Parent-Reported Social Skills in Children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Longitudinal Patterns and Relations with Attention and Cognitive Functioning.
Danielle M Glad, Christina L Casnar, Brianna D Yund and 2 others
PMID 34618723WHAT IT FOUND
Parents reported social skills challenges in 32% of young children and 24% of school-age children with NF1.
Early childhood inattention predicted later social difficulties. Cognitive ability did not correlate with social skills. Most children did not have significant social deficits.
Key findings
01Social skills difficulties were observed in 32% of young children and 24% of school-age children with NF1, with no significant change in proportion over time.
02Attention problems in early childhood, specifically inattention, were negatively correlated with social skills and predicted poorer social skills in school age.
03Cognitive functioning was not significantly correlated with social skills in either early childhood or school age.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study relied entirely on parent report, which may introduce bias and may not capture real-world peer interactions or the full range of social skills. There was no control group of unaffected children, so comparisons are made against normative data rather than a matched sample. The longitudinal sample was small (n=25) and had a higher frequency of de novo NF1 cases than expected, which may affect representativeness. Attrition analysis showed that children who dropped out had lower social skills and higher hyperactivity, suggesting the remaining sample may be less impaired than the general NF1 population. The study did not assess autism spectrum disorder symptoms, which can overlap with social difficulties in NF1.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest were declared by the authors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that cognitive ability is the primary driver of social skills difficulties in children with NF1. The study found no correlation between cognitive scores and social skills, but did find that early inattention predicted later social problems. Focus attention screening when addressing social concerns.