The effects of teacher intrusion on social play interactions between children with autism and their nonhandicapped peers

Interactions in an Inclusive Classroom: The Effects of Visual Status and Setting

This study examined the effect of visual status (visually impaired or sighted) and setting (indoor or outdoor) on the social behaviors of preschool-age children in an inclusive setting. It found that regardless of their visual status, the children spent significantly more time near sighted children than near visually impaired children.

Playfulness in Children with Autistic Disorder and their Typically Developing Peers

This study investigated the playfulness of 24 children with autistic disorder (AD) and 34 typically developing children aged 3–7 years, in free (unstructured) and adult-facilitated (structured) play conditions within a clinical play environment. Video recordings of play were rated using the Test of Playfulness (Bundy 2003). The data were analysed using repeated measures ANOVA and ANCOVA and qualitative observations.

The children with AD were less playful compared with the typically developing children (F = 49.64, p<0.001), even when developmental age was accounted for (F = 28.20, p<0.001). Both groups of children were slightly more playful in a structured environment with adult facilitation (F = 7.72, p = 0.007). Despite statistically significant differences in playfulness between play conditions, considerable overlap in observations for both groups suggests that this may not be as clinically meaningful. When developmental age was accounted for, the play conditions no longer had a significant effect on playfulness (F = 1.54, p = 0.220). The implications of the findings and the limitations of the study are discussed.

How Teachers Use Peer Interactions to Include Students with Moderate and Severe Disabilities in Elementary General Education Classes

This study investigated the way teachers in five elementary classrooms used peer interactions to facilitate the inclusion of a student with moderate or severe disabilities. Four themes describing the strategies used to encourage and shape interactions between students with and without disabilities were identified: new rules about helping, “just another student,” age appropriateness, and “backing off.” The discussion focuses on the complexity of facilitating peer helping roles without encroaching on the social reciprocity found in friendships. The development of inclusion practices based on cooperation and mutual assistance for all students, rather than only for students with identified disabilities, is recommended.

Using Badges to Increase Initiations of Children with Severe Disabilities in a Play Setting

A study was conducted to investigate a training strategy that allowed children with severe disabilities to choose and initiate activities when playing with chronologically age-appropriate peers without disabilities. Prior to intervention, each student with severe disabilities was taught to use badges with photographs to indicate play activities. Pretraining involved role-playing with the teacher, teacher assistant, and a fourth grader without disabilities and not otherwise involved in the study. The intervention involved having students with disabilities take their badges into a free-play situation. A multiple-baseline, across-subjects design indicated a functional relationship between intervention and student use of play organizers, initiations, and shares. Results are discussed in terms of including students with severe disabilities in the training process when teaching social and play skills.

What Children Report and Remember: A Six-Year Follow-Up of the Effects of Social Contact between Peers with and without Severe Disabilities

Various models and strategies to promote meaningful social interactions between children with and without severe disabilities have been reported in the special education literature. The reported outcomes associated with these efforts include positive effects on children's attitudes toward disabilities, social competence, and social values (e.g., fairness and community caring). This is an investigation of what teenagers report and remember as a function of elementary school experiences involving different levels of social contact with peers with severe disabilities. Two self-report interpersonal measures were administered to 183 students without disabilities comprising social contact, exposure, and control groups. A subsample of 93 teenagers was interviewed about experiences and attitudes toward persons with disabilities and their memories from earlier school experiences. Analysis of the attitudinal data revealed significantly more positive attitudes, higher levels of current reported social contact, and more support for full community participation as a function of earlier social contact—although all children were relatively positive. The self-concept measure also revealed differences between subgroups of children as a function of gender and condition. The interview data with children in the high social contact group offer caveats for future inclusion efforts to avoid potential negative effects upon children's personal relationships and social attitudes. Suggestions are made for future research to investigate the impact of inclusion on children's socio-personal development and social relationships.

The influence of nonhandicapped peers on the social interactions of children with a pervasive development disorder

This study investigated whether or not children with autism or a related pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) can benefit from regular opportunities to interact with a normally developing peer, matched as to sex and age. An experimental design with random assignment of subjects to treatment and control groups was used to demonstrate the impact of this peer-mediated intervention. In the treatment group, we found significant improvements in the social behavior of the children with PDD. Several gains were also generalized to interactions with an unfamiliar nonhandicapped peer, to interactions with another child with PDD, and to the large school setting. In the untreated control group, no positive changes were observed. Results suggest that children with PDD can develop peer relations if appropriate social contexts are made available for them.

Integrated play groups: a model for promoting the social and cognitive dimensions of play in children with autism

This investigation provides a description of a multifaceted model to promote peer play, and an evaluation of its impact on the social and cognitive dimensions of play in three children with autism. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the model application. A multiple-probe design across participants demonstrated (a) decreases in isolate play and collateral gains in more social forms of play, and (b) decreases in stereotyped object play and collateral gains in functional object play. While no symbolic play was observed in any of the participants during baseline, two participants demonstrated symbolic play in the final condition. Generalization and social validation measures indicated (a) advances in play behaviors were not limited to the play groups but observed in other contexts, and (b) were accompanied by language gains. Implications are discussed in terms of preferred service delivery models as well as of the importance of social interaction for the development of play and language.

Promoting reciprocal interactions via peer incidental teaching

This study evaluated peer incidental teaching as a strategy for increasing reciprocal peer interactions by children with autism. Three typical preschoolers were trained as peer tutors for 3 young children with autism. During a classroom free-play session, peer tutors used incidental teaching to obtain verbal labels of preferred toys by children with autism. A multiple baseline across the 3 target children showed replicated positive effects of the intervention. Adult supervision and assistance were then faded systematically, with resulting maintenance of increased reciprocal interactions. Multiple measures of the extent and limits of generalization suggested that 1 child increased interactions in free-play periods throughout the day, but none of the children showed increases at lunch. Teacher and peer ratings supported the social validity of positive findings.