A comparison of alexithymia and the social skills in students with and without learning disorders

The purpose of the present study was to compare alexithymia and social skills in students with and without learning disorders. From among students with LD (N=157) enrolled in special schools in the city of Ardabil، 18 boys and 18 girls with LD were selected using a simple random sampling method and compared with 18boys and 18 girls without LD، matched for age، educational level، IQ، and parental education. The Toronto Alexithymia scale and Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters were administered. A causal-comparative research method was used and data were analyzed using multivariate variance analysis of variance. Results showed that students with LD have significant difficulty in describing، and identifying feelings and in externally oriented thinking. Furthermore، LD children reported fewer appropriate social skills، and greater inappropriate assertion، jealousy/ withdrawal impulsivity، and overconfidence. Findings underscore the importance of the effective training and management of emotional and social capabilities of students with LD.