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The current study investigated the utility of the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change-Phrase Speech Young Fluent (BOSCC-PSYF) as an outcome measure of treatment response by analyzing the measures psychometric properties and initial validity. The BOSCC coding scheme was applied to 345 administrations from 160 participants diagnosed with autism. Participants included individuals of any age with phrase speech, or individuals under the age of 8 years with complex sentences. All were receiving behavioral intervention throughout the study. Test-retest and inter-rater reliability were good for the Early Communication and Social Reciprocity/Language domains, and fair for the Restricted and Repetitive Behavior domain. Significant changes occurred over time in the Early Communication and Social Reciprocity/Language domains, and Core Total scores. The BOSCC-PSYF may provide a low-cost, flexible, and user-friendly outcome measure that reliably measures changes in broad social communicative behaviors in a short period of time.

Due to core challenges in social communication experienced by many young children with autism, children on the spectrum who are also dual language learners (DLLs) may benefit from developmentally-appropriate language supports in school settings. The current study examined whether home language status moderated the effect of a play-based intervention, JASPER, delivered in the classroom, in children with autism. Fifty-nine preschool children with autism received JASPER over eight weeks. Children who received JASPER improved significantly more in their language skills from entry to exit than children in preschool as usual. Home language status moderated the effect of treatment on receptive language where children of diverse linguistic backgrounds made greater gains in receptive language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There appears to be no attempt to categorize the specific classes of behavior that the tactile system underpins. Awareness of how an organism uses touch in their environment informs understanding of its versatility in non-verbal communication and tactile perception. This review categorizes the behavioral functions underpinned by the tactile sense, by using three sources of data: (1) Animal data, to assess if an identified function is conserved across species; (2) Human capacity data, indicating whether the tactile sense can support a proposed function; and (3) Human impaired data, documenting the impacts of impaired tactile functioning (e.g., reduced tactile sensitivity) for humans. From these data, three main functions pertinent to the tactile sense were identified: Ingestive Behavior; Environmental Hazard Detection and Management; and Social Communication. These functions are reviewed in detail and future directions are discussed with focus on social psychology, non-verbal behavior and multisensory perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions (e.g., face mask wearing and social distancing) on individuals who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (D/HH). The study aimed to describe perceptions of challenges and valued resources to inform efforts to mitigate negative consequences of the pandemic. A survey was used to solicit information about the pandemic-related experiences of 108 individuals who are D/HH and/or parents or service providers of children who are D/HH. Questions elicited perceptions of pandemic related challenges, resources, and supports. Results demonstrated high percentages of respondents reported experiencing substantial impacts of face mask wearing on communication. Additionally, respondents reported negative consequences of social distancing on the way they connected with others. Findings point to the need for increased awareness of risks for impacts on communication and social well-being and consideration of additional supports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging research suggests that music and rhythm-based interventions offer promising avenues for facilitating functional outcomes for autistic individuals. Evidence suggests that many individuals with ASD have music processing and production abilities similar to those of neurotypical peers. These individual strengths in music processing and production may be used within music therapy with a competence-based treatment approach. We provide an updated perspective of how music and rhythm-based interventions promote sensory and motor regulation, and how rhythm and music may then impact motor, social, and communicative skills. We discuss how music can engage and motivate individuals, and can be used intentionally to promote skill acquisition through both structured and flexible therapeutic applications. Overall, we illustrate the potential of music and rhythm as valuable tools in addressing skill development in individuals on the autism spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social relationships have been and are the basis for achieving objectives of all kinds, whether altruistic or lucrative. Among the aspects that make up non-verbal communication are physical appearance in general, clothing, and, in particular, colour combinations. In this article, we analyse whether colour combinations can be established in individuals' clothing that maximise their chances of success for a specifically established social objective. To measure this objective, we use multivalent logics, which are characterised by their great flexibility and adaptability. Within the framework of fuzzy logic, we extract evaluations for various colours based on the judgements of experts, provided by recognised authors in the literature, and compare these with the results obtained in a survey conducted by the authors. For the purposes of contrast, we employ two instruments with accredited validity: Similarity by Direct Computation (SDC) and the Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS multicriteria method). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPurposeMethodsResultsConclusion\nIMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONResearch suggests that rates for autism may be higher in cerebral palsy than in the general population. For those with severe bilateral physical impairment (GMFCS level IV and V) and little or no speech, describing a profile of social communication skills has been difficult because there are currently no assessments for early social communication specifically tailored for these children. Our aim was to explore the assessment of aspects of joint attention and social reciprocity in this group of children with CP.We compared the performance of children with bilateral CP on carefully designed assessments of joint attention and social responsiveness with groups of children with Down syndrome and autism. All three groups were matched for chronological age and mental age.Approximately 30% of the children with bilateral CP had early social communication scores similar to the autistic children. The remaining 70% of children with CP had a range of early social communication scores similar to the children with Down syndrome.It is possible to assess key early social communication skills in non-speaking children with bilateral motor disability. This could provide insights to help clinicians and caregivers as they discuss abilities and explore potential areas for intervention.With carefully designed activities, which do not rely on motor skills or verbal exchanges, it was possible to assess joint attention and social responsiveness skills in a group of non-speaking children with bilateral motor disability.We were able to identify a subgroup of non-speaking children with severe motor disability (approximately 30% of our cohort) whose scores on our assessments were similar to a group of autistic children.The ability to describe key early social communication skills should provide insights to help clinicians and caregivers as they discuss abilities and explore potential areas for intervention.With carefully designed activities, which do not rely on motor skills or verbal exchanges, it was possible to assess joint attention and social responsiveness skills in a group of non-speaking children with bilateral motor disability.We were able to identify a subgroup of non-speaking children with severe motor disability (approximately 30% of our cohort) whose scores on our assessments were similar to a group of autistic children.The ability to describe key early social communication skills should provide insights to help clinicians and caregivers as they discuss abilities and explore potential areas for intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methods to effectively improve socio-emotional functioning by adolescents with developmental language disorders (DLD) are scarce. Current methods to improve socio-emotional functioning in adolescents with other neurobiological disorders seem less suitable, as these methods are highly language based. This study therefore examined the feasibility of the virtual reality (VR) training for socio-emotional skills: 'InterAction'. The aims of the present study were to (1) examine whether interactive VR is a feasible training method for adolescents with DLD; (2) investigate adolescents' appreciation of the VR training; (3) examine whether the virtual reality training facilitates the participants' sense of presence during social practice situations in an interactive digital world; and (4) explore whether adolescents socio-emotional skills improved during the six-session training. A sample of nine adolescents (13–16 years) with DLD reported on their presence in VR contexts and their appreciation toward the VR training. They also completed weekly self-reports on their socio-emotional functioning. Results indicated that 'InterAction' was a feasible method to practice socio-emotional functioning with adolescents with DLD. Adolescents highly appreciated the VR training. In addition, adolescents rated the sense of presence as high in the VR training. The individual trajectories showed that improvements in the trained skills varied both between and within participants. The results were also not uniform between the specific skills trained. The findings suggest that interactive virtual reality training may be a promising tool for improving socio-emotional functioning in adolescents with DLD. Future studies should examine the positive indications of this study in a larger sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explores the role of the Eye to I© intervention model in facilitating advancement through social stages of play in which skills contribute to the quality of social interaction and communication in children with autism. Data were collected on 11 participants, ages of 2–6 years, formally diagnosed with autism, receiving Eye to I© Social Communication therapy at Potentials Therapy Center, New Delhi, India. Eye to I© is developed in-house at Potentials and is further discussed in the paper. All participants attended a form of group intervention. A mixed-method design included quantitative measures administered pre and post intervention (Communication DEALL Developmental Checklist, Communication Matrix) and video coding of Social Communication sessions. Qualitative measures were semi-structured parent interviews conducted at the end of intervention. Thematic analysis and quantitative statistical analysis results show that by the end of the Eye to I© intervention period children engaged in social stages of play of greater developmental complexity and showed increased scores in assessments of social skills as well as generalization of skills. This suggests that skill acquisition necessary to directly support two diagnostic criteria areas of autism as per DSM-V; i.e., communication and social interaction occurred during the period of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although today media and communication studies across Latin America are closely linked to critical sociology, this was not always the case. In this article, we explore how the interaction between social communication (which includes communication and media studies) and critical sociology, in the Latin American context, evolved over time. In so doing, we examine how, and in which directions, media theory has developed and how it relates profoundly with critical sociology. This piece is an attempt to summarize this process and look at current contributions that propose more inclusive and participatory media. The key argument that it took a long time for Latin America's media studies to link itself with critical sociology but once that happened, it produced a distinctive school of thought that is counter-hegemonic and directs itself towards the contestation of power and oppression by linking itself with the popular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was carried out to determine the chemistry of the preputial gland (PG) of mature male black rats and its role in sexual and social communication. 50% PG extracts from male rats of different age groups were prepared using n-hexane and dichloromethane and tested against black rats of different age groups and sexes. Results revealed that mature females were highly attracted towards and mature males were highly repelled from preputial gland extract of mature male rats for five and two days, respectively. Comparison of gas chromatography linked mass spectrometry analysis of fresh and eight days old PG extract revealed that 13 pheromonal compounds (.+/-.)-.alpha.-tocopherol acetate; acetophenone; undecane; dodecane; tridecane; tetradecane; heneicosane; docosane; squalene; cholesterol; octadecanal; palmitic acid; stigmastan-3,5-diene) were exclusively present in fresh extract but absent in eight days old preputial gland extract. These 13 compounds are already reported to have role in sexual and social communication in other mammals, insects and reptiles. They might be used by mature male rats for sexual and social communication. In the future, these identified compounds can be used in fixed proportions individually and in various combinations after testing their efficacy to develop a stable lure to increase the trappability and acceptability of antifertility agents and rodenticide-based baits for the management of black rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that infant‐directed speech (IDS) plays a key role in language development. Previous research, however, has also identified significant variability across societies in terms of how often IDS occurs. For example, some studies report very little IDS in non‐western, small‐scale societies – including children growing up in small‐scale societies in Tanna, Vanuatu. This is surprising given that IDS is widely assumed as a common feature of human caregiving based on research conducted in urbanised populations which are more well‐studied. Here, we propose that IDS is only one of a suite of important caregiving behaviours that are produced during interactions with infants, which may vary by culture, perhaps being replaced by other, non‐verbal infant‐directed behaviours (IDB). We will examine previously collected data consisting of 94 semi‐structured 10‐min video observations of caregivers and their 18–24 month‐old children in rural Tanna, Vanuatu and urban Vancouver, Canada to identify and compare the proportion of time caregivers spend engaging in IDS and IDB during these interactions, both within and between societies. We define IDS as caregiver speech or vocalisations during the interaction with the infant, and we define IDB as non‐verbal behaviours that are produced with the infant during the interaction. This study aims to take a step towards a more generalised understanding of language development in children, moving beyond the urban and western societies in which our understanding of development is currently based, and the predicted results will aid in recognising different developmental pathways within multi‐cultural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research aims at identifying:What is the level of social impact on the value system among university students.Identifying the differences in the influence of social networking sites on the value system according to:(A) sex (males-females). (B) Field of specialization (scientific-humanistic).The Research sample consists of (200) male and female students who are divided into (100) male students and (100) female students. (Al-zayoun, Mulhim and Al-Wamleh scale, 2017) has been adopted as an instrument of the research paper, the information has been by means of applying the instrument the psychometine characteristics of the instrument represented by validity and reliability have been verified and after processing the date statistically the researcher has come out of the following findings:The level of the social impact on the value system among university students was of high level.There are statistical significant difference according to sex for the benefit of male students.3. There are statistical significant difference according to field of specialization for the benefit of humanistic stream.

A study conducted in 20 districts of East Java Province revealed that open defecation in communities near water bodies was difficult to intervene in due to a lack of motivation to change. Using a constructivist perspective, this study investigated the views and experiences of individuals with open defecation habits in a riverside village to uncover the underlying reasons for their habits. To gather data, 15 riverside inhabitants who have been defecating in the river since childhood were interviewed, and field observations were conducted. The data were analysed using the Miles & Huberman model for the thematic analysis. The findings revealed that open defecation behaviour among riverside inhabitants was difficult to intervene in because it was associated with (1) social communication experiences; (2) socio-cultural factors; (3) individual attitudes; (4) economic constraints and household size; and (5) the physical environment. This study recommends tailoring sanitation promotion to community conditions and needs, involving community and religious leaders, and encouraging policymakers to protect rivers from industrial activity to improve behaviour change. HIGHLIGHTS Views and experiences of individuals with open defecation (OD) reveal fundamental causes of OD issues.; To enhance latrine adoption and utilisation, it is imperative to consider the fundamental causes of OD when devising a sanitation promotion strategy.; Few studies have examined OD habits from an individual perspective, although it is useful for designing a tailored sanitation promotion strategy.;

Introduction. Transdisciplinarity as a fundamental characteristic of hybrid informal knowledge specific to a digital society can be explicated in the problematic field of social philosophy. Theoretical analysis. The main categorical explication of transdisciplinarity is the comparison of the concepts of an exchange zone and socio-epistemic arenas. The first is defined by the categorical series of the philosophy of science, the second is a socio-philosophical construct. A comparative analysis allows us to conclude that the exchange zones initially reflect the inter-institutional status of communication, dating back to P. Galison, and initially the leading role in it belongs to a humanitarian specialist who acts as a mediator. In socio-epistemic arenas, more importance is given to media and ordinary people, who coincide in a digital society with the widest possible range of users. A compromise position can be formulated when referring to the model of trans-epistemic cultures of K. Knorr-Cetina. Conclusion. Transdisciplinarity as a special digital zone producing trans-epistemic cultures has features of both an exchange zone and a socio-epistemic arena. Its hybrid characteristics are determined by the structure of a digital society in which institutional boundaries are permeable, horizontal interaction accompanies and strengthens vertical interaction, and networks are mechanisms for the distribution of knowledge by default.

Introduction. Transdisciplinarity can be reinterpreted from a scientific and philosophical category to a socio-philosophical one by referring to the theoretical constructions of social consensus. In this case, its general social functions are emphasized, which are the social and communication effect of transdisciplinary interactions between science and society. Theoretical analysis. The socio-philosophical analysis of transdisciplinarity is formed in the field of categories of sociality, time, object, truth and values. They are revealed in the autopoietic analysis of the society made by N. Luhmann, which continues the Weberian traditions in relation to the study of scientific rationality. Linking the logical, axiological and social plans of the formation of truth into a single whole in the dialogue between science and society is actualized in the real context of social time. The growth of scientific specialization, which breaks the unified image of science, determines the axiologization and ethicization of scientific knowledge. Transdisciplinarity, based on the social recognition of specific scientific knowledge in everyday life, becomes a tool for gathering disparate academic groups into a symbolic social subject of science. Conclusion. Transdisciplinary science as a hybrid social subject is capable of autonomous communicative behavior, which allows it to act as an agent of policy related to the application of scientific knowledge and thereby legitimize its claims to social authority.

Se analiza la productividad de los autores que publicaron artículos en la revista Contratexto, desde 1985 hasta 2022, se busca identificar a los autores más productivos y aquellos que constituyen el núcleo de autores productores. Para ello, se construyó una base de datos bibliográfica dedicada a la revista en el gestor de referencias Endnote X9; posteriormente, los datos fueron exportados a Excel y trabajados con los paquetes nls2 y proto del Proyecto R. La productividad de los autores fue medida con la Ley de Lotka mediante el modelo del poder inverso generalizado, en el análisis de los datos se consideraron las tres formas de conteo: directo, completo y fraccionado. Para medir el ajuste de los datos observados a la distribución de Lotka para cada una de las formas de conteo se usaron la prueba chi-cuadrado y Kolmogorov-Smirnov. Se encontró que el modelo del poder inverso generalizado para las tres formas de conteo se ajusta a la distribución de Lotka. Se encontró también una alta concentración de autores con un solo artículo publicado en la revista en sus 38 años de existencia, los autores más productivos en el periodo de estudio en su mayoría están vinculados a la universidad que edita la revista = The productivity of the authors who published articles in the journal Contratexto, from 1985 to 2022, was analyzed to identify the most productive authors and those who constitute the core of producing authors. For this purpose, a bibliographic database dedicated to the journal was built in the Endnote X9 reference manager; subsequently, the data were exported to Excel and processed in Project R. The productivity of the authors was measured with Lotka’s Law using the generalized inverse power model; the three forms of counting were considered in the analysis of the data: direct, complete, and fractional. The chi-square test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test were used to measure the fit of the observed data to the Lotka distribution for each of the counting methods. The generalized inverse power model for the three counting forms was found to fit Lotka’s distribution. A high concentration of authors with only one article published in the journal in its 38 years of existence was also found; the most productive authors in the studied period are mostly linked to the university that publishes the journal.

Abstract One of the less recognized effects of anxiety lies in perception alterations caused by how one weighs both sensory evidence and contextual cues. Here, we investigated how anxiety affects our ability to use social cues to anticipate the others’ actions. We adapted a paradigm to assess expectations in social scenarios, whereby participants were asked to identify the presence of agents therein, while supported by contextual cues from another agent. Participants (N = 66) underwent this task under safe and threat-of-shock conditions. We extracted both criterion and sensitivity measures as well as gaze data. Our analysis showed that whilst the type of action had the expected effect, threat-of-shock had no effect over criterion and sensitivity. Although showing similar dwell times, gaze exploration of the contextual cue was associated with shorter fixation durations whilst participants were under threat. Our findings suggest that anxiety does not appear to influence the use of expectations in social scenarios.

Abstract Background A number of children experience difficulties with social communication and this has long-term deleterious effects on their mental health, social development and education. The E-PLAYS-2 study will test an intervention (‘E-PLAYS’) aimed at supporting such children. E-PLAYS uses a dyadic computer game to develop collaborative and communication skills. Preliminary studies by the authors show that E-PLAYS can produce improvements in children with social communication difficulties on communication test scores and observed collaborative behaviours. The study described here is a definitive trial to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of E-PLAYS delivered by teaching assistants in schools. Methods The aim of the E-PLAYS-2 trial is to establish the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of care as usual plus the E-PLAYS programme, delivered in primary schools, compared to care as usual. Cluster-randomisation will take place at school level to avoid contamination. The E-PLAYS intervention will be delivered by schools’ teaching assistants. Teachers will select suitable children (ages 5–7 years old) from their schools using guidelines provided by the research team. Assessments will include blinded language measures and observations (conducted by the research team), non-blinded teacher-reported measures of peer relations and classroom behaviour and parent-reported use of resources and quality of life. A process evaluation will also include interviews with parents, children and teaching assistants, observations of intervention delivery and a survey of care as usual. The primary analysis will compare pragmatic language scores for children who received the E-PLAYS intervention versus those who did not at 40 weeks post-randomisation. Secondary analyses will assess cost-effectiveness and a mixed methods process evaluation will provide richer data on the delivery of E-PLAYS. Discussion The aim of this study is to undertake a final, definitive test of the effectiveness of E-PLAYS when delivered by teaching assistants within schools. The use of technology in game form is a novel approach in an area where there are currently few available interventions. Should E-PLAYS prove to be effective at the end of this trial, we believe it is likely to be welcomed by schools, parents and children. Trial registration ISRCTN 17561417, registration date 19th December 2022. Protocol version: v1.1 19th June 2023.

ObjectiveMethodResultsConclusionFollowing traumatic brain injury (TBI), deficits in social cognition are common. Social inferencing is a crucial component of social cognition that enables an individual to understand the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of a communication partner when this information is not explicitly stated. Existing literature suggests a variety of factors contribute to social inferencing success (e.g. biological sex, executive functioning), yet findings are not conclusive, largely because these factors have been examined in isolation.In this cross-sectional study, stepwise regression with cross validation was used to examine the extent that several theoretically motivated factors were associated with social inferencing (measured by performance on The Awareness of Social Inference Test [TASIT]) in adult participants with TBI (n = 105). Demographic information, executive functioning, aggression, emotional functioning measures, and participation in society were all examined in relation to social inferencing performance.The findings confirm the importance of higher-level cognitive skills (i.e. executive functioning) in social inferencing, and advance the literature by underlining the potential importance of productive participation in social inferencing performance.This study innovatively highlights factors linked with social inferencing skills and, in doing so, how deficits in social inferencing might manifest in the lives of individuals with TBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, an increasing number of Chinese urban citizens are participating in daily physical exercise. Existing research has shown that physical exercise can increase life satisfaction. However, some studies also suggest that the relationship between the two is unstable. The purposes of this study are to examine physical exercise and to test its correlation with life satisfaction of urban residents in China. Data are obtained from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies, and we focus on urban residents. Our overall sample size is 7423 people, including 3641 females (49.05%) and 3782 males (50.95%), with an average age of 49.55 years old. Because the dependent variables are continuous variables, the multiple linear regression model is used for data analysis. We find that the life satisfaction of Chinese urban residents is on the high side. Our core discovery is that there is a significant positive relationship between the frequency and duration of physical exercise and life satisfaction. Our further discovery is that the frequency of physical exercise affects life satisfaction by influencing popularity and positive emotions. Similarly, the duration of physical exercise affects life satisfaction by influencing popularity and positive emotions. Whether it is the frequency or the duration of physical exercise, it can reflect the residents' attention to physical exercise. Physical exercise habits not only promote physical health by strengthening physical fitness but also promote mental health by alleviating depression and promote social communication by increasing social activities in the Chinese context. All of these can improve people's life satisfaction. Our research suggests that the improvement in life satisfaction not only needs the abundance of external material conditions but also needs the individual to improve their physical and mental health through physical exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Younger siblings of autistic children are at a high likelihood (HL) of autism, language, and/or cognitive delays. Vocal complexity, a continuous measure of the developmental maturity of vocal communication, is facilitated by parent-child interaction and predicts language outcomes. This study examined whether parents' intervention fidelity to Project ImPACT, a 12-week, parent-mediated, naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention (NDBI), mediated the effect of Project ImPACT on parents' verbal responsiveness (post-intervention) and children's vocal complexity (3 months post-intervention). Participants were 54 12- to 24-month-old HL child-parent dyads who received 12 weeks of Project ImPACT (n = 28) or business-as-usual (n = 26). Project ImPACT indirectly improved both parents' verbal responsiveness and children's vocal complexity by improving parents' use of the intervention techniques. The efficacy of Project ImPACT in supporting early social communication might be attributed to how Project ImPACT helps parents improve the quality and frequency of their use of the intervention strategies across children's everyday settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The productivity of the authors who published articles in the journal Contratexto, from 1985 to 2022, was analyzed to identify the most productive authors and those who constitute the core of producing authors. For this purpose, a bibliographic database dedicated to the journal was built in the Endnote X9 reference manager; subsequently, the data were exported to Excel and processed in Project R. The productivity of the authors was measured with Lotka's Law using the generalized inverse power model; the three forms of counting were considered in the analysis of the data: direct, complete, and fractional. The chi-square test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test were used to measure the fit of the observed data to the Lotka distribution for each of the counting methods. The generalized inverse power model for the three counting forms was found to fit Lotka's distribution. A high concentration of authors with only one article published in the journal in its 38 years of existence was also found; the most productive authors in the studied period are mostly linked to the university that publishes the journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is significantly known as social interaction impairment that can be reduced through early school-age intervention. The quasi-experimental research design was used to examine the effect of applied behavior analysis treatment on ASD children's interpersonal skills. The researchers used a purposive sampling technique to select 30 participants who have symptoms of ASD, which were divided into two groups (control and experimental) without gender discrimination. The assessment of basic language and learning skills (ABLLS-R) protocol and portage guide of early education was used to develop a questionnaire comprising four factors. The results indicate a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of students' interpersonal skills and the pretest and post-test scores of the experimental group. It is suggested that parents and therapists should develop a sharing ability among children with autism symptoms so they can understand social reinforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence suggests core autism trait consistency in older children, but development of these traits is variable in early childhood. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) measures autism‐related traits and broader autism phenotype, with two age‐dependent forms in childhood (preschool, 2.5–4.5 years; school age, 4–18 years). Score consistency has been observed within forms, though reliability across forms has not been evaluated. Using data from the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program (n = 853), preschool, and school‐age SRS scores were collected via maternal report when children were an average of 3.0 and 5.8 years, respectively. We compared reproducibility of SRS total scores (T‐scores) and agreement above a clinically meaningful cutoff (T‐scores ≥ 60) and examined predictors of discordance in cutoff scores across forms. Participant scores across forms were similar (mean difference: 3.3 points; standard deviation: 7), though preschool scores were on average lower than school‐age scores. Most children (88%) were classified below the cutoff on both forms, and overall concordance was high (92%). However, discordance was higher in cohorts following younger siblings of autistic children (16%). Proportions of children with an autism diagnoses were also higher among those with discordant scores (27%) than among those with concordant scores (4%). Our findings indicate SRS scores are broadly reproducible across preschool and school‐age forms, particularly for capturing broader, nonclinical traits, but also suggest that greater variability of autism‐related traits in preschool‐age children may reduce reliability with later school‐age scores for those in the clinical range. Lay Summary: The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) is a questionnaire used to measure traits and behaviors related to autism. Two SRS forms exist for children, the preschool form for younger children (2.5–4.5 years) and the school‐age form for older children (4–18 years). We found that SRS scores are fairly similar within individuals across these forms, but also that traits may unfold over time among those with neurodevelopmental diagnoses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's societies, technology occupies a central position in different social spheres. In educational environments, robotics can act as an assistive tool for students with disabilities. More specifically, this tool helps autistic students in the development of attention, which is the fundamental skill in the cognitive and social development of the child, in activities in social contexts that are less stressful than human-human interaction. In this line, the aim of the study is to explore the application of robotics to favour communication and social interaction of autistic students, analysing attention. To this end, a pilot study was designed with the NAO robot in which four autistic students carried out activities related to imitation, play and social interaction. For data collection, the field notebook and an automatic system based on neural networks were used to calculate the child's attention during the activity. The results show that 75% of the subjects focus their attention on the robot during the interaction. Therefore, it is concluded that the robot acts as an activator of attention and social interaction in the tasks developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background and Objectives: This review aims to identify the latest literature on the possible effect of bilingualism on the linguistic skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) residing in Greece. (2) Materials and Methods: The literature was searched in the databases of Scopus and PubMed by selecting articles and by reviewing four studies published in peer-reviewed journals. This Scoping Review is based on the standards of PRISMA recommendations for scoping reviews, while the PCC framework was used as a guide to construct clear and meaningful objectives and eligibility criteria. (3) Results: The publications included in the review addressed a variety of language-related skills, including morphology, the syntax–pragmatics interface, narrative ability, as well as both receptive and expressive language skills. (4) Conclusions: Three out of four studies provide evidence that bilingual ASD children are not disadvantaged compared to monolingual peers but rather enjoy some benefits, to a certain extent, due to bilingualism. However, the number of the reviewed studies as well as the limitations of the studies themselves render this conclusion tentative. Additionally, the findings set guidelines that speech therapists, educators, psychologists, and doctors in the Greek context need to follow when treating or educating bilingual children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to compare the effectiveness of emerging animated video modelling (VM) and the most widely used adult VM in teaching social-communication skills to 3-year-olds with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in China. A single-case experimental design was used, with data analysed by using visual analysis and an effect size measure, namely, the baseline corrected Tau (Tau-BC). Three 3-year-old preschoolers participated in this study. Each preschooler’s social-communication behaviours across the baseline, intervention, withdrawal, and maintenance conditions were recorded and analysed. Results showed that all three VM effectively improved preschoolers’ social-communication behaviours; preschoolers’ improvement in overall social communication and scripted social communication was greater in response to animated VM than adult VM; two of the three preschoolers’ improvement in unscripted social communication was greater in response to animated VM than adult VM. Mixed VM led to the greatest improvement in all three social-communication behaviours for two of the three preschoolers. The preliminary findings extended previous findings by demonstrating for the first time that animated VM was more effective than adult VM, and mixed VM was more effective than animated VM or adult VM alone for two of the three preschoolers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the less recognized effects of anxiety lies in perception alterations caused by how one weighs both sensory evidence and contextual cues. Here, we investigated how anxiety affects our ability to use social cues to anticipate the others’ actions. We adapted a paradigm to assess expectations in social scenarios, whereby participants were asked to identify the presence of agents therein, while supported by contextual cues from another agent. Participants (N = 66) underwent this task under safe and threat-of-shock conditions. We extracted both criterion and sensitivity measures as well as gaze data. Our analysis showed that whilst the type of action had the expected effect, threat-of-shock had no effect over criterion and sensitivity. Although showing similar dwell times, gaze exploration of the contextual cue was associated with shorter fixation durations whilst participants were under threat. Our findings suggest that anxiety does not appear to influence the use of expectations in social scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Honey bees communicate flight navigational information of profitable food to nestmates via their dance, a small-scale walking pattern, inside the nest. Hungry flies and honey bee foragers exhibit a sugar-elicited search involving path integration that bears a resemblance to dance behaviour. This study aimed to investigate the temporal dynamics of the initiation of sugar-elicited search and dance behaviour, using a comparative approach. Passive displacement experiments showed that feeding and the initiation of search could be spatially and temporally dissociated. Sugar intake increased the probability of initiating a search but the actual onset of walking triggers the path integration system to guide the search. When prevented from walking after feeding, flies and bees maintained their motivation for a path integration-based search for a duration of 3 min. In flies, turning and associated characters were significantly reduced during this period but remained higher than in flies without sugar stimulus. These results suggest that sugar elicits two independent behavioural responses: path integration and increased turning, with the initiation and duration of path integration system being temporally restricted. Honey bee dance experiments demonstrated that the motivation of foragers to initiate dance persisted for 15 min, while the number of circuits declined after 3 min following sugar ingestion. Based on these findings, we propose that food intake during foraging increases the probability to initiate locomotor behaviours involving the path integration system in both flies and honey bees, and this ancestral connection might have been co-opted and elaborated during the evolution of dance communication by honey bees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to repair breakdowns in communication is a critical pragmatic language skill. To date however, studies of repairs have been conducted with mothers or examiners. Little is known about repairs children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) use in interactions with fathers. Expanding our understanding of communication repairs used with fathers, and how these compare with mothers, may have clinical implications for improving social communication skills for children with ASD. This descriptive study investigated communication breakdowns and repairs of 16 children with ASD and fathers and mothers, during unscripted 15-min parent-child play sessions. Analysis of breakdowns and repairs was compared across parent gender. Findings provide early evidence of differences in breakdowns experienced and communication repairs used by children with ASD in interactions with their mothers and fathers. In parent-child free-play interactions, children with ASD had significantly fewer initiations, more breakdowns, and lower rates of repairs, with fathers than with mothers. Results suggest that including fathers in parent coaching aimed at increasing initiations, reducing breakdowns, and enhancing repair strategies may be a valuable component of parent-implemented social communication interventions for children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to investigate the environmental factors such as supports and barriers that have been faced by those children with SLD between the before and after COVID-19 lockdown and their involvement, participation frequency and desire for change. The participation features as well as the environmental factors at home, school and community settings of these children (n: 61; mean age: 9.37 ± 1.50 year)during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown were assessed by using the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth (PEM-CY) instrument via Internet access. The differences in participation frequency, involvement, desire for change, and environmental factors (supports and barriers) for school and community settings between the pre and post COVID-19 pandemic lockdown were found to be p < 0.01. There were no statistical differences at home settings in terms of participation frequency and supports (p > 0.05). This study provides information about the participation levels of children with special needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and the environmental factors faced by these children. The results are expected to contribute to the rehabilitation program that may improve the participation levels of children with special needs, and determine where greater efforts are needed to support so as to raise their participation levels and improve environmental features after the quarantine process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited special education and related services are available for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Macau, especially those who are educated in general education classrooms. No intervention study has been conducted on these children. This study was conducted to explore the relationship between a board game play intervention and board game play behaviors and social communication of children with ASD educated in general education classrooms in Macau. A repeated measures design was used and the results of this study showed the mean occurrence of unprompted board game play behaviors per session during intervention was not significantly different from that during pre- or post-intervention. The mean occurrence of social communication per session during intervention was significantly higher than that during pre- and post-intervention. These findings suggest a positive relationship existed between the board game intervention used in this study and social communication of children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotion regulation (ER) refers to the ability to regulate emotional reactions in response to stimuli. Social communication involves the knowledge and skills to engage in social interactions. Both processes develop in the first years of life and form the foundation for later functioning. Literature suggests a bidirectional relationship between ER and social communication; however, the majority of research examines these constructs independently. This review provides an in‐depth examination of research that has measured the relations between ER and social communication in children from 2 years of age and onwards. Findings revealed an age‐related pattern, where ER was related to later social communication and vice versa. However, there was no consensus regarding direct relationship(s) between ER and social communication due to heterogeneity among studies when defining and measuring these constructs. This review illustrates the importance of understanding the pathways between ER and social communication and may inform future studies, both in typical and atypical development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving social communication is a frequent goal of early autism services. However, it is unclear whether existing models of social communication align with the perspectives and priorities of key stakeholders, including parents, teachers, and expert clinicians. Stakeholder perspectives on social communication characteristics and priorities for young autistic children were gathered during seven focus groups. Participants included parents (three groups; n = 21), teachers (two groups; n = 8), and experts in early social communication and autism (two groups; n = 14). Content analysis procedures were used to develop and refine a codebook for themes and sub-themes that emerged from the focus group data and to code this data. Qualitative data analysis revealed several themes consistent with existing models of social communication in autism (expressive and receptive communication; social interaction), as well as novel themes related to unconventional communication, the impact of context on social communication, and the role of emotion regulation in social communication. Overall, participants expressed that adequately capturing autistic children's social communication skills was challenging because autistic social communication is influenced greatly by a number of contextual, relational, motivational, and regulatory factors. These findings provide valuable insight for aligning social communication measurement and support with stakeholder priorities. Improving social communication is often one goal during early autism services. However, researchers do not yet know whether their ideas about which social communication skills should be targeted during services for young autistic children are the same as the goals of autism community members, such as parents, teachers, and expert clinicians. This study used focus groups (meetings of small groups of community members) to ask people from these groups about what aspects of social communication are most important to support in young autistic children. A total of 43 people participated in these focus groups. These groups included parents (three groups; 21 people), teachers (two groups; 8 people), and experts in early social communication and autism (two groups; 14 people). Focus group participants talked about several aspects of social communication that were already familiar to the research team, such as problems with expressive communication, language understanding, and social interaction. However, participants also talked about several parts of social communication that were less familiar to the research team and had usually not been mentioned in previous research. These included (1) considering the value of unusual forms of communication, (2) taking context and setting into account when considering social communication, and (3) how communication and emotion regulation impact one another. The information from these focus groups will be helpful to making sure that researchers and clinicians focus their social communication supports on areas that are most important to parents and teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Aims Methods and Procedures Outcomes and Results Conclusions and Implications WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS What is already known on this subject What this paper adds to existing knowledge What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Assessment tools that assess pragmatic skills in adults with a mild‐severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) are hard to access, not person‐centred and have a high risk of clinician bias. The Pragmatics Profile is an informant report tool that was originally designed to assess pragmatic skills in people with a developmental disability.The aim of this study was to seek consensus from a panel of experts and create a version of the Pragmatics Profile for the TBI population.A three‐round modified Delphi methodology panel of 13 experts were invited to comment anonymously on the suitability of each question from the Pragmatics Profile modified for those with TBI until ≥ 80% agreement was reached.The Pragmatics Profile (TBI) included 66 questions that achieved consensus after three rounds of the Delphi panel. Qualitative analysis illuminated themes relating to adults with TBI and the need to include contextual factors.The outcome of this project was a revised version of the Pragmatics Profile which is suitable for adults with a mild‐severe TBI, informed by experts and freely available online. Future research exploring the tool's utility and acceptability is the next step in its evaluation. Assessment of the everyday functional use of language is challenging but vital. This is particularly true for those who have traumatic brain injury (TBI) where the communication outcomes can be highly variable and may include difficulties with conversational turn‐taking, topic maintenance and reading social cues. There are limited tools available to clinicians and those tend to be rating scales or checklists which have a high risk of clinician bias. Available tools have a limited ability to capture the individual's personal social communication goals. This study created an online Pragmatics Profile (PP) for TBI based on experts’ opinions. This paper details the themes that emerged during the process of revising the PP for those with TBI. The PP‐TBI adds to the toolkit for speech and language therapists working with people with TBI. It meets recent recommendations in the literature to create an interview‐based tool. The versatility of an online tool combined with revised input from a panel of experts increases the likelihood that clinicians will utilise this tool. Given the long‐term use of the original PP by clinicians for almost 30 years and a focus on personalised care, the format and approach are also likely to be acceptable to clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social turn taking, a preverbal social communication competency often difficult for young children with autism, may be foundational to joint attention when included as a component of interventions for children with autism. In this study, social turn-taking was promoted through a parent mediated learning approach to intervention in a telehealth setting. Following a mixed-methods design, the present study explored the results of this new intervention model for a toddler with autism. The study also sought to understand any changes in the parent-child relationship because of the intervention. Findings indicate that the intervention supported the child's social communication competencies, including social turn-taking, joint attention, and facial focusing. Qualitative data revealed improvements in the parent-child relationship. These preliminary results lend support for promoting social turn-taking in interventions for children with autism, as well as for following developmental, parent-driven approaches to intervention. Studies with larger sample sizes are needed to understand these findings further. Implications for practice and research in early intervention are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the first special issue dedicated to the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the media and in communication –Use of Artificial Intelligence in Communication: Ethical Implications for Media. We describe the general traits of the impact of AI on media and communication companies and identify the main dimensions of interest for both researchers and professionals in the field. We show that this impact extends beyond the delivery of gains in efficiency and productivity and stress the key role to be played by ethical issues and transparency, especially with the emergence of generative AI, a modality with the capacity to transform the productive model in communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this article is to investigate the capacity of studying contemporary social history based on archival documents of social communication. The issue that is evaluated based on an obvious principle in this article is related to the concept of communication. Since the social life of a human gets its meaning in the interactions and communication with others, can it be said that the conceptual study and thematic analysis of issues related to social communication will lead to the unraveling of all the hidden aspects of social history? Therefore, the main premise of the article is a temporary answer to such a question. From this point of view, it seems that the study of documents related to social communication will, to some extent, lead to the understanding of the state of social history. Methods: For this target, we tested the proposed hypothesis in a sample. Since Abadan was one of the pioneers of the social transformation of contemporary Iran due to industrial developments and the use of modern civilizational components, it creates an appropriate model for measuring the capacity of this research experiment, in the study of these developments and methodological extension to other places. In order to check the aforementioned hypothesis, first, common communication concepts were extracted from a number of international communication encyclopedias. In the next step, the number of 6128 archival documents related to the issues of Abadan city was obtained by searching in the "RASA" software of the National Library and Archives Organization through the "Abadan" descriptor, and through several stages, communication documents were purified and studied in parallel with the study of social history. Results: The results showed that among the examined documents, 238 documents have standard communication content and are in accordance with international encyclopedias. In other words, the results obtained from the point of view of communication professors generally show that the study of archival documents of social communication is effective in clarifying more than half (54.71%) of the issues related to social history, which is the optimal capacity of archival documents with a communication theme for the study of social history. Conclusions: despite the fact that the problem of society is equal to communication, these types of documents alone do not have the full capacity to analyze and measure social history. It can also be added that the issue of communication as a variable in the analysis of the state of social history has received less attention from researchers in related fields such as communication science, history, sociology, and interdisciplinary topics corresponding to the topic. Therefore, examining this issue in a methodological approach is a new thing. From a theoretical point of view, the use of archival documents as one of the reliable historical sources, within the framework of historicism and the Annales school, has a relatively strong support. This school's emphasis on micro-narratives that intersect with official narratives, as well as attention to the necessity of understanding the state of society in connection with other fields of study such as social sciences and the like, naturally adds to the validity of using archival documents. On the other hand, paying attention to the views of Benjamins and Knoblauch, who state that communication has the ability to include all domains of society's actions, or Habermas's philosophy-oriented views, which emphasize the praxis project such as communication action and the evolution of the human species from both social-historical and technological perspectives. has emphasized the importance of understanding communication in order to understand and identify aspects of social issues, including social history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children is characterized by difficulties in social communication and restricted repetitive behavior patterns. Music therapy appears to have beneficial effects in the area of social interaction and communication. The aim of this systematic literature review is to investigate the effectiveness of music therapy programs on the development of social communication among preschool- and school-aged children with ASD. For this purpose, a detailed study of the relevant literature that has been published in the last decade in peer-reviewed scientific journals was conducted. Web of Science, Springer Link, PsyINFO, and ERIC databases were searched, and according to the eligibility and exclusion criteria, 12 studies were finally selected from the 167 initially found. From the analysis of the results, the following categories were defined to contribute to enhancing social communication: (a) improvisational music therapy; (b) joint attention and eye contact; (c) therapeutic relationship, synchronization, and attunement; (d) imitation; (e) understanding and interaction; (f) family-centered music therapy; and (g) language and socioemotional adjustment. The results of the review were mixed, as music therapy appeared to have a positive effect on improving the social communication of children with ASD, but a general conclusion could not be drawn about the degree of its effectiveness compared to the standard treatments that children usually receive. In the future, further research in this field, especially on the improvisational music Therapy technique, is recommended. Moreover, an increased focus on the development of a common methodological practice regarding the sample selection process and measurement tools is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging research suggests that music and rhythm-based interventions offer promising avenues for facilitating functional outcomes for autistic individuals. Evidence suggests that many individuals with ASD have music processing and production abilities similar to those of neurotypical peers. These individual strengths in music processing and production may be used within music therapy with a competence-based treatment approach. We provide an updated perspective of how music and rhythm-based interventions promote sensory and motor regulation, and how rhythm and music may then impact motor, social, and communicative skills. We discuss how music can engage and motivate individuals, and can be used intentionally to promote skill acquisition through both structured and flexible therapeutic applications. Overall, we illustrate the potential of music and rhythm as valuable tools in addressing skill development in individuals on the autism spectrum.