SELF-COMPETENCE AND EMOTIONAL UNDERSTANDING IN HIGH-FUNCTIONING CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

This study examined the relationships between perceived self-competenc e, intellectual ability, emotional understanding, and parent report of social adaptation in 18 nonretarded children with autism. Children wh o perceived themselves as less socially competent demonstrated stronge r intellectual capabilities, greater understanding of others' emotiona l experiences, and were better able to access their own emotional expe riences than were those who perceived themselves as more socially comp etent. According to their parents, children who reported less social c ompetence also displayed more socially adaptive behavior, and expresse d more interest and less sadness and fear than did those who reported greater social competence. Discussion focuses on potential effects of this heightened capacity for emotional understanding on self-esteem an d implications for intervention with highly intelligent persons with a utism.