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The role of the social partner in the maintenance and development of communication and social skills in neurodevelopmental conditions

April 8, 2025 from 8:30 am to 9:50 am

Communication and social skills are key areas that support the well-being and inclusion for people with neurodevelopmental conditions (Oliver et al., 2022; Garcia et al., 2020). When studying the development of communication and social skills it is important to examine them within the context of social interaction with a social partner. Specifically, there is a need to consider both 1) how social partners’ communicative and social responses are influenced by the behaviors of the person with the neurodevelopmental conditions, as well as 2) how the social partners’ behaviors modulate communication and social skills of a person with a neurodevelopmental condition, both within their immediate social context and across long-term development. This symposium explores the relationships between core areas of communication and social characteristics identified within individual neurodevelopmental conditions (i.e., autistic children, toddlers with fragile X syndrome, and infants with Down syndrome) and key behaviors of social partners theorized to be associated with these characteristics. Collectively, these studies indicate that the social partner may be an important social environmental mechanism that can be readily targeted in intervention to support communication and social skills in people across a range of neurodevelopmental conditions.

References.
Ellis, K., Pearson, E., Murray, C., Jenner, L., Bissell, S., Trower, H., Smith, K., Groves, L., Jones, B., Williams, N., McCourt, A., & Moss, J. (2023). The importance of refined assessment of communication and social functioning in people with intellectual disabilities: Insights from neurogenetic syndrome research. International Review of Research in Developmental Disabilities, 64, 97–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irrdd.2023.07.003

García, J. C., Díez, E., Wojcik, D. Z., & Santamaría, M. (2020). Communication support needs in adults with intellectual disabilities and its relation to quality of life. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(20), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17207370

Chair: Katherine Ellis, University College London,

Discussant: Leann DeWalt, University of Wisconson-Madison

First Presentation: Caregiver scaffolding and its association with social engagement in autistic and non-autistic children during social interaction.
Sara Morris, University College London, Sarah White, University College London
Breanne Kearney, University of Western Ontario
Lucy Heap, University College London
Hana Ahmad Faez, University College London
Lauren Winsor, University College London
Maddie West, University College London
Regina Gomez, University College London
Katherine Ellis, University College London

Second Presentation: Child Deictic Gesture Use and Maternal Labeling in Young Children with Fragile X Syndrome
Laura Mattie, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Daniela Fanta, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Karen Huang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Pamela Hadley, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Third Presentation: Delivering Enhanced Milieu Teaching to Toddlers with Down Syndrome via Hybrid Telepractice: A Single-Case Experimental Design
Emily Quinn, Oregon Health & Science University,