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“Social communication” has many definitions. I’ll present “declaratives” as our focus for studying social communication. After defining the concept, I’ll indicate why declaratives are so important, particularly in studying children with autism. Ironically, directly teaching declaratives may be difficult. However, I’ll present 4 studies (3 from our own lab and 1 from another lab) to support that interventions can facilitate declaratives, even in children with autism. I’ll present criterion by which we might distinguish teaching surface forms vs. helping children use the declarative function. I’ll suggest causal mechanisms by which treatment might facilitate declaratives. Finally, I’ll conclude with suggested treatments based on the pre-treatment level of declaratives in the children. Funding source: NIDCD. |
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