Social Interaction Skills Research Articles

Examining the Effects of Theory of Mind and Social Skills Training on Social Competence in Adolescents with Autism.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have impairment in interpreting emotional communication and the mental states of others, which limits their social competence. Mounting evidence has suggested that theory of mind (ToM) is a vital strategy to enhance social communication and interaction skills of children with ASD. However, very little research has looked at how ToM and social skills training affect social competence in adolescents with autism. This study examined the effectiveness of an intervention program, ToM-SS, which integrated the ToM and social skills training to improve the social competence of three adolescents with autism. A multiple baseline across behaviors design was adopted to evaluate the participants' learning outcomes and demonstrated a functional relationship between intervention and skill mastery. Results show that the intervention produced substantial improvements in students' acquisition of ToM (e.g., seeing leads to knowing and identifying desire-based and context-based emotions) and targeted social skills (e.g., praising others, expressing emotion and seeking help). Feedback and comments from teachers and parents also indicate good social validity of the intervention program.

Exploring clinicians’ experiences of engaging in collaborative music therapy and speech and language therapy for children with an acquired brain injury

Music therapy and speech and language therapy are extensively used in the rehabilitation of communication and social interaction skills following acquired brain injury (ABI). Increasing evidence suggests that collaboration between the two disciplines may yield positive outcomes for the paediatric population. However, little is known about clinicians’ experiences of engaging in collaborative music therapy and speech and language therapy within paediatric rehabilitation settings, and there is a need to further explore and understand collaborative therapy to identify strategies for improving client outcomes as well as clinicians’ experiences. This study aimed to explore music therapists’ and speech and language therapists’ experiences of working collaboratively to develop communication and social interaction skills in children with ABI. The study also intended to gain further insights into collaborative practices as well as strategies and interventions used in joint sessions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three clinicians (two music therapists and one speech and language therapist) who have previously engaged in collaborative practices with this population. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged from the data: (a) benefits of a collaborative approach, (b) limitations of conjoint work (c) collaborative practices, and (d) need for further research. Key findings suggested that conjoint working between music therapy and speech and language therapy facilitates increased attention and motivation which enables the client to engage in interpersonal interactions and develop communication skills. Joint working is a crucial component of music therapy practice within paediatric ABI. Larger studies are warranted to further explore its complexities and to advocate for this valuable yet demanding approach.

Autism Spectrum Disorder detection framework for children based on federated learning integrated CNN-LSTM

The incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) among children, attributed to genetics and environmental factors, has been increasing daily. ASD is a non-curable neurodevelopmental disorder that affects children’s communication, behavior, social interaction, and learning skills. While machine learning has been employed for ASD detection in children, existing ASD frameworks offer limited services to monitor and improve the health of ASD patients. This paper presents a complex and efficient ASD framework with comprehensive services to enhance the results of existing ASD frameworks. Our proposed approach is the Federated Learning-enabled CNN-LSTM (FCNN-LSTM) scheme, designed for ASD detection in children using multimodal datasets. The ASD framework is built in a distributed computing environment where different ASD laboratories are connected to the central hospital. The FCNN-LSTM scheme enables local laboratories to train and validate different datasets, including Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ), Facial Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS) Dataset, Parents Evaluate Developmental Status (PEDS), Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT), and Screening Tool for Autism in Toddlers and Children (STAT) datasets, on different computing laboratories. To ensure the security of patient data, we have implemented a security mechanism based on advanced standard encryption (AES) within the federated learning environment. This mechanism allows all laboratories to offload and download data securely. We integrate all trained datasets into the aggregated nodes and make the final decision for ASD patients based on the decision process tree. Additionally, we have designed various Internet of Things (IoT) applications to improve the efficiency of ASD patients and achieve more optimal learning results. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed framework achieves an ASD detection accuracy of approximately 99% compared to all existing ASD frameworks.

Distributed VR using VIRTOOLS on AD patients from the perspective of social psychology

BackgroundAutism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, communication abilities, and repetitive behavior. With the development of technology, virtual reality (VR) technology has brought new possibilities for treating autism. This study aims to explore the positive impact of VIRTOOLS distributed virtual reality technology on autism patients from a sociopsychological perspective.Subjects and Methods This study comprised a cohort of 80 patients diagnosed with autism, with ages ranging from 6 to 18 years. A six-month structured training program was implemented utilizing a distributed virtual reality (VR) application developed using VIRTOOLS. The program encompassed simulated training for social interaction, emotion recognition, and fundamental daily life skills. To evaluate the effectiveness, pre- and post-training comparisons were made using standardized autism assessment tools and social interaction assessments. The data generated from the experiment were subjected to statistical analysis employing SPSS 24.0.Results Compared with before training, the study subjects showed significant improvements in social interaction, emotional recognition, and daily life skills after training (P<0.01). Among them, 70% of participants’ social skills improved, and 60% performed more accurately in emotion recognition tasks.ConclusionsFrom the perspective of social psychology, utilizing VIRTOOLS-based distributed VR technology provides a safe and controlled environment for patients with autism, helping them improve their social interaction and communication skills. This technology offers a promising new approach to treating and rehabilitating patients with autism.AcknowledgementTargeted Talents Training Project (No. 20230106722).

Computer-Aided Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis With Behavior Signal Processing

Behavioral observation plays an essential role in the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by analyzing children’s atypical patterns in social activities (e.g., impaired social interaction, restricted interests, and repetitive behavior). To date, this process still heavily relies on the questionnaire survey, clinical observation, or retrospective video analysis, leading to high demand for professionals with massive labor costs. This paper proposes a standardized platform for stimulating, gathering, analyzing, modeling, and interpreting human behavioral data in the application of computer-aided ASD diagnosis. By a structured assessment process, the proposed system can automatically evaluate children’s multiple social interaction skills using the captured audio-visual data and provide the final diagnostic suggestions. We collect a multimodal behavioral database of 95 participants (71 children with ASD and 24 age-matched typical controls) in a real clinic environment, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, China. On the clinical database, our proposed computer-aided ASD diagnosis system obtains an accuracy of 88.42% for identifying ASD children with an average age of 24 months, representing a performance comparable to top-level human experts. As a unified and replicable solution, it has good potential to be promoted to less developed areas with limited high-quality medical resources.

An association between auditory responsiveness of children and duration of entertainment screen time in the early years of life

Objective To examine whether the responsiveness of young children to simple sounds was associated with entertainment screen time (EST), opportunities for social interaction, and social and communication skills. Design Parents completed a questionnaire covering, for years one and two, the number of times the child met with other children; the number of words the child spoke; and the daily amount of EST. Social, attention and communication skills were assessed. Study sample Participants were 118 children, aged 15 to 46 months. They were initially assessed behaviourally using simple sounds. Children who responded to such sounds were denoted the Responsive group. Children who did not were assessed using familiar songs and denoted the Unresponsive group. Results The two groups did not differ significantly in mean age or the number of opportunities to meet other children. The Unresponsive group had significantly fewer words than the Responsive group at 12 and 24 months and had significantly higher EST than the Responsive group for years 1 and 2. The Unresponsive group showed lower social, attention and communication skills than the Responsive group. Conclusions High EST was associated with poorer auditory and social skills. Hence, it may be wise to limit the EST of young children.

Improving Social Interaction among Primary School Students with Stuttering

The research aimed to examine the effectiveness of a guidance program in enhancing social interaction abilities among elementary school students with stuttering. The sample consisted of 20 students, divided into two groups. Prior to the intervention, both groups were assessed using a social interaction scale. Subsequently, the experimental group underwent the 17-sessions guidance program, which aimed at developing social interaction skills. On the other hand, the control group did not receive any intervention. Following the intervention, the same social interaction scale was administered to both groups. The results indicated statistically significant differences between the levels of social interaction in the experimental group and the control group, favoring the experimental group. Additionally, there were no statistically significant differences between the average ranks of the two measurements (post-follow-up) concerning social interaction among elementary school students who stutter in the experimental group.

Effectiveness of Social Virtual Reality Training in Enhancing Social Interaction Skills in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Protocol for a Three-Arm Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders among children. Children with ADHD have challenges in understanding social cues and behavioral problems when entering a social setting. Virtual reality (VR) has been applied to improve cognitive behaviors in children with ADHD. Previous studies have not adopted VR to improve social interaction competence and appropriateness in children with ADHD. VR offers a more effective alternative to therapeutic strategies for children with ADHD. This study aims to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of social VR training in enhancing social interaction skills compared to traditional social skills training in children with ADHD. We hypothesize that participants in the social VR training group are likely to perform better on social interaction skills than those in the traditional social skills training group. In this nonblinded, 3-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT), 90 participants with ADHD recruited from the community will be randomized 1:1:1 to the social VR intervention group, traditional social skills training group, or waitlist control group. The child psychiatrist will conduct assessments for each participant at baseline and after the intervention. The Social Skills Rating Scale-Parent will be used to assess the social interaction skills of the participants before and after the intervention. Participants in the social VR intervention group and traditional social skills training group will receive twelve 20-minute training sessions for 3 weeks. The participants in the waitlist control group will receive no training. The primary outcome measure is training acceptability and compliance. The secondary outcome measures are the child psychiatrist's assessment and the Social Skills Rating Scale-Parent before and after the intervention. Another outcome measure is the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function and Attention. Differences in the scale scores will be examined using a t test and an F test. This study is set to commence in the fourth quarter of 2023. It is anticipated that participants in the social VR intervention group will exhibit superior social interaction skills than those in the traditional social skills training group. To our knowledge, this RCT is the first study examining the feasibility and effectiveness of a social VR-based intervention for enhancing the social interaction skills of children with ADHD in Hong Kong. The VR-based social skills training is expected to provide a safer and more effective environment for children with ADHD to learn than the traditional approach. This study can lead to a full-scale RCT. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05778526; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05778526. PRR1-10.2196/48208.

Investigating the persian-version psychometric properties of the emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ) and social skills among children and adolescents who suffer from autism spectrum disorder (SPD)

Introduction: One of the most common problems among children and adolescents who suffer from SPD is having a deficiency in interpersonal relationships. Aim: The current study aims to investigate the Persian version of psychometric properties of the ERQ and social skills among children and adolescents who suffer from SPD. Method: This study was applied and developmental in terms of aim and psychometric type, respectively. The population included all the patients with SPD in Tehran city in 2020-2021, from which 222 children and adolescents with SPD were selected by available sampling. Three scales of Emotion Regulation and Social Skills (2015), Social Interaction (2003), and Social Skills (1983) were used to collect the data. Besides, mean, standard deviation (SD), exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity, divergent validity, and SPSS-24 and AMOS-19 were run to analyze the data. Results: The result of factor analysis confirmed that the questionnaire is single-factor and explained 0.54 of that. The reliability was checked via Cronbach’s alpha for the total questionnaire (0.97), and the convergent validity of the parents’ form of this questionnaire was checked by social skill (0.63) and social interaction (0.49). This indicated the criterion and concurrent validity of this questionnaire. Conclusion: The results of this study showed the efficiency of psychometric properties of ERQ and interaction skills, considering the diagnosis of emotional and social features of SPD children. Future studies can use this measure for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes among patients with SPD.

Adolescents' social interaction skills on social media versus in person and the correlations to well-being.

High-quality social interactions with peers could protect adolescents' mental health, resilience, and well-being. Assessing their social interaction skills (SIS) is essential to enhancing them. However, few instruments provide information about SIS in in-person and social media environments. The SIS Questionnaire (SISQ) was developed to fill this gap, spotlighting adolescents' viewpoints on SIS in both environments. This study aimed to describe the SISQ development and psychometric properties, differences in adolescents' SIS in both environments, and relationships between the adolescents' SIS and subjective well-being. A total of 214 typically developed adolescents aged 12-18 (M = 15.3 years, SD = 1.77; 61.2% girls) completed online questionnaires (demographic, SISQ, and Five Well-Being Index). We used exploratory factor analysis for construct validity, Cronbach's alpha for internal reliability, t-tests for differences in SIS, Cohen's d for effect sizes, and Pearson correlations and hierarchical regression for relationships between SIS and well-being. The SISQ has content validity and a monofactorial scale construct validity with very good internal reliability. Participants rated their in-person SIS significantly higher than on social media, t(213) = -5.24, p < 0.001, d = 0.36, and the in-person environment as more important, t(213) = -11.57, p < 0.001, d = 0.79, than the social media environment. A significant correlation was found between both in-person SIS (r = 0.41, p < 0.001) and social media (r = 0.34, p < 0.01) and well-being. The SISQ is a valid, reliable tool for assessing adolescents' SIS, essential to promoting these skills in this unique environment.

Conditions of eefective social interaction of students of younger classes during distance learning

The development of social interaction skills is important in elementary school age, because the ability to cooperate, communicate, control and express one`s feelings, make compromises, oveercome difficulties, etc. is a guarantee for the further realization of the individual in life. Unfortunately, in modern realities, in connection with the martial law, younger-schoolchildren in most regions of Ukraine do not have the opportunity to be in daily "live" communication with peers and teachers, where social interaction skills are actively developed. The distance learning format with online lessons raises a number of pedagogical and psychological problems associated with a decrease in the effectiveness of interaction between teachers and students, students among themselves, which negatively affects the development of social interaction skills. In this context, new challenges arise for teachers (as well as far parents).

Relationship between Total Communication and Social Relationship among Learners with ASDs

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that results in triad of impairments in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interaction and repetitive behavior. These core deficits hinder the holistic development of learners with ASDs. Unless they are effectively addressed through strategies such as total communication, these core deficits may lead to learners not acquiring social interaction skills that are quite vital for their normal development. The purpose of the study was to establish relationship between total communication and development of social relationship skills among learners with Autistic Spectrum Disorders in Emuhaya sub-county Kenya. The population of the study comprised of six special schools with a teacher population of sixteen ten regular primary schools with special units with a teacher population of five each and three officials from the Ministry of Education. Due to small number of respondents, saturated sampling technique was used. Instruments for data collection were; semi structured questionnaires, check lists. Semi structured interview schedules, and observation schedules. Content validity was determined by presenting tools to experts in the school of education who judged their validity. Tools were refined based on their comments. Reliability of the study was established through test retest methods. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. Quantitative data was analyzed by use of descriptive and inferential statistics. The finding of the study indicated that that there was relationship between Total Communication and social interaction and the use of Total Communication had influence on development of social relationships among children with ASDs. Based on this finding it is recommended that training of teachers in Total communication and preparation of IEP be intensified in schools to facilitate the development of social relationship among learners with ASDs.

Music therapy improves social interaction and verbal communication skill among children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is constantly increasing, in which 6 of 1000 ASD children are from Asia. Music therapy as a developing alternative is believed to improve communication and expression skills in children with ASD. Unfortunately, no specific meta-analysis has evaluated social interaction and verbal communication skills in children with ASD. Therefore, the aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate music therapy in children with ASD. We performed a comprehensive literature review on PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Wiley, and Proquest to study the efficacy of music therapy as an ASD management therapy until October 20th, 2022. Twenty-three randomized controlled trials involving patients with ASD, where 1129 patients were assigned in the intervention group and 759 patients – in the control group, were included in qualitative and quantitative analysis. The pooled estimates revealed that music therapy increased the social interaction score with mean difference (MD)=2.08 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.35–3.81; p&lt;0.02), social interaction score based on Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule with MD: 0.77 (95% CI: 0.03–1.51; p&lt;0.04), verbal communication skill based on Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised with MD=0.90 (95% CI: 0.79–1.00, p&lt;0.01). In conclusion, music therapy has excellent efficacy and strong potency as a part of ASD management. Nevertheless, more clinical trials with similar parameters are still required to confirm these findings.

A Plain Language Summary of Results from the LAVENDER Study: Trofinetide Treatment for Rett Syndrome

What is this summary about? This is a summary of an article about the LAVENDER study, which was published in Nature Medicine in June 2023. The study involved girls and young women with a rare genetic condition called Rett syndrome, which affects the way the brain develops. Researchers wanted to find out if a drug called trofinetide could improve the symptoms of Rett syndrome. What happened during the LAVENDER study? A total of 187 girls and young women took trofinetide (brand name DAYBUE™) liquid or a placebo (something that looks the same as the trofinetide liquid but does not contain medicine) 2 times a day either by drinking it or through a tube into the stomach called a gastrostomy tube (g-tube). Changes in Rett syndrome symptoms were looked for by study doctors for 12 weeks by using a rating scale called the Clinical Global Impression–Improvement (CGI–I) and by caregivers (usually a parent) who completed a questionnaire called the Rett Syndrome Behaviour Questionnaire (RSBQ). Caregivers were also asked to rate communication and social interaction skills, which resulted in the ‘Social Composite’ score on a questionnaire called the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile™ Infant–Toddler (CSBS-DP-IT) checklist. What were the results? After 12 weeks of treatment, girls and young women who received trofinetide had greater improvements in their symptoms than those who took the placebo, as rated by the RSBQ and CGI–I. Participants who took trofinetide could communicate better than participants who took the placebo as rated on the CSBS–DP–IT Social Composite scale. The differences between trofinetide and the placebo were statistically significant, which means that it was unlikely that the benefit seen with trofinetide was caused by chance. The most common side effects in the trofinetide group were diarrhea (frequent watery bowel movements) and vomiting, and in almost all cases these were mild or moderate. What do the results of the study mean? In the LAVENDER study, trofinetide helped girls and young women with Rett syndrome by improving several important symptoms. This is the first study to show that a medicine, trofinetide, improves the symptoms of Rett syndrome. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT04181723 (LAVENDER) ( ClinicalTrials.gov )

The effectiveness of social stories in an intervention program in late adolescence with high functioning autism spectrum disorders: A case study report

People with high-functioning autism (HFA) demonstrated significant social skill deficits compared to those typically developing. Relatively limited data is still known about the challenges faced (friendship, social networks) by adolescents with HFA and so far with a delayed diagnosis. The case study aimed to investigate social stories’ effectiveness by using an intensive intervention approach on a late-adolescent female with autism. A 17-year-old girl with a recent diagnosis of HFA was selected as a case study from a private Speech and Language Therapy Center to involve in an immediate intervention program. A single-case research design was used to monitor changes after an intervention. Specifically, observation and training lasted four weeks, plus two weeks of maintenance. The intervention was done exclusively with social stories personalised to her needs. The targeted behaviours were to enhance social interaction skills, especially her ability to make friends and improve communication. There was a positive response from the young female in the intensive intervention program. Moreover, she displayed more positive peer interaction throughout the intervention program (6 weeks). She managed to participate and ask peers to companies in High school, to start a conversation, and to call them into her house in a positive way 44 times in 6 weeks. In addition, after every intervention week, we recorded an increase in her positive interactions with peers. The results demonstrate that social story use enhances HFA adolescents' social engagement. This study provides insights into the relationship between intensive social story intervention, social communication and social interaction behaviours between adolescents with a recent diagnosis of HFA and peers. Moreover, the findings support the effectiveness of social stories in encouraging social interaction of a late adolescent with HFA.

Assessing the Potential of Robotics Technology for Enhancing Educational for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Robotics technology has been increasingly used as an educational and intervention tool for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, there remain research issues and challenges that need to be addressed to fully realize the potential benefits of robot-assisted therapy. This systematic review categorizes and summarizes the literature related to robot educational/training interventions and provides a conceptual framework for collecting and classifying these articles. The challenges identified in this review are classified into four levels: robot-level, algorithm-level, experimental-research-level, and application-level challenges. The review highlights possible future research directions and offers crucial insights for researchers interested in using robots in therapy. The most relevant findings suggest that robot-assisted therapy has the potential to improve social interaction, communication, and emotional regulation skills in children with ASD. Addressing these challenges and seeking new research avenues will be critical to advancing the field of robot-assisted therapy and improving outcomes for children with ASD. This study serves as a roadmap for future research in this important area.

HUBUNGAN ANTARA KEMAMPUAN INTERAKSI SOSIAL DENGAN KECERDASAN EMOSIONAL ANAK USIA DINI

Based on the results of initial observations in Group B RA Al-Wafi Panyileukan Bandung found a gap between high social interaction skills and low emotional intelligence. It can be seen that children's social interaction skills are no longer awkward in conversing with peers and teachers. However, it is different with children's emotional intelligence, which can be seen from the way they deal with problems which are always accompanied by fights, hostility, selfishness. The approach used in this research is a quantitative approach with correlational research methods. In this study using a total sampling technique because it took all members of the population, namely the B RA Al-Wafi Panyileukan Bandung group with a total of 20 children. The technique of collecting data in this research is through observation, interviews and documentation. The results of data analysis showed that the ability of social interaction in Group B children RA Al-Wafi Panyileukan Bandung obtained an average value of 68 points, which was in the 60-69 interval with the sufficient category. Meanwhile, the emotional intelligence of Group B RA Al-Wafi Panyileukan Bandung children obtained an average value of 74, which is in the 70-79 interval with a good category.

Teacher Perceptions of Facilitators of &amp; Barriers to a Child’s Ability to Regulate Behavior for Learning

Abstract Date Presented 04/22/2023 Strong regulation skills are critical for academic success. Learning environments dramatically changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, creating new challenges for students, teachers, and caregivers. This study illustrates that sense of community, environment, social interaction skills, and process skills affect learning. Results from this study could inform future programming to support students and teachers with the tools to develop executive function skills to improve learning behavior. Primary Author and Speaker: Whitney Garrison Additional Authors and Speakers: Karen Majeski

Development of a Scale of Professional Competence of Preschool Teachers

Circular 26/2018/TT-BGDĐT of Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training promulgates standards, policies and guidelines for measuring and assessing professional competences of preschool teachers in Vietnam. However, this set of standards has not yet met the requirements of action research on professional competences of preschool teachers. Therefore, this study aims to construct a valid and reliable self-reporting scale to measure the competences of preschool teachers in performing their work in preschools as one of the tools for impact assessment. The researchers approached Johnson’s theory of action research (2008) to research and develop a competency assessment toolkit according to 4 components of professional competences of preschool teachers (knowledge and understanding, operational skills, self development skills, social interaction skills). The validity and reliability of the scale was established by examining the responses of 186 preschool teachers of the selected preschool educational institutions in Southeast provinces in Vietnam. Cronbach’s alpha was also calculated as an internal consistency measure for the scale. Therefore, the findings of this study provide important evidence of the validity and reliability of the preschool teacher professional competency assessment standards.

Exploring the Impact of Virtual Reality on Social Interaction and Communication Skills in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comparative Study

Exploring the Impact of Virtual Reality on Social Interaction and Communication Skills in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comparative Study