Examining the Process and Impact of Social Problem Solving in Autistic Children.
Morgan L McNair, Victoria Mondejar, Erin J Libsack and 4 others
PMID 38393439WHAT IT FOUND
In autistic children, identifying that a social problem exists predicted better parent-reported social skills more strongly than choosing good goals or solutions.
Therapists should prioritize helping children recognize when a social conflict is happening before teaching specific resolution strategies.
Key findings
01Socially normative problem identification and goal preference were associated with greater parent-reported social skills, while problem identification and solution preference were associated with fewer parent-reported autism-related social symptoms.
02Problem identification accounted for the most unique variance in parent-reported social skills and autism-related social difficulties, exceeding the unique contribution of goal or solution preference.
03Shared variance across all three social problem-solving components accounted for the most common variance in social difficulty models, suggesting these components are overlapping but distinct.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was predominantly White, male, and had average to above-average cognitive abilities, so results may not apply to children with lower IQs or diverse backgrounds. There was no non-autistic comparison group, so it is unclear how these social problem-solving profiles differ from typical development. Social outcomes were based solely on parent report, which may introduce bias compared to teacher or clinician observations. The study used a cross-sectional design, so it cannot determine if improving problem identification skills causes better social outcomes over time.
Declared interests
Funded by the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative. No other conflicts of interest are reported in the text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that teaching children specific social solutions will improve their social skills. The study found that identifying the problem was a stronger predictor of parent-reported social success than selecting normative goals or solutions, suggesting that intervention efforts focused primarily on solution generation may miss the most critical cognitive step.