Understanding and Assessing Social-Emotional Learning Processing Impairments in Children with and without Autism-Spectrum Disorders

Background: Social disability is a core diagnostic feature of the autism-spectrum disorders (ASDs). We currently have an incomplete understanding of the social-emotional processing impairments that give rise to social disability among children with ASD’s. This presentation examines the relationship between children’s ability to encode, interpret, and reason about social and emotional information (SEL ability), their ability to inhibit behavioral impulses, and their social behavior and functioning.

Objectives: The objectives of this presentation are: (a) to describe and evaluate a three-domain model of children’s SEL ability, (b) to demonstrate methods of assessing the three domains of SEL ability, and (c) to examine the criterion-related validity of tests of SEL ability.

Methods: Studies 1 and 2 reflect naturalistic examinations of the factor structure and criterion-related validity of tests of SEL ability. Study 1 included 60 typically-developing children ages 5 to 14 with longitudinal data. Study 2 included 126 clinic-referred children ages 5 to 17 with cross-sectional data. Both studies included multi-method, multi-informant measures of SEL ability, behavioral inhibition, and social behavior.

Results: SEL ability includes three factors: awareness of nonverbal cues, ability to interpret social information, and ability to reason about social problems. The better children perform on measures of SEL ability and behavioral inhibition, the more prosocially they behave. Prosocial behavior is in turn associated with peer regard and teacher report of academic competence. The relationship between SEL ability, behavioral inhibition, and social outcomes is strikingly similar for typically developing and clinic-referred children.

Conclusions: SEL ability includes three domains and can be reliably measured. SEL ability and behavioral inhibition are associated with social and other outcomes. Implications for children with autism-spectrum disorders are discussed.