Direct Observation of Peer-related Social Interaction: Outcomes for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Deficits in social relatedness with same-age peers are a defining characteristic of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and are likely to manifest themselves during social interactions with typically developing peers in classroom settings. Researchers have documented that children with Autism Spectrum Disorders engage in low rates of appropriate social behaviors with peers. However, there is a paucity of research focusing on the systematic assessment of prosocial behavior of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders during naturally occurring interactions prior to the implementation of an intervention. A critical first step in this process is to examine the context in which prosocial behaviors occur for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The purpose of this study was to descriptively examine the initiations, responses, and hypothesized outcomes of prosocial behaviors via direct observation of young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in natural classroom settings. Results indicated that the participants displayed low rates of prosocial behaviors (i.e., initiations and responses) when interacting with their peers; however, when prosocial behaviors did occur many of the participants' prosocial behaviors were followed by obtaining a tangible item or peer attention. Implications and future directions of this study are addressed.

Notes

Development of this paper was partially supported with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (No. H32D020023). The opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily reflective of the position of or endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education.