Nirit Bauminger

• Full Professor
• Head of Department at Bar Ilan University

Peer interaction can be challenging in autism spectrum disorder, but naturalistic peer-observation scales for preschoolers are scarce. This study examined psychometric qualities of the newly developed Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale. We tested the Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale to (a) characterize peer interactions of preschool...

Children with specific learning disabilities (SLD) exhibit specific difficulties in high-order components of emotional understanding that involve language (e.g., recognition of complex emotions from situations), or defining emotions and providing examples. The objectives of the current study were to study (a) modifiability of emotional understandin...

In this study, we videotaped two 10-min. free-play interactions and coded speech acts (SAs) in peer talk of 51 preschoolers (21 ASD, 30 typical), interacting with friend versus non-friend partners. Groups were matched for maternal education, IQ (verbal/nonverbal), and CA. We compared SAs by group (ASD/typical), by partner's friendship status (frien...

Human emotions are strongly shaped by the tendency to compare the relative state of oneself to others. Although social comparison based emotions such as jealousy and schadenfreude (pleasure in the other misfortune) are important social emotions, little is known about their developmental origins. To examine if schadenfreude develops as a response to...

Background: EF and ToM capabilities are necessary for children's competent social functioning, that include, amongst others, social interaction and the ability to make, and retain, friendships. Children with ASD have difficulties in theory of mind (ToM) and executive function (EF), which may be linked because one domain (EF) affects the other (To...

Background: In typical development, early peer talk is crucial for pragmatic development. Peer talk offers children a wide range of opportunities for mutual learning of social-interactive and linguistic skills (Blum-Kulka & Snow, 2004). The pragmatic deficit, reflected in remarkably deficient conversational capabilities, is considered the hallmar...

According to recent surveys, nearly 2\% of school‐age children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The core deficits associated with ASD—for example, peer interaction, social communication, social cognition, and executive functioning—can make it difficult to cope with the social‐emotional and cognitive‐academic demands of schoo...

This chapter presents NoProblem!, a multi-user interface designed to teach social conversation and social interaction skills to children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD). HFASD is defined as a per-vasive developmental disorder which involves deficits in socio-communication skills as well as with repetitive behaviors and restri...

Considering the high cognitive functioning level of the population with HFASD and their common inclusion in regular education settings, this chapter reviews effective strategies for helping students with HFASD to meet academic needs. Constant new lines of research are providing empirical evidence that can be implemented into daily practice in educa...

The cognitive and academic domain of children with HFASD has been less explored in the literature than the social-communication domain, perhaps because it is not considered to be a core deficit of the disorder. Nonetheless, children with HFASD exhibit many specific difficulties alongside areas of strengths in the cognitive and academic areas, which...

Stable friendships that are based on mutual affection and provide emotional support have been well documented for typically developing preschoolers. Also, interactions with friends reveal greater social complexity than interactions with acquaintances. We know very little about peer relations and friendship in young children with ASD. Likewise, frie...

School is the setting in which individuals with HFASD are facing most of their social challenges in development: they have to interact efficiently with their peers as well as understand their peers’ social and emotional behavior. As such, school-based social interventions are considered advantageous for the enhancement of social functioning in thes...

Background : Selective attention in a triadic interpersonal interaction (mother, target child, and a peer rival) – as requested in a jealousy situation – holds implications for understanding the emotional deficit in ASD. To experience jealousy, the child must develop a social bond with a significant other (attachment) and must understand thirdness....

Background: While various Computer Assisted Instruction tools have been studied, and resulted in mainly positive effects on children with ASD, responses from both professionals and parents have been mixed; along with the obvious advantage of using such environments with children with ASD, there are those who fear that such tools will increase socia...

Background: A deficit in social interaction is considered to be a major characteristic of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Recently a number of computer-based approaches have been used to facilitate social interaction in these children. In the present presentation we describe an intervention study aimed at enhancing social skills in ch...

To investigate the relationship between cognitive and social functioning, 20 Israeli individuals with HFASD aged 8-12 and 22 age, maternal education, and receptive vocabulary-matched preadolescents with typical development (TYP) came to the lab with a close friend. Measures of abstract reasoning, friendship quality, and dyadic interaction during a...

Background: While various Computer Assisted Instruction tools have resulted in mainly positive effects on children with ASD, responses from both professionals and parents have been mixed; along with the obvious advantage of using such environments with children with ASD, there are those who fear that such tools will increase social withdrawal and e...

This study examined attachment, coherence, and self-disclosure as predictors of intimacy in adolescent friendships as well as the extent to which coherence and disclosure mediate the relationship between attachment and intimacy. Gender and grade-level effects on intimacy development were also examined for one hundred ninety-six seventh, eighth and...

Background: Friendship in typical development is considered essential for children's well-being, yet, it is viewed as a major difficulty for children with ASD. In recent years, studies have shown that subgroups within the spectrum are able to develop friendships and experience loneliness in its absence. The components that may contribute to the for...

In this paper we describe a pilot study for an intervention aimed at enhancing social skills in high functioning children with autism. We found initial evidences that the use of a social interaction and may lessen the repetitive behaviors typical of autism. These positive effects also appear to be transferred to other tasks following the interventi...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Los Angeles, 1996. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-129).