Autism And Peer Mediated Interventions

Autistic spectrum condition is a lifelong disability which affects how an individual communicates and relates to, other people. The understanding of autism has greatly improved since the 1940s when it was identified and one thing that we are aware of is that there is no cure however, there are many things that can be done to support people with autism. There are a large number of symptoms that are in relation to autism, such as a delay in speech development, not responding when their name is called and despite being able to hear, being intolerant of others entering their personal space. In addition to these, there are behavioural symptoms such as insisting on a familiar routine and becoming very anxious or upset if this is disrupted or changed, they will sometime talk at people rather than having a two-way conversation and a failure to understand or implement social rules.

Social interaction is defined as “a process of reciprocal stimulation and response between two people. It develops competition, interaction, influences social roles and status, and influences people in development of social relationships.” (What is SOCIAL INTERACTION) By adolescence most individuals are fairly competent at social interaction and have a general understanding of what is required of them in most social situations. For high functioning autistic children, this is far from the case. Simple interactions between themselves and others can be confusing and difficult to navigate without proper adaptive training in social behavior. In the following sections, we will explain the need for this training, how it is implemented, and the

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be portrayed toward critical impairments in social interaction. It also includes restricted repeated behaviors, interests and activities. (Mayo Clinic staff, 2014)

Identify problems that individuals with an autistic spectrum condition may have in social interaction and relationships

Results revealed a significant difference between the intervention and control group on social skill behaviors. Specifically, participants who received the intervention S.S.GRIN-HFA significantly outperformed the control group on skills related to awareness, cognition, communication, motivation, and mannerisms Davis et al. (2011). Results also revealed no differences between groups on measures related to self-efficacy and feelings of loneliness. Children with high functioning Autism can develop greater social skill development if they are taught social skills using a broad based approach to social skills training. S.S.GRIN-HFA offers professionals teaching social skills numerous advantages of generic social skill training programs in that it promotes generalization through community exercises and actively engages parents while proving focused social skill training to the participants.

If students with ASD are not taught social emotional skills they will be greatly effected as adults. Research done has suggested that adults with ASD will often experience social isolation. Approximately one-half to two-thirds of these adults have no close friendships, and in the cases where friendships do occur they are often less close and less supportive than friendships had by adults in the general population (Orsmond, Shattuck, Cooper, Sterzing, and Anderson 2013). Studies have been done in Canadian and European populations and have found that fewer than half of adults with ASD participate in social events in the community such as attending church or special interest groups that would provide social opportunities (Orsmond, Shattuck,

The common traits of ASD, which include anti-social and often disruptive patterns of behavior, can make children with autism challenging for typical learning children to approach. Though the issue of including children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms is a complex one, peer-mediated interventions can promote the growth of social skills at every level of education. By educating the general population of typical peers and empowering them to be a part of the process a dent can be made in the social exclusion often experienced by the ASD children in mainstream settings. Implementing these interventions enriches the lives of all of the children involved, “possibly developing sustainable social relationships” expanding the effects of the program beyond the academic setting (Hughes et al., 2013). Also, these methods provide teachers an unobtrusive method of teaching that has benefits for the entire class. These methods could be helpful to other student populations that have intellectual

In the area of social interaction, the individual is often withdrawn from others. They lack the ability to comprehend facial expressions and the actions of others are confusing. Many individuals with autism lack interest in social interaction. There is a lack of imagination and

Other research studies focus on the ways that animals can be integrated into the classroom to improve the social interactions in children with ASD. The first study by O’Haire, McKenzie, McCune, and Slaughter (2013) studied children participating with two guinea pigs in the classroom for three 10-minute sessions, while having another group of children simply playing with toys. They measured social approach behaviors and the amount of social approaches that the child received. They found that when children with ASD were playing with the animal they presented more social approach behaviors and were approached more than the children playing with the toys. A later study by O’Haire et al. (2014) examined the integration of guinea pigs into the classroom and found significant improvements in the participant’s social approach behaviors and social skills and a decrease in the children’s social withdrawal behaviors. This is supported by Fung and Leung’s (2014) study, which examined children with autism’s interaction with either a dog or a stuffed animal dog. They found a significant increase in the verbal social behavior in children who interacted with dogs. The most recent study by O’haire et al. (2015) examined skin conductance arousal of children with ASD (N=33) and typically developing peers (N=66) interacting with guinea pigs in the classroom. These children were measured in four different social contexts including silent reading, reading aloud, free play with peers and toys, and free play with peers and guinea pigs. They found that the children with ASD had higher levels of arousal than his or her peers, as indicated by skin conductance responses, except for when the animals were present. Children with ASD showed a 43% decrease in skin conductance when animals were present in playtime, as opposed the usual availability of toys. Each of these studies indicates that having animals in the classroom increases positive social

The first hypothesis in this study was that children diagnosed with ASD participating in the classroom where an animal was present would display improved social functioning, as reported by the teacher in the classroom during the 8-week program. The second hypothesis was that parents would be able to detect improvements in social functioning at home that would be displayed in parent self-report during the 8-week program.

As the number of students with ASD increases in the general education population, teachers often seek information for the most effective interventions in working with this population. Bonds et al. (2016) compiled a review of the literature regarding articles for considering education utility for interventions for students with ASD. The three interventions identified for having the most evidence for school-aged children included social skills interventions, behavioral interventions, and peer-mediated interventions. Peer-mediated interventions were the largest category and all studies involved 5- to 14- years-old students attending mainstream school systems. Interventions included lunchtime clubs with students with ASD and their peers sharing common interests, or direct teaching groups meeting for one to two sessions

In this assignment I will discuss different strategies that will benefit a child in the four categories of teacher-mediated, peer-mediated, routine-based and naturalistic strategies to promote engagement in the classroom. The child discussed in this assignment is a 5 years old boy on the spectrum of ASD in preschool. For this assignment we will call him Peter. Peter is a very quiet individual that has high anxiety towards adults. Peter tends to stay to himself and hide in a corner of the classroom. Overall Peter is a sweet boy that will listen and follow instructions.

To encourage the development of social skills students are encouraged to interact with one another throughout the day in a variety of methods, including partner work, small group activities, and large group activities. These teaching techniques enable autistic children to relate to their peers. As autistic children relate to their peers more they are more accepted and in turn continue to learn and acquire new and improved social skills.

According to Lisa Rudy (2016), social development skills occupational therapists offer “play therapy" to children with autism. Floor time is a play-based technique which builds on autistic children's own interests or obsessions to develop relationships and social/communication skills (L. Rudy, 2016) This therapy has been found very effective for many children that lack social interaction. For example, one of the exercises an OT would present to a patient would be playing a board game with two or more patients. This will help the child develop their social skill by interacting with others. Teachers are also trying to implement more social activities for autism students, they began implementing “The Buddy System” During free play center time,

I am very passionate about working with kids with autism. They have such amazing personalities and I feel like people don’t see past the disability to the unique person they are. For several years I worked at a residential facility for kids on the spectrum. I was a direct care staff that worked one on one with them to work on their goals their treatment plan was focusing on. My passion to help kids with autism comes from my previous experience working with these kids and watching them grow and learn new skills. This transformation that I watched happen and helped be a part of with these kids made me want to help more kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are a lot of skills that need to be taught to these children. Socialization, communication, and positive behavior are just a few kids with autism need help improving. I believe that the earlier that you teach a child these skills the more successful they will be. Early intervention has had a positive outcome within many research experiments that professionals have done. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) also requires schools to teach kids with disabilities alongside typically developed kids as much as possible.