Predictive factors of social skills development in children with ASD

Abstract One of the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the deficit in social functioning. This deficit includes difficulties in initiating or joining social activities, difficulties in understanding others’ viewpoints, engaging in inappropriate behaviors, lack of eye contact, distance from people, non-functional use of language, and a lack of communicative gestures and others. The purpose of our research is to highlight the factors that influence the development of social skills of students with ASD. Thus, we have demonstrated that personal factors such as: anxiety, withdrawal, functional communication, behavioral rigidity, stereotyped behavior, atypical language, unusual behavior and social reciprocity behavior, both from the perspective of parents and from the perspective of teachers have a statistically significant influence on the development of communication and social adaptation skills of children diagnosed with ASDOur results can be used as the basis for future complex personalized intervention programs.