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…

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…

Every child deserves the opportunity to play during their preschool-age towards optimal development of physical, intellectual, social and emotional. However, parents or caregivers from the remote villages in Myanmar have not raised awareness of the play with their preschoolers. There was no preschool program in these remote villages in Myanmar.…

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…

This study aims to explore the effect of music education on the acquisition of social values by preschool children. In this study, a quasi-experimental pattern model with the pretest-posttest control group is employed. The Preschool Social Values Scale is used for collecting the data. The participants of this study are 26 preschool children (the…

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…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of basic tennis education on stress and assertiveness levels among middle school students. Material: The study group consisted of a total of 120 students, 60 females and 60 males, aged 9-11 years. The Rathus Assertiveness Schedule and the Perceived Stress Scale for Children were used as…

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…

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.…

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…

This study investigated the use of a playful, narrative, vignette-based method, called Story Magician's Play Time (SMPT), in supporting children's social-emotional reasoning and in helping children practice their social skills. We set out to examine (a) in what ways children use SMPT sessions to explore social interaction situations and to…

This study offers a look inside one school community. The school implemented Let Grow Play Club and a recently expanded 40-minute recess period. Data are from observations of children's play periods, child interviews, and teacher interviews. We argue that play has significant cognitive, emotional, and social benefits for elementary school…

This article introduces 'Ding Ding Lok' (DDL), a group game especially designed for persons affected by mild-to-moderate intellectual disability and explores its utility in rehabilitation service settings in Hong Kong. Reports from service staff who participated in the pilot project were analysed using thematic analysis. Two key questions were…

We compared the effectiveness of two programs for developing social skills, 'Play Time/Social Time' (PT/ST) and 'I Can Problem Solve' (ICPS), in improving the social skills and theory of mind (ToM) of preschoolers with ASD. The experiment took place in a classroom setting. Fifty-two children attended and data were analyzed with latent growth curve…

Despite widespread clinical use of group-based social skills training (SST) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there remains a lack of follow-up data, generalisation effects, common definition of social skills, and teacher report data. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an 8-week SST intervention with a play component…