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Standardized Assessment of Social Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Handbook of Social Skills and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Part of the book series: Autism and Child Psychopathology Series ((ACPS))

Abstract

Social skills are innate across species. As mammals, we are social creatures and our survival depends on our abilities to socially navigate the many facets of our immediate surroundings and the world at large. Over the past six decades, there has been increased interest in describing, defining and measuring how this innate lack of social interest affects development in individuals now said to have autism spectrum disorder. Autism spectrum disorder is currently considered to be a set of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders which result in significant social communication deficits and restricted range of interests. Persons with autism spectrum disorder are frequently said to have social cognitive deficits which result in failure to respond appropriately to social stimuli and to develop meaningful social relationships. In this chapter, methodological problems encountered when attempting to measure social skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorder are reviewed and the current measures which are in use are examined.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Psychology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    B. J. Freeman PhD

  2. Clinical Psychologist, Cronin Assessment, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Pegeen Cronin PhD

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  1. B. J. Freeman PhD
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Correspondence to B. J. Freeman PhD .

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  1. Autism Partnership Foundation, Seal Beach, California, USA

    Justin B. Leaf

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Freeman, B.J., Cronin, P. (2017). Standardized Assessment of Social Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorder. In: Leaf, J. (eds) Handbook of Social Skills and Autism Spectrum Disorder . Autism and Child Psychopathology Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62995-7_6

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