The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of musical play on the social skill development of third-grade students and to investigate the opinions of classroom teachers on the effect of musical play on the social skill development of their students. The study sample consists of 60 students: 30 in the experimental group, and 30 in the…

We extended research on social skills training to determine if the activities first-grade students were engaged in while Tootling would influence their performance of two recently trained social skills: complimenting and encouraging peers. After receiving social skills training, students engaged in two experimental small-group activities, a…

Background and aims: Play is used by practitioners from across disciplinary backgrounds as a natural and enjoyable context for providing intervention and support in early childhood. In the case of autism interventions, many therapies are based on the association between social play and the development of social skills, language development, and…

The school-age outcomes of autistic children who received early interventions (EI) remains limited. Adaptive functioning, social, peer play skills, problem behaviours, and attitudes towards school of 31 autistic children who received community-based group early start Denver model (G-ESDM) were compared to 28 age matched autistic children who…

Children on the autism spectrum often experience difficulty generalizing social skills across environments and contexts, which can make developing friendships challenging in early childhood. This means that, in addition to initial social skills instruction, children with autism may need specialized supports to promote the generalization of newly…

During imaginative play, children may learn foundational skills important for academic success. Indeed, imaginative children, high in fantasy orientation (FO), may have advantages in skills that support positive classroom and social behavior. Yet findings are mixed regarding the classroom behavior of children high in fantasy orientation. The…

This study assessed the effects of portable video modeling on social interactions of four children with autism, three boys and one girl, 4- to 5-year-olds, in preschools in Iceland. Participants were shown 1-min videos on a small handheld device where a peer model initiated social interactions and played with two peers. A…

Teachers of inclusive early childhood education (ECE) are responsible for monitoring children's social skills achievement, and promoting social play between children with and without special educational needs (SEN). The Teacher Impression Scale (TIS) is an observational assessment developed for this purpose. This study aims to explore the social…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a peer-mediated intervention on joint attention (JA) and social play skills for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using a multiple baseline design. Peer-mediated interventions are an evidence-based practice, but there is limited research on using peers outside of the target student's classroom…

Social-emotional learning programmes can be effective for typically-developing children and young people in improving their social-emotional skills. This systematic literature review, evaluating peer-reviewed literature from 2007 to 2018, investigated whether these programmes are also effective for children and young people with learning…

Decades of research have illustrated the linguistic, social, and cognitive growth that occurs in the context of play (e.g., Baron-Cohen, 1987; Lifter, Foster-Sanda, Arzamarski, Briesch, & McClure, 2011; Lillard et al., 2013; Ungerer & Sigman, 1984). Play also provides opportunities to practice and gain important social skills. During play…

Background: Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) are at higher risk of poorer mental health compared with children without DLD. There are, however, considerable individual differences that need to be interpreted, including the identification of protective factors. Aims: Pathways from the early language and communication environment…

Play is a very effective tool in the development of the child's personality, cognitive skills, social-emotional structure, communication and interaction skills. In this study, it was aimed to determine the effect of teaching with the Direct Instruction Model on the teaching of musical play (round) skills in students with moderate intellectual…

Play involves activities promoting children's development in physical, social, emotional, and cognitive domains (Dewar, Servos, Bosacki, & Coplan, 2013). The existing literature describes ways in which teachers' perceptions may influence children's emerging gender roles during physical play. This paper describes teachers' perceptions of…

The establishment of reciprocal friendships is a challenge for many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Social interaction difficulties emerge early, persist throughout development, and have widespread functional impact. As such, interventions focused on social functioning are needed in early intervention programs. This two-part study…