Promoting Social Interaction through Teaching Generalized Play Initiation Responses to Preschool Children with Autism

Author(s):  
Thomas G. Haring ◽  
Laurie Lovinger

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of play initiation training on subsequent social interactions between students with severe disabilities and their nonhandicapped peers within play contexts. In both studies, five nonhandicapped peers were used as training confederates, and generalization probes were conducted within unstructured free-play situations with a larger number of peers who did not participate in training. In Experiment 1, a preschool student with autistic behaviors was integrated into a regular preschool The effects of two treatment conditions were compared: (a) providing an awareness activity plus rewards for the nonhandicapped peers who initiated interactions and (b) teaching initiations and play behaviors to the student with severe disabilities. The results indicated that although the awareness activity plus reward condition increased the frequency of peer initiations, peer responsivity to the initiations by the student with severe disabilities remained low. When the student with severe disabilities was taught to initiate interactions and play appropriately, the level of initiation by the student increased and the level of responsivity by the peers toward his initiations also increased. In Experiment 2, we replicated this effect with two students who were integrated into a kindergarten class. The effects of competent social interaction skills on shaping environments that are responsive to the social initiations of students with severe disabilities are discussed.

1993 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Staub ◽  
Pam Hunt

This study evaluated the effects of social interaction training on the social interactions directed by high school students without disabilities toward peers with severe disabilities. Eight high school students who were peer tutors in a classroom for students with severe disabilities were matched in pairs and then randomly assigned to interact with and serve as partners for four classmates with severe disabilities. Only one participant in each peer tutor pair received the social interaction training. A statistical analysis indicated that the training increased the frequency of initiations of interactions directed from the students without disabilities toward their partners with severe disabilities. There was also an increase in the proportion of interactions that were social in nature, with a resulting decrease in the frequency of task-related interactions, as well as a significant increase in targeted social behaviors of the participants with severe disabilities.


1989 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 255-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Haring ◽  
Catherine Breen

In spite of increased advocacy efforts, demonstrations, and consumer demand for supported education, there is a paucity of empirical research that investigates the predicted outcomes of this model. The rationale for supported education is based largely on increasing social participation, acceptance, and friendships between students with severe disabilities and nondisabled students. This article discusses several issues that underlie the development of measurement systems to evaluate the social effects of supported education. We believe that it is essential to measure the outcomes of supported education (i.e., increased acceptance, social participation, and levels of friendships) as well as the process variables (e.g., specific social interaction skills) that are pivotal in creating the outcomes. An assessment model for outcome and process variables is described. Within this model, social interaction skills, organizational support characteristics, and contextual features are viewed as pivotal events in attaining valued outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed F Safi ◽  
Badriya Al Sadrani ◽  
Ashraf Mustafa

Abstract Background: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have communication and social interaction deficits. Their impaired communication is derived from difficulties in acquiring language. The use of interactive technologies has been demonstrated to enhance verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as the social interaction tendencies of children with ASD. Artificial intelligence has played a growing role in the habilitation of children with ASD. However, little research exists on the possible roles and effectiveness of virtual voice assistants in developing language and social skills in children with ASD. This study examined the effects of using a voice assistant in children with ASD on two outcomes: speech skills (expressive verbal vocabulary and production of short phrases) and social interaction skills (playing/sharing). Methods: An interventional single-case design study was used to explore this concept using three children with ASD between the ages of 4 and 11 years. The participants used an accessible virtual voice assistant, Apple’s Siri, for three months. Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with mothers were administered to measure the communication and social interaction skills of the participating children. Results: Participant One, Two and Three showed a notable improvement in the total number of correct words produced with fewer attempts during the VVA intervention compared with the baseline phase. Further, all participants showed increases in the social interactions in the intervention phase, compared with the baseline phase. Finally, all the mothers noted improvement in their children’s speech intelligibility and social interactions. Conclusions: Results showed that the virtual voice assistant had positive effects on the speech and social interaction skills of children with ASD. The findings of this study implied that children with ASD can use readily available voice assistant software to improve their speech and social interaction skills. Furthermore, this study’s findings could be used to develop strategies to increase the availability of artificial intelligence infrastructure in schools and homes to help children with ASD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-114
Author(s):  
Morgan E. Herbert ◽  
Matthew E. Brock ◽  
Mary A. Barczak ◽  
Eric J. Anderson

Peer networks are a promising intervention for increasing social interactions between students with severe disabilities and their peers. However, this approach has not been well studied with high school students who have complex communication needs and use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). In this study, we used a multiple probe across participants design to evaluate the effectiveness of a lunchtime peer-network intervention for three high school students with autism and/or multiple disabilities who had complex communication needs. The intervention involved recruiting peers, sharing practical background information and modeling how to communicate with the student, and then providing support as needed. A functional relation was established between the introduction of the peer-network intervention and both social interactions and social engagement. Interactions increased substantially across communication modalities. This study builds on the peer-network literature by demonstrating how this approach can be tailored for high school students with complex communication needs.


2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (8) ◽  
pp. 576-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tana D'Allura

This longitudinal, observational study of 13 children in a preschool for children with visual impairments examined the effects of reverse mainstreaming, in combination with the cooperative learning strategy, on the social interaction patterns of preschoolers with and without visual impairments. It found that the type of environment provided and the learning strategies used affect both whether and how children relate to their environment.


2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-141
Author(s):  
Sally Beveridge ◽  
Sue Pearson

The three articles from Volume 14 that are reviewed here are linked by a common theme: the social interactions of children with special educational needs. The countries involved, the target group of pupils and the methodology vary but each one draws attention to the complexities of the social dimension of inclusion and suggest that physical proximity alone does not ensure positive social interaction.


1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 421-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN MORDECHAI GOTTMAN ◽  
MICHAEL J. GURALNICK ◽  
BEVERLY WILSON ◽  
CATHERINE C. SWANSON ◽  
JAMES D. MURRAY

This paper questions the assumption that children's social and emotional competence be placed within the developing child, rather than in the interaction of the child with the range of peer social ecologies in which the children might function. This paper presents a new nonstatistical mathematical approach to modeling children's peer social interaction in small groups using nonlinear difference equations in which both an uninfluenced and an influenced regulatory set point of positive minus negative interaction can be separately estimated. Using this model and the estimation procedure, it is possible to estimate what a focal child and the group initially brings to the group interaction and also how these regulatory set points are influenced by the interaction to determine two influenced regulatory set points. Six-person mainstreamed and specialized groups were established involving three types of unacquainted preschool boys: children with and without developmental delays and a language disordered but intellectually normally functioning group, using a methodology that ensured appropriate matching of child and family characteristics. For each 2-week play group, the social interactions of each child were observed during a designated free play period. Handicapped children were observed in either a specialized or mainstreamed setting. The application made of this modeling process in this paper is generating theory to attempt to understand influence processes. Parameters are introduced that reflect uninfluenced target child and group set points, emotional inertia, and influence functions.


Behaviour ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 37 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. Valone

Abstract1. The relation between the social behavior and the electrical emissions of Gymnotus carapo is examined. 2. Members of the species Gymnotus carapo approach certain sources of electrical stimuli and, in a statistically significant number of instances, assume a stance parallel to the plane from which the stimuli originate. 3. The approach and postural responses elicited by electrical cues resemble those observed when two fish, placed in the same tank, interact socially. 4. Electrical cues therefore appear to facilitate certain social interactions in Gymnotus carapo. 5. The character of electrical emission in Gymnotus carapo appears to change as a function of certain social interaction: a. Interaction resembling aggression is accompanied by brief increases in the frequency of emission. b. The increases in frequency appear to be linked to thrusting movements. c. Fish interacting with one another appear to lock into a common frequency more often than fish that are not in physical contact with one another. d. During social interaction, one of the two fish is occasionally observed to halt emissions altogether. 6. The exact significance of the social behavior observed in the context of the life history of Gymnotus carapo is unknown.


1983 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Day ◽  
James J. Fox ◽  
Richard E. Shores ◽  
David P. Lindeman ◽  
Joseph J. Stowitschek

Social interaction with other children is a critical aspect of a child's development. Many handicapped children display pronounced deficits in this area of development. The Social Competence Intervention Project (SCIP) addressed the problem of social withdrawal of handicapped children by meeting four goals. These were (a) identify social behaviors that are likely to set the occasion for a positive social encounter, (b) evaluate the effectiveness of critical social initiations when used by handicapped children, (c) develop empirically valid teaching procedures, and (d) translate the results of the experimental studies of the first three goals into teacher training materials.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 364-372
Author(s):  
I Gusti Ayu Vina Widiadnya Putri ◽  
I Dewa Ayu Devi Maharani Santika

The aims of this research is to analyse about the differences of emotional lexicon used by male and female communication in South Kuta-Bali when they used Balinese language in their daily interaction.  The scope of male and female is closely related to the social behavior which includes the social identity of male and female in society and this becomes the basis of how the language is used in this context of social. This research is interested to uncover more how people use language in terms of expressing their emotional in social interaction. This study is a sociolinguistic approach used the theory from Hickey, Raymon (2010). The data source in this study is the south Kuta community who use Balinese language in social interactions. The Data collection is done by observation, interview, recording and note taking and descriptive qualitative method is applied to analyze the data. The result of the analysis found that the emotional lexical is used by the male and female in their social interaction, it could mention that both Augmentatives and Euphemisms is used by male and female in their social interaction however the augmentative is mostly used by female in informal occasion. Balinese female often used prohibition instead of imperative in expressing her idea about ordering someone to do something. In the other hand, the male directly used imperative sentence in ordering something. He usually does not use many awkwardness to say his point in a conversation. This may be considered that the male often go to the straight point when expressing his idea. Keywords: Emotional Lexicon, Male and Female


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