Social and language skills in adolescent boys with Asperger syndrome.
Teens with Asperger syndrome show big social and language gaps—check all four areas, not just social skills.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Chen et al. (2001) compared teenage boys with Asperger syndrome to matched peers without autism.
They tested social perception, social skills, friendships, and receptive language.
What they found
The boys with Asperger syndrome scored far lower in every area.
The gaps were large enough to see in everyday life, not just on paper.
How this fits with other research
Rose et al. (2000) saw the same teens one year earlier and also found deep social trouble.
Kalyva (2010) later showed that younger kids with Asperger’s miss social cues too, but parents and teachers notice more than the kids themselves.
Porter et al. (2008) reviewed social-skills programs and found most lack strong proof, so teaching these skills remains tricky.
Why it matters
If you work with teens who have Asperger syndrome, screen all four areas—social perception, social skills, friendships, and receptive language. Use clear, quick checklists and ask parents and teachers for input. Target these domains in your plan and collect data to see if your lessons stick.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Twenty-one adolescent boys with Asperger syndrome and 21 boys matched on age and an estimate of IQ were assessed using standardized measures of social perception (Child and Adolescent Social Perception Measure, CASP), social skills (parent, teacher, and student forms of the Social Skills Rating System, SSRS), number of close friends and frequency of contact (Child Behavior Checklist) and expressive and receptive language (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Revised). There were significant differences between groups on CASP scores, SSRS scores, number of friends, frequency of contact and social competence. There was also a significant difference on receptive language. The clinically and statistically significant differences between the groups on the measures of social skills help us understand the nature of the social deficits in Asperger syndrome and suggest the need to focus on specific deficits. These findings are discussed in relation to diagnostic criteria and intervention.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2001 · doi:10.1177/1362361301005001003