Social Skills:

 via Rob Henderson:

Carlin Flora (Friendfluence):

"Likable children size up new situations on the playground or in the classroom and fit themselves into the scene. They are assertive, but not hostile. They don't talk about themselves too much ...they are able to make and maintain friendships. Children who are natural social stars ... present themselves "successfully to others by putting on somewhat different faces for different audiences ... They understand when to put on which face, without ever appearing shallow or false to others and without feeling like fakes or frauds. In short, these are children who are sensitive and responsive to social cues." This is the child who knows how to work the room with jokes or dance moves at her own birthday party with her adoring relatives, but who also knows to hang back and let a friend shine at his birthday party. (This talent for decoding others and adjusting one's own behaviors and expressions appropriately is lacking, to one degree or another, in children on the autism spectrum and this is why they often have a particularly tough time relativ to other kinds and forming friendships.) Aggressive kids, or those who naturally "go against" their peers, have several disadvantages in the friendship market. They tend to be unable to appreciate the thoughts and feelings of fellow children, they react before thinking ..."