Abstract reasoning and friendship in high functioning preadolescents with autism spectrum disorders

Marjorie Solomon, Nirit Buaminger, Sally J. Rogers

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

41 Scopus citations

Abstract

To investigate the relationship between cognitive and social functioning, 20 Israeli individuals with HFASD aged 8-12 and 22 age, maternal education, and receptive vocabulary-matched preadolescents with typical development (TYP) came to the lab with a close friend. Measures of abstract reasoning, friendship quality, and dyadic interaction during a play session were obtained. As hypothesized, individuals with HFASD were significantly impaired in abstract reasoning, and there were significant group differences in friend and observer reports of friendship quality. There also was consistency in reports between friends. Two factors-"relationship appearance" and "relationship quality" described positive aspects of the relationships. Disability status and age related to relationship appearance. Proband abstract reasoning was related to relationship quality.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)32-43
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Volume41
Issue number1
Early online date14 May 2010
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2011
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Acknowledgments This research was supported by the United States—Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), specifically a grant awarded to Drs. Nirit Bauminger and Sally Rogers. During the preparation of this manuscript, Dr. Solomon was supported by a K-08 Award from National Institutes of Mental Health (1-K-08 MH074967-01). Special thanks are extended to the children who took part in this study. The authors would like to express their appreciation to Anat Aviezer and Kelly Heung for coordinating the project in Israel and the USA, Lilach Gazit and John Brown for their help in data collection, and Ana Maria-Iosef, Ph.D. for statistical consulting.

Keywords

  • Abstract reasoning
  • Asperger Syndrome
  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Friendship
  • Intimacy
  • Responsiveness

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