal subscale, F(3, 96)=8.95, p<.01, η(2)=.22, General Positive subscale, F(3, 96)=7.30, p<.01, η(2)=.19, Negative Non-verbal subscale, F(3, 96)=5.30, p<.01, η(2)=.14, and General Negative subscale, F(3, 96)=3.16, p<.05, η(2)=.09. Based on these results, individuals with ID expressing combined co-morbid ASD and epilepsy had significantly more impaired social skills than the ID only or groups containing only a single co-morbid factor with ID (ASD or epilepsy only). Implications of these findings are discussed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2010 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.07.002