The Effects of Variety of Activities on the Social Interaction of Preschool Children with Disabilities

Author(s):  
Coralie Driscoll ◽  
Mark Carter
2001 ◽  
Vol 25 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 49-66
Author(s):  
Mark Carter ◽  
Catherine A. O’Gorman‐Hughes

This review examined the effects of toys and materials as setting events on social interactions of preschool children. A total of 11 studies were examined and the findings suggested an association with particular types of toys and materials and increases in social interaction. There are, however, several methodological weaknesses that need to be addressed in future studies. In particular, future studies need to make more extensive use of experimental rather than observational research designs, provide functional descriptions of extant social skills of participants, apply research designs that allow idiosyncratic responses to intervention to be examined and consider the effects of manipulation of effects of toys and materials in relation to age. With regard to studies involving children with special needs, a number of features of existing research, including small group sizes, unusual ratios of children with disabilities compared to typically developing children and atypical play areas, limit conclusions that can be drawn from the present data. Future research will need to address these issues and examine more typical preschool settings in order to clarify the role of toys and materials in encouraging positive social interactions between young children with disabilities and their regular peers.


1989 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 420-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph R. Jenkins ◽  
Samuel L. Odom ◽  
Matthew L. Speltz

This study examined the effects of (a) integrating handicapped and nonhandicapped children in preschools and (b) a condition designed to promote social integration. Fifty-six children with mild and moderate handicaps were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions: integrated/social interaction, integrated/child-directed, segregated/social interaction, and segregated/child-directed. Observation revealed a higher proportion of interactive play, as well as higher language development, in the social interaction conditions; and children in the integrated/social interaction condition received significantly higher ratings of social competence. These data suggest that structuring social interaction between higher and lower performing children can result in benefits to the lower performing students.


1977 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 526-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip S. Strain ◽  
Richard E. Shores

This paper analyzes the potential contributions of research on social reciprocity to the assessment and remediation of social withdrawal among educationally handicapped preschool children. The studies reviewed clearly suggest that social reciprocity is a phenomenon that occurs during interaction among adults and normal and exceptional preschool children. It is suggested here that educational strategies designed to increase positive social interaction be based on a reciprocal conceptualization of social behavior. Such a theoretical framework is reflected in the following procedures: (a) the use of observational strategies that are sensitive to who gives what to whom, when, and with what effect; and (b) the development of intervention efforts that rely on the eliciting effect of social stimuli to accelerate the social responses of withdrawn children.


1993 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 226-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel L. Odom ◽  
Scott R. McConnell ◽  
Lynette K. Chandler

The purpose of this study was to assess teachers' judgments of the acceptability, feasibility, and current use of child specific, peer-mediated, and environmental arrangement intervention strategies for promoting social interaction skills of young children with disabilities. One hundred thirty-one teachers from five geographical areas participated in this study. Using the Social Interaction Program Features Questionnaire, these teachers reported that a high percentage of their students needed to acquire peer social interaction skills and that there was a moderate to great need for curricular or instructional materials. The overall mean ratings for the three types of intervention strategies were generally positive and did not differ significantly, suggesting that teachers found all three types of interventions acceptable and feasible. However, the range of item ratings for specific techniques within the broader classes of interventions suggested that certain procedures were relatively more or less acceptable and feasible than others. Barriers to implementing the program included limited teacher time, resources available to teachers (i.e., space, staff, materials), and access to peers without disabilities. Teacher ratings of feasibility were related more closely to current use of procedures than were ratings of acceptability.


1984 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 391-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Poresky ◽  
Dani Jo Hooper

In a single-subject experimental design effects of social toys in a teacher-mediated comprehensive treatment on the social play of three preschool handicapped children was examined. The comprehensive treatment included imitative cooperative lesson plans, environmental structure, and teachers' in-service education. The children's baselines began with solitary play and rose to parallel play in the second comprehensive treatment when the. teachers made greatest use of appropriate prompting and reinforcement. These results illustrate the feasibility of teacher-mediated versus researcher-mediated efforts to enhance the social interaction of handicapped and nonhandicapped preschool children.


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