Abstract

Children diagnosed with ASD demonstrate a variety of social skills deficits which range from difficulties in basic skills, such as eye contact and turn taking, to complex skills such as having a conversation, playing with peers, and developing friendships (Tager-Flusberget al., 2001; Locke et al., 2014). These difficulties may impede their ability to navigate social interactions, particularly in educational settings. Consequently, children with ASD often find themselves in the social periphery of their class (Chamberlain et al. 2007). Relative to Typically Developing (TD) children they interact less with their peers, make fewer attempts to initiate interactions with other children, and are less responsive to others' attempts to interact (Sigman et al., 1999).

Parent-child interactions have been found to be a significant factor in the development of the child's social skills in both TD children and those with ASD (Baker et al., 2007; Cumberland-Li et al., 2003; McDowell & Parke, 2009). Studies suggest that social skills are initially learnt in the context of the parent-child relationship and are later applied in additional social situations, such as in preschool (Guralnick, 1999). However, most of these studies focused on the dyadic, parent-child relationship, and few if any examined the wider family context, such as the triadic interaction between mother, father and child. Therefore, the current study examined the family triad guided by the idea that the triad is the child's first group, providing the basis for social interactions in the educational setting.

The study's goal was to examine the relationship between triadic family interactions and the social skills of children with ASD in preschool. Specifically, the hypothesis was that parental coordinated support during triadic interaction as well as children's involvement during these interactions will be associated with children's social skills at preschool, while controlling for children's cognitive functioning and the severity of the child's symptoms. A secondary goal was to develop an observational, preschool version of the Social Skills Q-sort (SSQ; Locke et al., 2014) to assess the social skills of children with ASD in the educational setting.

Seventy-four boys with ASD between the ages of 29 and 68 months participated in the study, together with both parents. Of the 74, 34 were classified as low-functioning (IQ<70) and 40 were diagnosed as high-functioning (IQ≥70). The vast majority of the children were enrolled in special education preschools. Triadic family interactions were assessed in the Lausanne Trilogue Play procedure (LTP; Fivaz-Depeursinge & Corboz-Warnery, 1999), and children’s social skills were assessed using the SSQ in children's preschools. The children's teachers also completed the SSQ as well as the Social Responsiveness Scale (Constantino & Gruber, 2005). In addition, children's diagnoses were reconfirmed.

The results showed that while children's cognitive functioning and the severity of their autistic symptoms explain a large portion of the variance in their social skills, children's involvement in triadic family interactions made an additional contribution, as hypothesized. Contrary to the study's hypothesis, however, no association was found between parental coordinated support during triadic interactions and children's social skills. Thus, it seems that parental coordinated support was associated with children's involvement during family interactions, and involvement was, in turn, associated with children's social skills in preschool. Another meaningful finding supports the novel observational version of the SSQ by showing its theoretically expected associations with gold standard assessments of children's cognition and ASD symptoms.

To sum, although much of the variability in children's social skills in preschool is explained by their cognitive delays and symptoms, their experience interacting in the triadic family context appears to be an additional factor that shapes their social skills. These findings are important both for the families of children with ASD and for those treating them.