Scholarly record

COMMUNICATION AS A FACTOR FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF SOCIAL COGNITION IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

M. Shoshev, V. Chosheva, Y. Georgiev, E. Leshtarova, A. Soykov

Abstract

Autistic Spectrum Disorders as a heterogeneous group of disorders in the dysogenogenesis are an object of interest in many specialties and interdisciplinary sciences. As far as the mental development disorders are examined by the psychology, the somatic and neurological disorders are a subject to pediatrics and child neurology, it seems that the problems of social cognition of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders remain in the background. Considering the fact that social work and social activities generally are one of the most dynamically developing in the modern society and in their foundations lays the provision of psychological help for people with straits, the inclusion of knowledge about communication with children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and knowledge of the mechanism of impact of communication with them represents a key factor for a correct approach in creating a social support for the children and also their parents. Of course, a good specialist in the field of social work must know well the main mechanisms of disorders of mental development in these children. As a subject of social psychology, social cognition (social knowledge) can be determined as a process of processing, storage and application of information about other people from the immediate surrounding and the respective social situation in which the person is located. Social knowledge is focused on the interaction processes with other people, it is, before all, a process of cognition which plays a crucial part in the building of thoughts, feelings and interaction with the surrounding people. The data from the neurodevelopmental and neurophysiological studies, conducted with children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders shows, that, in the area of the brain, which responds precisely to social knowledge, there are structural (morphological) or physiological changes. Communication as a process of cognitive process of information uses verbal and non-verbal methods for information transmission between interlocutors. The paper is an attempt to reveal the connection between the methods of communication with children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, as a part of the general therapeutic process and improvement of their social knowledge in general.

Publication details

Back to publication list