Increasing the social interaction of preschool children with special needs through a peer training playgroup
Date
1995
Authors
MacDonald, Margaret Joan
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a peer training intervention designed to increase the positive social interaction between a child with special needs and two peer helpers. A single subject research design was used to evaluate the play behavior and the interaction patterns of the children before, during, and after the peer training intervention. The study found that the both the play behavior of the child with special needs and the interactions among the children were increased following the intervention. Increases in play levels and interaction among the children were also found following the intervention during a separate prompting phase. These increases in positive interactions were limited to the playgroup sessions and no spill over effects were found during freeplay with the whole class following the peer training sessions.