Funcionamiento social en niños con TEA y TDAH

Abstract

Deficits in the development of social interaction and other social skills is one of the main characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In turn, children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), often have worse social skills that lead to poor relationships with peers and family. The aim of this study is to compare peer relationship problems of children with ASD and children with ADHD. The instruments used were the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS). The SSBS is an instrument in which teachers assess the social behavior of the students, particularly we used the social competence scale (subscale of peer relations). The SDQ was completed by parents, the scale used was peer problems. Results indicate that there were differences between children with ASD and ADHD in peer relationships. Children with ASD have more social problems than children with ADHD especially in areas related to the difficulty initiating social exchanges. The differences between the two groups were more marked in the questionnaire assessed by parents (SDQ), than in the teacher’s estimates (SSBS). These results suggest that there may be different mechanisms in the emergence and development of social interactions in children with ASD and ADHD. It is also necessary to explore thoroughly the social functioning of these two disorders in different contexts and at the possible bias in the different types of evaluators, parents and teachers, and their role in detecting this type of difficulties.