The Relationships Between Perception-Action Skills and Social Skills in Young Children with Autism

Background: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication (APA, 2000). In addition, these children are known to perceive and act upon their environment differently (e.g. Gepner & Féron, 2009). According to an embodied embedded cognition account being socially skilled requires being adept at picking up the relevant information and being able to produce adequate real-time actions (Good, 2007; Smith & Gasser, 2005; Thelen, 2000). Several authors have suggested using a more embedded embodied approach to social cognition in general (Gallagher, 2008) and to study the social skills in autism specifically (DeJeagher, 2013). This implies taking into account the role of perception-action processes for when studying the development of social skills.

Objectives: The purpose of this research is to determine whether perception-action skills and social skills are related in young children with autism.

Methods: Forty children, 32 boys and 8 girls, with a mean age of 34 months (SD 9 months), were included in this study. Perception-action skills was assessed by (1) the sum of the scores on the visual reception and fine motor subscales of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and (2) the number of months the child could walk unaided at the time of the ADOS-assessment. Social skills were measured by coding the initiation of social interaction on videotaped observation of the ADOS. Regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between perception-action skills and social skills.

Results: A significant positive relationship was found between (both measures of) perception-action skills and social skills, with a medium effect size.

Conclusions: The present study indicates a positive relationship between perception-action skills and social skills. This suggests that perception-action skills play a role in the acquisition of social skills in young children with autism. More longitudinal research with both typically and atypically developing groups is needed to confirm and specify this relationship. This may eventually enhance understanding the developmental trajectories of ASD and lead to a more central role of perception-action processes and a consideration of cascades across developmental domains in screening, diagnostic and intervention procedures.