The diagnoses Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASS) and mental retardation are common in the present study. The study examined on which domains of psychosocial behavior children in the age 4 to 18 years...Show moreThe diagnoses Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASS) and mental retardation are common in the present study. The study examined on which domains of psychosocial behavior children in the age 4 to 18 years old with an ASS and/or a mental retardation show deficiencies in comparison with normally developing children. The study contains a cross-sectional research design. The parents were asked to fill in the Questionnaire Psychosocial Skills (VPV) on the Internet about their child. The sample consisted of 417 Dutch school children, including 235 boys (56.4%) and 182 girls (43.6%). The results of the study showed that children with an ASS and/or a mental retardation compared to the children without a developmental disorder show a distinct disadvantage in terms of the relational and affective skills, self-management and self-consciousness. The trial also found that children with a mental retardation show more psychosocial skills compared to children with an ASS and children with an ASS and a mental retardation. The research also show that children in the age group of 12 to 18 years do have more psychosocial skills than children in the age group of 4 to 11 years. Girls in the age group of 4 to 11 years do have more relational en affective skills than boys. Boys do have better psychosocial skills in the age group of 12 to 18 years than the girls. The results of the present study show the importance of detecting deficits in the development of psychosocial skills of children with an ASS and/or a mental retardation, so that the children can receive an appropriate assistance.Show less
The present study examined the psychosocial behavioral skills from children in the age 4 to 18 years old with ASS and/or ADHD in order to determine on which domains the children show deficiencies....Show moreThe present study examined the psychosocial behavioral skills from children in the age 4 to 18 years old with ASS and/or ADHD in order to determine on which domains the children show deficiencies. The sample consisted of a total of 453 children, the parents/guardians were asked to fill in on the internet the Social Emotional Questionnaire (SEV) and the Questionnaire Psychosocial Skills (VPV). The age of the children was between 4 and 18 years, with a mean age of 11.3 years (SD = 3.54). The group consisted of 256 boys (56.5%) and 197 girls (43.5%) with 9.5% of the children are diagnosed with ASS, 12.1% are diagnosed with ADHD and 10.6% diagnosed with ASS and ADHD. The findings showed that children with ASS and/or ADHD show a distinct disadvantage in psychosocial behavioral skills compared to children without a developmental disorder. In addition, children with only ASS or ADHD had better skills than children with comorbid ASS and ADHD. Children with ASS scored lower on the relational and affective skills than children with ADHD. The study further showed that 12-to-18-years-old children have better affective skills and self-awareness than 4-to-12-years-old children. It was also found that girls have more affective skills and self-management skills than boys. This study contributes to detecting deficits in the psychosocial development in an early stage, so that appropriate help can be offered that will possibly prevent further stagnation or even improve psychosocial skills in children with ASS and/or ADHD.Show less