Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Autistic children--Education--Social aspects; Autistic children--Behavior modification; Interpersonal relations in children; Play therapy;

Abstract

The social and communication skills of children with autism have been a focus of considerable attention over the past 25 years. Research has produced a wealth of strategies to increase these social skills, including joint action routines, peer mediation and social skills training, affection activities, and incidental teaching. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the effects of a package intervention on the social interactions of a five-year-old boy with autism. A multiple baseline design was used to examine this package intervention consisting of structured play activities, teacher involvement with the children, training in joint action routines and social interaction skills, and visual cues. In addition, this package was tested across three different activities and peers. The package intervention produced a three-fold increase in the social interactions of the preschooler across all three peers and activities. There was also a modest increase in his engagement in the activities. Significant to this investigation was that the increases in social interactions occurred independent of teacher prompts. These results are discussed in respect to the specific components of this package intervention. In addition, the importance of interventions proving effective for a variety of preschool activities and several peers is discussed in relation to useful for teachers.

Year of Submission

2001

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of Special Education

First Advisor

Frank Kohler

Second Advisor

Donna Raschke

Third Advisor

Clifford Highnam

Comments

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Date Original

2001

Object Description

1 PDF file (48 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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