School Interventions for the Social Inclusion of School-Age Learners on the Autism Spectrum: Review of the Evidence and Future Areas of Inquiry

2019 ◽  
pp. 109-124
Author(s):  
Sofia Mavropoulou
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
School Age ◽  
School Interventions ◽  
The Social

Social Inclusion of Preschool Children With ASD: The Role of Typical Peers

2020 ◽  
pp. 002246692092613
Author(s):  
Mati Zakai-Mashiach ◽  
Esther Dromi ◽  
Michal Al-Yagon
Keyword(s):  
Peer Relations ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Hierarchical Linear Model ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social ◽  
Teachers Attitudes

This study examined the natural social interest of 193 (95 boys, 98 girls) typically developing preschoolers aged 41 to 77 months ( M = 61.71 years, SD = 8.48 years) toward their included peers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; N = 16, M = 66.8, SD = 8.80). A hierarchical linear model examined the role of endogenous (within-child) and exogenous (environmental) variables in explaining typically developing children’s natural social behaviors. Results indicated the significant contribution of three variables: (a) typically developing children’s prosocial behaviors, (b) teachers’ attitudes about their training regarding inclusion, and (c) areas of inclusion support needed by the specific child with ASD. Discussion highlighted possible interactions among these variables within the social–ecological theoretical framework, for explaining peer relations of typically developing children with peers with ASD in regular preschools.

scholarly journals Measuring childhood disability and AIM programme provision in Ireland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adele Whelan ◽  
◽  
Adele Bergin ◽  
Anne Devlin ◽  
Abian Garcia Rodriguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Early Learning ◽  
Equal Access ◽  
School Age ◽  
Childhood Disability ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
Future Education

The social inclusion of children with disabilities, and in particular their inclusion in early learning and care settings, is key to maximising their wellbeing, care and future education. It is therefore vital that children with disabilities have equal access to early learning and school age care and education. Joint research, published by the ESRI and Pobal explores a number of existing challenges experienced by children with disabilities in this area.

Pedagogical principals of teaching the social skills to little school aged autistic children

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (10) ◽  
pp. 22-25
Author(s):  
Kamala Ibrahim Aliyeva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
School Age ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Academic Knowledge ◽  
The Social ◽  
Education Process

The article called "Pedagogical principals of teaching the social skills to little school aged autistic children" deals with the ways of teaching social skills to the children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In the begining of 20 th century teaching the social skills to the children who fell behind their peers in terms of psychological development began to improve. Following this, some approaches appeared and played a significant role in the development of children in this regard. In education process, besides prossesing academic knowledge, teaching social skills is important for these children to be able to live independitly (without dependence on anyone) in the society and behave in the frame of social norms. The explanation of learning social skills is noted, based on different theoretical aspects in the article and this facilitates teaching process of social skills. Key words: social skills, social learning, direct learning, learning theories, autism, little school age period, social performance

scholarly journals Promoting the Social Inclusion of Children with ASD: A Family-Centred Intervention

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 318
Author(s):  
Roy McConkey ◽  
Marie-Therese Cassin ◽  
Rosie McNaughton
Keyword(s):  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Personal Safety ◽  
Community Activities ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Based ◽  
Diagnostic Support

The social isolation of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is well documented. Their dearth of friends outside of the family and their lack of engagement in community activities places extra strains on the family. A project in Northern Ireland provided post-diagnostic support to nearly 100 families and children aged from 3 to 11 years. An experienced ASD practitioner visited the child and family at home fortnightly in the late afternoon into the evening over a 12-month period. Most children had difficulty in relating to other children, coping with change, awareness of dangers, and joining in community activities. Likewise, up to two-thirds of parents identified managing the child’s behaviour, having time to spend with other children, and taking the child out of the house as further issues of concern to them. The project worker implemented a family-centred plan that introduced the child to various community activities in line with their learning targets and wishes. Quantitative and qualitative data showed improvements in the children’s social and communication skills, their personal safety, and participation in community activities. Likewise, the practical and emotional support provided to parents boosted their confidence and reduced stress within the family. The opportunities for parents and siblings to join in fun activities with the child with ASD strengthened their relationships. This project underscores the need for, and the success of family-based, post-diagnostic support to address the social isolation of children with ASD and their families.

scholarly journals The Prolonged Inclusion of Roma Groups in Swedish Society

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 126-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norma Montesino ◽  
Ida Ohlsson Al Fakir
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
School Age ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Special Groups ◽  
The Social ◽  
Swedish Society ◽  
Processing Organizations ◽  
New Policies ◽  
Social Marginality

Inclusion policies focusing on Roma groups started in Sweden during the 1950s, when the Swedish government recognized the formal citizen status of the so called “Swedish Gypsies”, a group consisting of approximately 740 people. As the Roma were perceived as people living outside the boundaries of normal society, the challenge facing the Swedish authorities was how to outline and organize the new policies. In our analyses we focus on the taken-for-granted premises of these policies. We discuss the “entry process” of these Roma into Swedish society. People-processing organizations classified Roma as “socially disabled” in different administrative contexts. In the early 1960s adult male Roma were classified as socially disabled on the labor market. Later during the same decade, experts and professionals increasingly focused attention on the Roma family as a problematic institution. In this context, Roma adults were classified as disabled in relation to the normative representations of parental capacities during that time, while Roma children of school age were defined as children with difficulties and put in special groups for children with problems. The related interventions were justified by a discourse on social inclusion, but in reality produced a web of measures, practices and yet further interventions, which in the long run have contributed to perpetuate the social marginality of Roma groups.

The utility of parent-report screening tools in differentiating autism versus attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in school-age children

Autism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136236132110300
Author(s):  
Sara Guttentag ◽  
Somer Bishop ◽  
Rebecca Doggett ◽  
Rebecca Shalev ◽  
Megan Kaplan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Communication ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Responsiveness ◽  
School Age ◽  
Social Communication Questionnaire ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
The Social

Symptoms of autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder often co-occur, challenging timely, and accurate diagnosis. We assessed the performance of three parent-report measures in discriminating autism spectrum disorder from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder without autism spectrum disorder (ADHDw/oASD) in school-age verbally fluent children. We examined the Autism Symptom Interview – School-Age and two widely used parent questionnaires: Social Responsiveness Scale – 2nd Edition and Social Communication Questionnaire – Lifetime. Receiver operating characteristic curves assessed each instrument’s performance against the best-estimate clinician Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder or of ADHDw/oASD ( n = 74, n = 102, respectively; 6–11 years). These yielded moderate accuracies: area under the curve = 0.85, 0.79, and 0.78 for Social Communication Questionnaire – Lifetime, Autism Symptom Interview, and Social Responsiveness Scale – 2nd Edition, respectively. Area under the curve pairwise comparisons reached our statistical significance ( p < 0.01) for the Social Communication Questionnaire – Lifetime versus the Social Responsiveness Scale – 2nd Edition. Within instruments, sensitivity and specificity varied across autism spectrum disorder cutoffs. Along with the between-instrument variability, this indicates that clinicians and researchers have valid options, depending on the settings and their goals. Comparing children correctly and incorrectly classified as autism spectrum disorder showed no differences in demographics, intellectual abilities, or in any specific clinical profile(s), except for the degree of parent concerns across autism spectrum disorder and comorbid psychopathology-related symptoms. Together, results suggest that complementing parent screeners with multiple sources may be needed to best differentiate school-age verbally fluent children with autism spectrum disorder versus ADHDw/oASD. Lay abstract We tested the ability of a short, recently developed parent interview and two widely used parent-report questionnaires to discriminate school-age verbal children with autism spectrum disorder from those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder without autism spectrum disorder (ADHDw/oASD). These measures included the Autism Symptom Interview – School-Age, the Social Responsiveness Scale – 2nd Edition, and the Social Communication Questionnaire – Lifetime. The classification accuracy of all three parent screeners fell in the moderate range. Accuracy varied by instrument, and the Social Communication Questionnaire – Lifetime questionniare showed the highest accuracy. Children with autism spectrum disorder who were incorrectly classified by all parent screeners did not differ from those correctly classified in regard to demographics, intellectual abilities, nor in any specific clinical area beyond general parent concerns. These findings showed that there are valid screening options for assessing school-age verbal children with autism spectrum disorder versus ADHDw/oASD. They also underscore the need to assess multiple sources of information for increased accuracy.

scholarly journals Developing Social Skills of Summer Campers with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Study of Camps on TRACKS Implementation in an Inclusive Day-Camp Setting

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Maich ◽  
Carmen L Hall ◽  
Tricia Marie Van Rhijn ◽  
Laurie Quinlan
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Skills ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Peer Interactions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
The Social ◽  
Inclusive Settings

This research provides preliminary results of an exploratory case study conducted of the Camps on TRACKS program in an inclusive, municipal day-camp program in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Positive changes are demonstrated in the social skills of nine day campers with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who participated in the program. In this model of social inclusion, all campers were taught skills to interact with peers with exceptionalities through a peer-mediated model. Social skills change was measured using direct observation and counsellor questionnaires. Primary findings included an overall increase in social skills in campers with an ASD, and an inverse relationship between adult and peer interactions. Camps on TRACKS is a promising model for supporting the social skills development of campers with an ASD in inclusive settings.

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