Social cognitive strengths and difficulties in Down syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome
We are interested in how children and young people with Down syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome process and understand social information. We are particularly interested in whether social information processing relates to observable social behaviour skills that are central to navigating day-to-day interactions. Our research involves tasks and activities that demonstrate a person’s social skills, verbal, and non-verbal abilities. We also use eye-tracking tasks, which involve looking at social information. Parents/carers will be asked to fill out some questionnaires and complete an interview over the phone. Overall, the whole study takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and can be conducted over multiple sessions. We are looking for children and young people with Prader-Willi syndrome or Down syndrome aged 4-19-years-old to take part. It is hoped that this research will lead to improved understanding of the social-cognitive strengths and difficulties that are characteristic of these syndromes, and possibly associated with co-occurring autism traits.

If you are interested, have any questions or would like to discuss the study in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact Lauren at l.jenner@surrey.ac.uk. This research is funded by Cerebra and The Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Surrey.
Visiting us on campus?
If you are visiting the University of Surrey campus to take part, then this video may help you find where to meet us, and can be used to prepare your child of what to expect:
