Abstract
Children with autism show deficits in social referencing, joint attention, orienting to their names, and social smiling as early as the first year of life. The present study describes the development of the Social Orienting Continuum and Response Scale (SOC-RS), a quantitative scale assessing each of these behaviors during the course of video-recorded Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) sessions. The SOC-RS was shown to be reliable and valid, and when applied to a longitudinal sample of children studied at 2 and 4 years of age, was shown to be sensitive to decreased levels of social referencing, joint attention, orienting to name, and social smiling in autism. The implications of these findings and potential applications of the SOC-RS are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, K., Brown, G. G., & Grant, I. (1985). Analysis of covariance as a remedy for demographic mismatch of research subject groups: Some sobering simulations. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 7, 445–462. doi:10.1080/01688638508401276.
Adams, K., Brown, G. G., & Grant, I. (1992). Covariance is not the culprit: Adams, Brown, and grant reply. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 14, 983–985. doi:10.1080/01688639208402550.
Baird, G., Charman, T., Baron-Cohen, S., Cox, A., Swettenham, J., Wheelwright, S., et al. (2000). A screening instrument for autism at 18 months of age: A 6-year follow-up study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39(6), 694–702 doi:10.1097/00004583-200006000-00007
Baranek, G. T. (1999). Autism during infancy: A retrospective video analysis of sensory-motor and social behaviors at 9–12 months of age. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 213–224. doi:10.1023/A:1023080005650.
Berman, N. C., & Greenhouse, S. W. (1992). Adjusting for demographic covariates by analysis of covariance. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 14, 981–982. doi:10.1080/01688639208402549.
Bolte, S., & Poustka, F. (2002). The relation between general cognitive level and adaptive behavior domains in individuals with autism with and without co-morbid mental retardation. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 33, 165–172. doi:10.1023/A:1020734325815.
Carpenter, M., Nagell, K., & Tomasello, M. (1998). Social cognition, joint attention, and communicative competence from 9 to 15 months of age. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 63, 1–143. doi:10.2307/1166214.
Dawson, G., Meltzoff, A. N., Osterling, J., Rinaldi, J., & Brown, E. (1998). Children with autism fail to orient to naturally occurring social stimuli. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 28, 479–485. doi:10.1023/A:1026043926488.
Dawson, G., Toth, K., Abbott, R., Osterling, J., Munson, J., Estes, A., et al. (2004). Early social attention impairments in autism: Social orienting, joint attention, and attention to distress. Development and Psychopathology, 40, 271–283.
Dawson, G., Webb, S., Schellenberg, G. D., Dager, S., Friedman, S., Aylward, E., et al. (2002). Defining the broader phenotype of autism: Genetic, brain, and behavioral perspectives. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 581–611. doi:10.1017/S0954579402003103.
Dykens, E. M., Hodapp, R. M., Ort, S. I., & Leckman, J. F. (1993). Trajectory of adaptive behavior in males with fragile X syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 23, 135–145. doi:10.1007/BF01066423.
Klin, A., & Jones, W. (2008). Altered face scanning and impaired recognition of biological motion in a 15-month-old infant with autism. Developmental Science, 11(1), 40–46.
Kraijer, D. (2000). Review of adaptive behavior studies in mentally retarded persons with autism/pervasive developmental disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30, 39–47. doi:10.1023/A:1005460027636.
Landa, R., & Garrett-Mayer, L. (2006). Development in infants with autism spectrum disorders: A prospective study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Lord, C., Risi, S., Lambrecht, L., Cook, E. H., Jr, Leventhal, B. L., DiLavore, P. C., et al. (2000). The autism diagnostic observation schedule-generic: A standard measure of social and communication deficits associated with the spectrum of autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30, 205–223. doi:10.1023/A:1005592401947.
MacDonald, R., Anderson, J., Dube, W. V., Geckeler, A., Green, G., Holcomb, W., et al. (2006). Behavioral assessment of joint attention: A methodological report. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 27(2), 138–150. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2004.09.006.
Mullen, E. (1995). Mullen scales of early learning AGS edition. American Guidance Service, Inc, USA.
Mundy, P., Block, J., Delgado, C., Pomares, Y., Van Hecke, A. V., & Parlade, M. V. (2007). Individual differences and the development of joint attention in infancy. Child Development, 78, 938–954. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01042.x.
Mundy, P., Sigman, M., & Kasari, C. (1990). A longitudinal study of joint attention and language development in autistic children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 20(1), 115–128. doi:10.1007/BF02206861.
Mundy, P., & Willoughby, J. (1996). Nonverbal communication, joint attention, and early socioemotional development. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc: Hillsdale, NJ, England.
Nadig, A. S., Ozonoff, S., Young, G. S., Rozga, A., Sigman, M., & Rogers, S. J. (2007). A prospective study of response to name in infants at risk for autism. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 161, 378–383. doi:10.1001/archpedi.161.4.378.
Noldus Information Technology. (2003). The observer (Version 5.0) [Computer software]. Wageningen, The Netherlands: International Headquarters.
Osterling, J., & Dawson, G. (1994). Early recognition of children with autism: A study of first birthday home videotapes. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 247–257. doi:10.1007/BF02172225.
Osterling, J. A., Dawson, G., & Munson, J. A. (2002). Early recognition of 1-year-old infants with autism spectrum disorder versus mental retardation. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 239–251. doi:10.1017/S0954579402002031.
Perner, J., & Lang, B. (1999). Development of theory of mind and executive control. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3, 337–344. doi:10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01362-5.
Schultz, R. T. (2005). Developmental deficits in social perception in autism: The role of the amygdala and fusiform face area. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 23, 125–141. doi:10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2004.12.012.
Sparrow, S., Balla, D., & Cicchetti, D. V. (1984). The Vineland adaptive behavior scales (survey form). Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
Stone, W. L., Ousley, O. Y., Yoder, P. J., Hogan, K. L., & Hepburn, S. L. (1997). Nonverbal communication in two- and three-year-old children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.Special Issue: Preschool issues in autism, 27(6), 677–696.
Striano, T. (2001). From social expectations to social cognition in early infancy. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 65, 361–370. doi:10.1521/bumc.65.3.361.19854.
Volkmar, F. R., Sparrow, S. S., Goudreau, D., Cicchetti, D. V., Paul, R., & Cohen, D. J. (1987). Social deficits in autism: An operational approach using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26, 156–161. doi:10.1097/00004583-198703000-00005.
Watson, L. R., Baranek, G. T., Crais, E. R., Reznick, S. J., Dykstra, J., & Perryman, T. (2007). The first year inventory: Retrospective parent responses to a questionnaire designed to identify one-year-olds at risk for autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 49–61. doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0334-4.
Wiggins, L., Baio, J., & Rice, C. (2006). Examination of the time between first evaluation and first autism spectrum diagnosis in a population-based sample. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 27, S79–S87. doi:10.1097/00004703-200604002-00005.
Zwaigenbaum, L., Bryson, S., Rogers, T., Roberts, W., Brian, J., & Szatmari, P. (2005). Behavioral manifestations of autism in the first year of life. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 23(2), 143–152. doi:10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2004.05.001.
Acknowledgments
Research supported by NIH grants MH61696 (J Piven), HD03110 (J Piven). We would like to acknowledge Debra Childress for her assistance in critique of this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix A
Appendix A
Social Orienting Continuum and Response Scale Variable Definitions
Social referencing: Instances in which the child is observed looking directly at another person’s face. It must be clear that the child is looking at the person’s face and not another part of the body and not at a proximal object. Also, the child must fixate on the person’s face, rather than glancing past him/her.
Joint Attention Responding: Events in which the examiner, parent, or other individual attempt to direct the child’s attention to an object via establishing attention and shifting his or her gaze should be scored as Joint Attention Responding opportunity. If the child redirects his/her attention in the direction indicated by the person who initiated the bid, then they should be scored as having responded to joint attention.
Joint Attention Initiating: Events in which the child initiates a joint attention should be coded separately from Joint Attention Responding. In order for this behavior to be scored, the child must seek to get another individual to attend to an object or person of interest either by a shift in eye gaze or a distal point. The child must further reference the individual with whom they are interacting. Only responses that are “protodeclarative” in nature should be scored. “Protodeclarative” responses include those in which the primary goal of the interaction is to share attention or enjoyment or find out information about an object (e.g., pointing and asking, “What’s that?”). In contrast, “protoimperative” episodes are those in which the child includes another individual solely as a means to obtain an object.
Orienting to name: Events in which the child’s name is stated and at least a 1 second pause occurs in which the child’s response is observed by the person who called his/her name.
Social smiling: Any event in which the child shows a clear and appropriate smile that involves attention to the face of a social partner should be scored. Pretend emotions, as in the course of playing, also may be scored if clearly indicated, and appropriate to the context (i.e., not stereotypic or inconsistent with the context).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mosconi, M.W., Steven Reznick, J., Mesibov, G. et al. The Social Orienting Continuum and Response Scale (SOC-RS): A Dimensional Measure for Preschool-aged Children. J Autism Dev Disord 39, 242–250 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0620-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0620-4