Differential Effects of Structured Social Integration and Group Friendship Activities for Promoting Social Interaction With Peers

Abstract

This study compared the effects of 2 interventions often used to enhance social relationships in preschool classrooms. Social Integration Activities involves a teacher structured play activity along with teacher provided roles, suggestions, and feedback. Group Friendship Activities involves adapting songs and games so that opportunities occur for peers to demonstrate positive, affectionate, friendship behaviors to targeted students. One preschooler with a developmental disability and one at risk for delay participated. Results indicated differential benefits across the 2 approaches, suggesting a need to tailor the selection of interventions to the individual child's characteristics, skills, and interests. Findings stress the importance of closely monitoring children's social behaviors to determine if interventions are achieving desired outcomes.

Recess is Time-in: Using Peers to Improve Social Skills of Children with Autism

“…These works provide support for a variety of strategies that have effectively increased class participation and social interaction for children with autism. In one study, assigning children into cooperative groups with typical peers and providing structured playgroups led to improved social interactions between the targeted children and peers improved (Frea et al 1999). Others successfully increased social interaction of preschoolers with autism by teaching peer imitation (Garfinkle and Schwartz 2002).…”

Communication Skill Building in Young Children With and Without Disabilities in a Preschool Classroom

“…Naturalistic inter vention strategies have been effective for many preschoolers with disabilities (see Brown, McEvoy, & Bishop, 1991;Brown & Odom, 1994;Frea, CraigUnkefer, Odom, & Johnson, 1999), but these interventions are not always suf ficient to promote social interactions between peers for all children with disabilities. Children with social communi cation disorders, in particular, may need more explicit, structured, and intensive interventions to improve peer interactions and peer relations.…”

Facilitating the social participation of pupils with special educational needs in mainstream schools: A review of school-based interventions

“…In seven studies, the group activities were related to social topics. The group interventions involved structured play and friendship activities for pupils with DD and their TD peers (Frea, Craig-Unkefer, Odom, & Johnson, 1999), interest clubs during lunch or recess in which pupils with ASD and their TD peers were involved in fun activities related to a topic of interest of the pupils with ASD (Koegel, Vernon, Koegel, Koegel, & Paullin, 2012), weekly therapeutic group counselling for the whole class (Shechtman, 1999), or support groups focused on pupils with BD, LD, or ASD involving their TD peers (Frederickson & Turner, 2003;Frederickson, Warren, & Turner, 2005;Kalyva & Avramidis, 2005). In the study of Frederickson and Turner (2003), support groups called "Circle of Friends" were created to discuss strategies weekly to solve the social problems and help pupils with BD.…”

“…A multi-component intervention to foster interactions with pupils with SEN also had a positive effect on interactions, but effect size was not reported (Hunt et al, 1997). Structured play and friendship activities in preschool classrooms, as well as therapeutic group counselling in primary classrooms, did not have a significant positive effect on the social interactions, the social acceptance, and self-perceived social acceptance of pupils with SEN (Frea et al, 1999;Shechtman, 1999).…”