Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 265-287).

Behaviour changes including apathy, disinhibition, irritability or social skills difficulties are commonly reported in individuals following an acquired brain injury (ABI) or presence of a neurodegenerative condition. In addition, there is evidence that these behaviour changes are related to increased caregiver burden and early nursing home and hospital admissions. Yet, very little is known about possible factors relating to behaviour change in ABI or neurodegeneration. Social cognition difficulties have been proposed as possible predictors of behaviour change in ABI or neurodegeneration. However, the evidence for the existence of a link between behaviour and social cognition remains weak. The aims of the current thesis were twofold; firstly, it aimed to systematically examine the current evidence on the link between social cognition and behaviour change in ABI or neurodegeneration. Secondly, the thesis aimed to assess the relationship between social cognition and behaviour change in the context of relationship quality in a sample of 27 individuals with a diagnosis of Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (DAT) or mixed DAT and vascular dementia and their co-residing partners. A review of the current literature showed a discrepancy in the evidence for an association between behaviour change and social cognition between ABI and neurodegenerative participant samples. The link between social cognition and behaviour changes in ABI, although suggested, was not found in the three included studies. However, this was not the case for neurogenerative samples. Although most of the included studies focused on a particular condition, frontotemporal dementia (FTD), evidence for this link was also present in one study focusing on DAT. Following from this review, the present thesis examined the existence of this association further in individuals with DAT/ mixed dementia. The study used partners’ reports on behaviour and relationship quality and examined their associations with individuals with DAT/mixed dementia’s performance on a social cognition task. Although the DAT/mixed dementia group showed an impaired performance on a social cognition task compared to their partners, there were no significant relationships between reported behaviour changes, relationship quality and social cognition performance in individuals with DAT/mixed dementia. These findings suggest that despite previous literature indicating a link between behaviour change and social cognition in DAT or mixed dementia, this relationship is yet to be fully established in this population and further research is needed to inform current practice and models of behaviour change in neurodegeneration. The present findings are also discussed with regards to implications for clinical practice and adaptations in psychotherapy for people with DAT or mixed dementia and their partners.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Toni Hargraves, for the Master of Science degree in Behavior Analysis and Therapy, presented on April 2015, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: ASSESSMENT OF A METACONTINGENCY INSTRUCTIONAL PACKAGE FOR A REHABILITATION DAY TRAINING CLASSROOM MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Ruth Anne Rehfeldt The following study evaluated the effects of a metacontingency instructional package on interlocking behaviors by measuring the products produced by the interlocking behaviors of four adults attending a specialized rehabilitation center and working to obtain financial gain and community inclusion. The package was a manipulation of the environment of a day training classroom by incorporating a program where contingencies were available on an interrelated level and targeted as many individuals as possible to provide the largest societal gain. For 3 adults with mild to severe intellectual disabilities, task completion increased above task completion averages observed during baseline conditions where only individualized tasks were presented. For all participants, cooperative behaviors were only observed in the condition where tasks were interrelated with tasks of peers and returned to baselines levels once the package was removed. Producing the changes at this level may be socially relevant due to the potential gains of the participants, potential gain of the rehabilitation setting in relation to funding for productivity results, and the potential gain to the overall community through increased social skills of individuals who interact in that setting.

Study 1 evaluated the use of a behavioral skills training package (BST) to teach three adults with autism spectrum disorders job interview and conversation skills. Participants were asked to have a mock job interview and conversation with the researcher. Participants' behavior was scored according to the conversation and job interview task analyses. The BST package included instruction, modeling, rehearsal, feedback, and reinforcement. A dense or lean schedule of reinforcement was assigned to each social skill based on performance during baseline. Social skills increased for all three participants when the BST package was implemented. Study 2 evaluated if dense or lean schedules of reinforcement affect maintenance of social skills. Two participants from Study 1 participated. Participants' BST data from Study 1 was used as baseline, followed by a maintenance phase. During this phase no instruction, modeling, rehearsal, feedback, or reinforcement was provided. The effect of rate of reinforcement during baseline on maintenance was evaluated.

While there are many deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder, social skills deficits are one of the most noticeable in a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are many treatments utilized by mental health clinicians, healthcare professionals, and schools to address social skills deficits. Historically, autistic children have been taught social skills predominantly through behavioral interventions, which have been proven effective. However, following the rise in technological advancement, there has been a wave of new social skills computer-based interventions (CBI) geared towards ASD children. While the research into the effectiveness of CBI is limited, the new direction is said to be a promising alternative in comparison to behavioral interventions. Few studies have examined the effectiveness of CBI in comparison to known effective behavioral interventions. In this study, I conducted a secondary data analysis, examining the effectiveness of CBI on improving social skills when compared to a person-implemented intervention. The framework of the study featured social learning theory, descriptive statistics, and t test analysis, which provided an examination of the effectiveness of CBI when compared to a person-implemented intervention. Independent samples t tests showed that both Group A (FaceSay, N = 10) and Group B (Model Me Kids, N = 10) showed significant improvement in social skills. The current findings suggest that CBI programs are efficient for teaching social skills to school aged children with ASD. Future research should focus on the use of CBI in a clinical environment with a larger sample size. Implications for social change include ASD children engaging with others in a socially appropriate manner within their natural environment.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (autism) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social skills differences which can interfere with success in developing or maintaining relationships. Social skills training may promote more satisfying change in social interactions for individuals with autism, especially if they already have age-appropriate cognitive and language abilities. Social skills training is a typical approach for addressing social skills needs for many individuals with autism. In some instances, in-person social skills training or groups may not be readily available because of geographical, transportation, or other barriers. Delivering social skills training online is one way to increase access to intervention for individuals without feasible access to in-person social skills groups. However, very little is known about the untapped potential for interactive online social skills groups to provide similar benefits to in-person groups. We conducted a study delivering the same curriculum (UCLA PEERS®) in two modalities -- in person (per the manual) and online (same curriculum, delivered in a live interactive online teleconference environment). Pre- and post-intervention parent report measures were used to assess autism symptoms and social skills were compared across groups. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to identify any significant differences between the two groups. Under analysis, the interaction term indicated no significant differential change over time according to group membership (time by group). This indicates that there were no statistically significant differences between online and in-person groups with the single exception of one subtest score, the detrimental behavior subscale. There were many main effects for time in both groups which indicates positive social improvements over time occurred in both in-person and online groups, primarily with similar trajectories. Our objective is to provide evidence that the outcomes of both modalities were not significantly different. The results indicate that this is generally the case according to our study. It is interesting to note that while students were satisfied with the social validity of either delivery modality, parents were generally more satisfied with the online delivery of social skills.

Vietnam currently faces a social skills deficit among college graduates. This lack of sufficient social skills significantly affects Vietnam's economy where it is one of the main factors that drives higher unemployment in Vietnam. Research has shown that although social skills have been increasingly perceived by employers as one of the most important factors for graduate employability and career success, the absence of social skills training in colleges and universities have caused graduates to be ill-prepared for the workplace, which lead to dissatisfactions among employers and complications when seeking for potential hires in Vietnam. Therefore, this study aims to examine and compare perceptions of Vietnamese college graduates and employers on graduates' social skill performance. Given the objectives of this study, an online survey was distributed to potential participants across Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Analysis of the responses not only demonstrated a disconnect of perceptions between employers and newly hired graduates (NHGs) on how these two groups rated graduates' performance of interpersonal skills but also revealed a mismatch in the perceptions of the comparing groups on how they perceive the importance of social skills in graduate employment. As a result, it is recommended that Vietnam need to promote and support educators to incorporate more social skills training into their curricular so that students can be able to engage and develop those essential social skills during their time in college.

No description available.

Background and Aims: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterized by deficits in social interactions and communication, and the presence of stereotypic behaviors and restricted interests. Children with ASD also demonstrate difficulties in emotional competence, including poor emotion regulatory capacity. The goal of this study was to investigate the link of social skills to emotion regulation and emotionality in 3 through 7 year-old children with and without ASD. Methods: Both parental report and behavioral laboratory observations were used to examine emotion regulation and emotionality in 21 typically developing (TD) children and 12 high functioning children with ASD. Results: This study had three major findings. First, an association between enhanced reported emotion regulation and increased social skills was found in children with ASD, but not in TD children. Second, children with ASD demonstrated lower reported emotion regulation, higher reported general negative emotionality, and lower reported general positive emotionality compared to their TD peers. Third, reported emotion regulation was linked to reported specific emotionality in children with ASD and to reported general emotionality in the TD group, though not in the predicted direction. Few significant findings occurred for observed emotion regulation or observed emotionality. Conclusions: Although current results should be interpreted with caution due to small sample size, a link between social skills and parent-reported emotion regulation was found in children with ASD. Children with ASD were also viewed by their parents as having poor emotion regulation and increased negative emotionality compared to their TD peers. Limitations and future research are discussed. / Ph. D.

Bakalauro darbe analizuojami nežymiai sutrikusio intelekto vaikų socialinių įgūdžių raiškos, tokios kaip bendravimas, savęs pažinimas ir socialinės situacijos sprendimo galimybės. Tyrime dalyvavo 30 nežymiai sutrikusio intelekto vaikų nuo 14 iki 15 metų, 30 pedagogų dirbančių specialiose mokyklose ir 10 nežymiai sutrikusio intelekto vaikų tėvų. Anketinės apklausos metu tirta, kaip nežymiai sutrikusio intelekto vaikai vertina savo bendravimą su kitais žmonėmis (draugais, suaugusiaisiais, bendraklasiais ir pan.), kaip sugeba spręsti konfliktines situacijas ar sugeba reikšti savo emocijas ir jausmus. Vaikų anketinės apklausos atsakymai buvo papildyti tėvų interviu atsakymais. Tyrimu nustatyta, kad nežymiai sutrikusio intelekto vaikų socialinių įgūdžių struktūroje dominuoja verbalinis bendravimas. Didžiajai vaikų daliai gana gerai sekasi bendrauti su bendraamžiais ir palaikyti gerus santykius su jais, nors kai kuriems būdingas atrenkamasis bendravimas, drovumas. Taip pat nustatyta, kad daugelis vaikų pažįsta save ir geba parodyti ne tik savo jausmus ir emocijas, bet ir sugebėjimus. Kur kas menkiau susiformavę socialinės situacijos sprendimo įgūdžiai. Nežymiai sutrikusio intelekto vaikai nėra linkę išsipasakoti, pasakyti savo nuomonę, mintis ar paprasčiausiai paprašyti pagalbos. Pedagogų tyrimo rezultatais nustatyta, kad nežymiai sutrikusio intelekto vaikai geba pakankamai gerai tarpusavyje bendrauti ir bendradarbiauti. Gerokai menkiau susiformavę socialinės situacijos sprendimo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Slightly mentally retarded children's social skills (communication, self-knowledge and solution of the social situation) are analysed in this work. 30 slightly mentally retarded children from 14 – 15 years old, 10 parents of these children and 30 teachers working in special schools participated in this investigation. Using the questionnaire survey there were researched how slightly mentally retarded children evaluate their interaction with other people (friends, adults, classmates, etc.), how they manage to solve conflicts or are able to express their emotions and feelings. The questionnaire surveys of the children were appended with the answers of their parents. The research assessed that verbal communication dominates among slightly mentally retarded children. Most children quite well communicate with their peers and are able to maintain good relationship with them. It is also investigated that many children know themselves and manage to show not only their feelings and emotions but also abilities. Social skills are less formed. Slightly mentally retarded children are not open, don't tell their opinion, thoughts, or even ask for help. Teachers' survey shows that slightly mentally retarded children are able to communicate and collaborate with each other. Social situation solving skills which require well-developed language and other necessary skills are less formed. The poorness of these skills shows that slightly mentally retarded children are uneble to provide all... [to full text]