The critical aim of this research is to identify correlates and precursors of social competence in children with Down syndrome. The wide variation in the adaptation of adults with Down syndrome is mainly a function of their social and communicative skills. However, the development of social competence in individuals with Down syndrome has been investigated very incompletely. In our previous research, we have found that infants with Down syndrome prefer social interaction to object exploration and participate more in social exchanges than normal infants of the same developmental level. While this focus on social interaction has little contemporaneous relation with language skills, the social experience provided may facilitate the acquisition of childhood social skills. On the other hand, infants with Down syndrome are less engaged with toys than controls, and this lack of involvement is found most often in those infants who have the poorest language skills. Greater task engagement and nonverbal requesting behavior may facilitate later social competence by enhancing language skills. The specification of the predictive links between infant social and task engagement with childhood language and social competence is important for determining which forms of engagement should be encouraged or discouraged in intervention with infants. Four components of childhood social competence will be investigated: interpersonal skills during peer interaction, adaptive behaviors, emotional responsiveness, and emotional understanding. The concurrent associations within these domains and the associations between these competencies and childhood social participation, task engagement, and language abilities will be determined. this research will amplify the very limited information now available about the social competence of children with Down syndrome and will identify early and concurrent abilities and proclivities that should be encouraged for individual children to be optimally effective in social situations.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD017662-12
Application #
2392346
Study Section
Human Development and Aging Subcommittee 3 (HUD)
Project Start
1983-03-01
Project End
1999-03-31
Budget Start
1997-04-01
Budget End
1999-03-31
Support Year
12
Fiscal Year
1997
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Los Angeles
Department
Pediatrics
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
119132785
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90095
Siller, Michael; Sigman, Marian (2002) The behaviors of parents of children with autism predict the subsequent development of their children's communication. J Autism Dev Disord 32:77-89
Travis, L; Sigman, M; Ruskin, E (2001) Links between social understanding and social behavior in verbally able children with autism. J Autism Dev Disord 31:119-30
Sigman, M; Ruskin, E; Arbeile, S et al. (1999) Continuity and change in the social competence of children with autism, Down syndrome, and developmental delays. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev 64:1-114
Sigman, M (1998) The Emanuel Miller Memorial Lecture 1997. Change and continuity in the development of children with autism. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 39:817-27
Kasari, C; Sigman, M (1997) Linking parental perceptions to interactions in young children with autism. J Autism Dev Disord 27:39-57
Dissanayake, C; Sigman, M; Kasari, C (1996) Long-term stability of individual differences in the emotional responsiveness of children with autism. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 37:461-7
Mundy, P; Kasari, C; Sigman, M et al. (1995) Nonverbal communication and early language acquisition in children with Down syndrome and in normally developing children. J Speech Hear Res 38:157-67
Sigman, M; Arbelle, S; Dissanayake, C (1995) Current research findings on childhood autism. Can J Psychiatry 40:289-94
Ruskin, E M; Mundy, P; Kasari, C et al. (1994) Object mastery motivation of children with Down syndrome. Am J Ment Retard 98:499-509
Arbelle, S; Sigman, M D; Kasari, C (1994) Compliance with parental prohibition in autistic children. J Autism Dev Disord 24:693-702

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