title: A comparison of social cognitive profiles in children with autism spectrum disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a matter of quantitative but not qualitative difference?
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare social cognitive profiles of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and ADHD. Participants diagnosed with an ASD (n = 137) were compared to participants with ADHD (n = 436) on tests of facial and vocal affect recognition, social judgment and problem-solving, and parent- and teacher-report of social functioning. Both groups performed significantly worse than the normative sample on all measures. Although the ASD group had more severe deficits, the pattern of deficits was surprisingly similar between groups, suggesting that social cognitive deficit patterns may be more similar in ASD and ADHD than previously thought. Thus, like those with ASDs, individuals with ADHD may also need to be routinely considered for treatments targeting social skills.
authors.affiliation: Illinois Institute of Technology, Department of Psychology, 3105 South Dearborn, Suite 252, Chicago, IL 60616-3793, USA. carlydemopoulos@gmail.com
authors.forename: Carly
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Demopoulos
authors.forename: Joyce
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hopkins
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012919:Social Behavior; D012938:Social Perception