Autistic youth challenges

I am presenting two studies of children on the autism spectrum. First, McIntyre, Santiago, Sutherland & Garbacz (2023) published “Parenting Stress and Autistic Children’s Emotional Problems Relate to Family-School Partnerships and Parent Mental Health” in School Psychology. Here’s the edited abstract and impact statement with some information in bold:

Dimensions of family-school partnerships, including parent–teacher relationship quality and family educational involvement, are associated with positive outcomes for youth. Family-school partnerships are important for autistic youth, who may particularly benefit from cross-setting supports. Coordinated family-school partnerships may help maximize child outcomes. This study investigated the extent to which child behavioral and physical health (emotional, behavioral, and medical problems) and parent mental health (parenting stress, parent mental health history, and parent depressive symptoms) were associated with parent–teacher relationship quality and family involvement in a sample of 68 families of school-aged autistic children. Families were recruited through invitation letters disseminated at local early intervention and early childhood programs. Children in the sample were primarily boys, primarily White, and approximately 8 years old. Findings suggest that (a) lower child emotional problems and parenting stress were related to higher parent–teacher relationship quality and (b) having a history of parent mental health problems was related to lower family involvement. Findings highlight the importance of understanding child behavioral health and parent mental health in relation to different dimensions of family–school partnerships. 

While the authors make clear the need to have a more diverse sample, this work highlights factors that interfere with success in school for children on the autism spectrum. The second study takes a quite different approach. Gates, Gerber, Miller & Lerner (2022) published “Quantifying Social Skill Deficits and Strengths Profiles in Autistic Youth” in Child Development.

While social difficulties in autism are well-established, questions remain regarding whether these represent challenges in acquiring or performing such skills, reduced social strengths, or a unique distribution across these domains (i.e., social profile). This study empirically derived social profiles of 211 autistic and non-autistic youth (Mage = 13.50; Autistic N = 150; Male N = 151; 85.3% White). Assessments occurred between 2016 and 2020. Results showed that autistic youth exhibit significantly more social acquisition and performance deficits and fewer strengths than nonautistic youth (ds = −.44 to .65). Performance deficits were most—and acquisition deficits least—prominent within autistic profiles, potentially implicating longstanding theoretical models of social difficulties in autism, and supporting new, idiographic approaches for conceptualizing, assessing, and treating social challenges.

I find this especially interesting in that it is easy to focus on acquisition of skills when it is the performance of those skills that ultimately makes more of a difference. This relates to my previous post on intelligence and the difference between knowing and doing.