Background: Play is an essential component of children's development. Children with intellectual disability tend to have poor socioemotional abilities and impaired play. This study examined the effects of a medical/therapeutic clowning play intervention on the playfulness of children with intellectual disability. Method: Two medical clowns…

The development of social and emotional learning in children can directly impact overall learning, emotional skills, and socialization of young children (The Urban Child Institute, 2024). Equal emphasis on social and emotional learning should mirror the importance and impact of academic learning. A philosophy of integrated social and emotional…

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…

Recess represents a rich opportunity for social development, but students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often do not fully realize these benefits. In this systematic review, we review 37 experimental studies in which students with IDD received interventions designed to improve social outcomes at recess. Overall, these…

The authors conduct a broad, cross-cultural review of the literature in fields such as psychology, education, speech-language pathology, early intervention, and library science concerned with board games and learning in young children. They include experimenter-developed and commercial board games and children's learning in mathematics, science,…

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…

Social engagement, pretend play, and concern for another's distress represent fundamental features of typical social-emotional development in the second year. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display delays and deficits in these areas, and research on toddlers at heightened risk for ASD (HR; younger siblings of children with ASD)…

This RCT study examined efficacy of a preschool peer social intervention (PPSI) in facilitating social engagement of preschoolers with high-functioning ASD (HFASD; N = 65). HFASD participants were randomly assigned by preschool to a 6-month intervention (play, interaction, or conversation) or a waitlisted-treatment-as-usual control group. Trained…

In recent years, there is growing evidence for the efficacy of medical clowning as a para-medical profession. In the present study, we explored the possibility of expanding the work of medical clowns into the special education system, hypothesising that medical clowns can contribute to the development of socio-emotional abilities of children with…

Stay-Play-Talk (SPT) is a peer-mediated intervention used to increase social interactions between preschoolers with developmental disabilities and typically developing (TD) peers. This intervention has been found to be successful in increasing play and reciprocal conversation amongst children with and without disabilities. The following describes…

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…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a structured, playful activity program on the development of social skills in preschool aged children (4-6 years) during break time in the schoolyard of kindergarten. The participants were 40 pupils (26 toddlers and 14 pre-toddlers, 26 boys and 14 girls) from one Greek public kindergarten.…

Personal and social development is an important area which influences children's learning journey in all levels of education. Examining the impact of the arts on children's development, there are several studies that adopt this focus. However, the majority of them focus on either primary or secondary education or on specific personal and social…

Social pretend play may have a positive impact on children's social development because it involves positive peer interactions and challenges their social-cognitive abilities. The current study aimed to investigate whether variations in play tutors' active support and play management are associated with variations in children's social pretend play…