Social Competence in Children

Social competence is essential to the mental and physical well-being of all humans, no matter their age. Yet as many as one in ten children has trouble keeping friends or even making friends. In Social Competence in Children, readers will discover a developmental view of social functioning in children at different stages, with an emphasis on clinical conditions that may confound this development.At the outset, the author provides detailed information on theories of social competence and the contexts in which core skills (e.g., appropriate comments, reading verbal cues) are learned. Later chapters address specific challenges to competence and feature case examples illustrating typical patterns of deficits and presenting the latest data on the topic, including: assessment practices; parenting and family issues; social competence problems specific to children and adolescents in this population; effective and promising interventions; treatment guidelines; and areas deserving future study.This volume offers much-needed information on:The growth of social competence in the context of normal development.Commonly used instruments for assessing social competence.Social impairments in children with ADHD, autism/PDDs, learning disabilities, and mental retardation.Social competence challenges specific to children with chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes, asthma, seizures), acquired disorders (including cancer and brain injuries), and genetic syndromes.The latest findings on social development in gifted children and the "twice exceptional" - gifted and with learning disabilities. Social competence as it affects - and is affected by - conduct and mood disorders.The empirical findings and therapeutic insights found in Social Competence in Children make it essential reading for clinicians working with children and families as well as for school psychologists and other educational and mental health professionals.

Margaret Semrud-Clikeman, Ph.D., received her doctorate from the University of Georgia in 1990. She completed and internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical school and received a post-doctoral neuroscience fellowship at MGH from NIH to study neuropsychological and brain morphology in children with ADHD. Her dissertation was awarded the Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award from the Orton Dyslexia Society. She has authored four books and numerous articles and continues her research interests in the areas of ADHD and brain morphology using 3-dimensional MRI scans. She is currently working on research in ADHD, 18q- syndrome, and nonverbal learning disabilities. With Dr. Plizska at UTHSCSA, Margaret was awarded a NIH grant to study the effects of stimulant medication on neuropsychological functioning. Dr. Semrud-Clikeman and her students have developed a social competence intervention that has been successfully piloted at UT. Dr. Semrud-Clikeman was recently awarded the 1999 Early Career Contributions award from the National Academy of Neuropsychology. She has published more than 30 articles, 40 chapters and three books. Dr. Semrud-Clikeman is currently a professor at Michigan State University with a joint appointment in Psychology and Psychiatry.