Social information processing in boys with autistic spectrum disorder and mild to borderline intellectual disabilities.
Boys with ASD plus mild ID lock onto negative social cues and give weak responses—train them to scan for friendly signals and create assertive plans.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers watched how boys with autism plus mild intellectual disability read social situations. They compared the boys to kids with ID only and to typically developing peers.
Each child heard short stories about everyday peer problems. The team then asked what the child noticed, how the child felt, and what the child would do next.
What they found
The ASD plus ID group zeroed in on negative cues and skipped helpful ones. They also offered fewer assertive fixes and picked more passive or aggressive moves.
Kids with ID alone did not show this negative bias. The gap was large enough to matter for daily social skills.
How this fits with other research
Ziv et al. (2014) saw the same negative bias in preschoolers with ASD but no ID. This suggests the bias starts early and is tied to autism, not to low IQ.
McCauley et al. (2018) later showed that children with ASD plus ID also report lower social quality of life. The SIP bias found here helps explain why they feel left out.
Brereton et al. (2006) had already shown that autistic youth with ID have more behavior problems. The new study adds a social-cognitive reason: they misread peers first, then act.
Why it matters
When you teach social skills, start by training attention. Prompt clients to spot friendly cues, not just threats. Practice generating two assertive solutions before picking one. This small shift can cut negative guesses and boost peer entry success.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add a 2-minute ‘find the friendly cue’ warm-up before role-play: present a photo, ask the client to name one nice thing happening, then brainstorm two calm ways to join.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and mild to borderline intellectual disability (ID) have less adaptive behaviour and more behaviour problems than children with mild to borderline ID. Social information processing appears to be an important mechanism in the explanation of the socially inadequate behaviour of children with mild to borderline ID; however, little is known about the social information processing skills of children with ASD and mild to borderline ID. METHOD: In the present study, a total of 136 boys in the age of 10-14 years participated; 26 with ASD (specifically Pervasive Developmental Disorder--Not Otherwise Specified) and mild to borderline ID, 54 with mild to borderline ID without ASD and 56 typically developing boys. They completed the Social Problem Solving Test to measure their social information processing. RESULTS: The research results show boys with PDD-NOS and mild to borderline ID to differ from typically developing boys in their encoding of information; they focus on negative and emotional information in the social situation. They differ from boys with mild to borderline ID in response generation, evaluation of inadequate solutions (aggressive and submissive responses) and assertive response decision. CONCLUSIONS: The present study extends our knowledge regarding social information processing of children with ASD (PDD-NOS) and mild to borderline ID. This knowledge may be helpful in designing and adapting programmes (e.g. social skills training, self-management training) for the management of behaviour problems and development of adaptive behaviour of children with ASD and mild to borderline ID.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2009 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2009.01204.x