Assessing Cognitive Socio‑Emotional Dissociation in Autism: Cross‑National Studies Using the Socio‑Emotional and Cognitive Evaluation Battery (SCEB) - Abstract
Developmental assessment provides essential insight into the functional organization of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) beyond categorical diagnosis.
The Socio?Emotional and Cognitive Evaluation Battery (SCEB) grounded in Piagetian and neo?Piagetian models reliably assesses 16 developmental domains.
This paper presents some researches using this tool which showed that autistic children functioning between 4 and 24 months of developmental age presented highly heterogeneous developmental profiles, marked by strong cognitive abilities (spatial relations) and pronounced socio?emotional weaknesses (vocal and
gestural imitation, expressive language, social interaction). These patterns are different in children with Intellectual Disability without ASD. International studies
using SCEB across Europe, North Africa, and South America reveal highly similar developmental profiles in autistic children with ID, confirming a stable cognitive
socio?emotional dissociation and systematic associations between autistic symptomatology and ID severity. Together, these findings, on one hand, confirm a
relatively stable developmental pattern observed across several cultural contexts and on the other hand serves as support for the international applicability of the SCEB.