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.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 20 publications
