Social cognitive development of children with learning difficulties

Abstract

AbstractThis paper discusses social cognitive functioning of children with learning difficulties (LD) as a focus for intervention in schools. Research linking such functioning with social emotional adjustment is discussed. This suggests that social cognitive skills of children with LD significantly account for the quality of their social relationships. However, studies also suggest that social adjustment is often a result of complex interactions between the child’s functional level and the social ecology of the school. Findings from studies of normally developing children in their natural environments are discussed in relation to their implications for interventions involving children with LD. Intervention strategies that go beyond mere social skills training for children with LD are suggested. It is argued that while such children may benefit from training in social cognitive skills, problems in social relations cannot be explained solely by deficits in social cognitive functioning. Rather, the way social cognitive factors may be implicated in the social emotional adjustment of such children should be seen as sometimes secondary, and not primary, to the presenting difficulties.