Features of Social Cognition in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Specific Language Impairment and Intellectual Disabilities

Sa？etak Social cognition includes processing of social signals and understanding people as social beings (their feelings, intentions and motivation, knowledge and beliefs). In general, social cognition can be said to include all cognitive processes that involve other people. Deviations in the development of social cognition can already be recognized in infants. This paper describes the features of social cognition in three different types of childhood difficulty. Although groups with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), specific language impairment (SLI) and intellectual disabilities all demonstrate deviations in social cognition, the features of social cognition are different in each group. At an early age, when most children still do not have a firm diagnosis, it can be hard to differentiate between these disorders because of their similar features. With an awareness of the differences children in these groups demonstrate in the development of social cognition, the early diagnostic procedure is easier and diagnostic procedures between groups can be differentiated. Because the features of social cognition are associated with language acquisition and communication, knowledge of the characteristics of social cognition in these three diagnostic groups will also help speech and language pathologists to implement appropriate support