Implications of Socialization Deficits
Many people believe that socialization deficits are related to—even rooted in—cognitive and communication deficits. Kanner (1943) attributed the characteristic social isolation of children with autism specifically to insufficient language skills. Furthermore, development of joint attention skills in infancy is thought to be an important prerequisite to cognitive and communication development in preschoolers. Perhaps most important is that higher-level skills in joint attention in very young children appear to be predictive of better language development later (Mundy, 2000; White et al., 2011). Thus, social skill deficits negatively affect future development in other crucial areas.
Social skills are important for successful functioning in nearly all aspects of life at home, school, and work, and fluency in social behavior can affect success in school, home, community, employment, and overall quality of life (Lovaas, 1987; McEvoy & Odom, 1987; Watkins et al., 2015). Even many daily living tasks that are not directly social activities require some degree of socialization: riding the bus, shopping for groceries, walking in the halls at school, interacting with fellow employees and supervisors, leisure activities, and so forth. The degree to which a child with autism exhibits social skills and social interest is an important predictor of successful functioning later in life (Hochman et al., 2015; Matson & Swiezy, 1994; Schopler & Mesibov, 1983; Watkins et al., 2015). Indeed, individuals who exhibit better social skills are more likely to be accepted in and benefit from integrated settings in school and the community, to live with a greater degree of independence, and to work in integrated settings.