Can you tell me something about yourself?: Self-presentation in children and adolescents with high functioning autism spectrum disorder in hypothetical and real life situations.
Kids with HFASD don’t spontaneously tweak self-descriptions to fit audience cues—even when told the audience’s preferences—so teach them to scan for and use that information explicitly.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The researchers asked kids and teens to talk about themselves. Some had high-functioning autism. Some were typical peers.
Each child gave two short speeches. One speech was for a friendly coach. One was for a strict judge. The team counted how often each child bragged or stayed modest.
What they found
Both groups bragged more for the judge. Typical kids boosted the brags a lot. Kids with autism only boosted a little.
Even when the judge said, "I like confident people," the autism group still held back. They did not shift their words to fit the listener.
How this fits with other research
Eussen et al. (2016) ran the same game with wider age ranges. Young kids with autism kept up with peers. The gap only showed in teens. The 2010 study is the first brick in that wall.
Lemons et al. (2015) looks like a clash. Their "optimal-outcome" youth lost the autism label and chatted just fine. The difference is simple: those kids no longer have autism. The 2010 kids still do.
Adams et al. (2016) found no gap when kids judged short sport clips. Reading body cues and tweaking self-talk are two separate skills.
Why it matters
Self-promotion is teachable. Tell your learner who will listen. Write the listener’s likes on a card. Practice two scripts: humble and bold. Role-play before job interviews, college visits, or peer meet-ups. Reward each time the learner matches the script to the card. The skill is not missing; it just needs direct coaching.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The self-presentation skills of children and adolescents with high-functioning autistic spectrum disorder (HFASD) and typically developing (TD) controls were compared, in response to both hypothetical and real life situations. In both situations, 26 HFASD and 26 TD participants were prompted to describe themselves twice, first in a baseline condition, and later in a goal-directed condition where specific information was given about the preferences and demands of the audience. Confirming and extending previous research, both TD and HFASD participants exhibited a tendency to be more positive when describing themselves in a goal-directed condition. However, HFASD participants were less strategic than TD participants in responding to the information they were given about the audience preferences and demands. Possible explanations and implications of the results are discussed.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2010 · doi:10.1177/1362361310366568