A Play-Based, Peer-Mediated Pragmatic Language Intervention for School-Aged Children on the Autism Spectrum: Predicting Who Benefits Most

Predicting Language in Children with ASD Using Spontaneous Language Samples and Standardized Measures

This longitudinal study examined the degree to which standardized measures of language and natural language samples predicted later language usage in a heterogeneous sample of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and how this relationship is impacted by ASD severity and interventions. Participants with a diagnosis of ASD (N = 54, 41 males) completed standardized assessments of language and social functioning; natural language samples were transcribed from play-based interactions. Findings indicated that standardized language measures, natural language measures, and ADOS severity were each unique predictors of later lexical use. Intervention types also appeared to impact later language; in particular, participation in mainstream inclusion accounted for significant amounts of variance in children's mean length of utterance at T3.

Seeking contexts that promote neurodiverse social success: Patterns of behavior during minimally-structured interaction settings in autistic and non-autistic youth

While peer interaction differences are considered a central feature of autism, little is known regarding the nature of these interactions via directly-observed measurement of naturalistic (i.e., minimally-structured) groups of autistic and non-autistic adolescent peers. 148 autistic and non-autistic adolescents (111 male, Mage = 14.22, SDage = 1.90; MIQ = 103.22, SDIQ = 15.80) participated in a 50-minute, minimally-structured, naturalistic peer interaction paradigm with activities of varying social demands: an incidental social demand (eating in a room with peers), a physical social demand (playing a physically-interactive game), and a verbal social demand (playing a verbal game). While autistic youth exhibited fewer overall interaction behaviors than non-autistic youth, the two groups did not differ in amount of positive, negative, and low-level interaction behaviors. Within activities, autistic and non-autistic youth only differed in positive interaction behaviors during the context of a verbal social demand. Youth who displayed more positive interaction behaviors during this same activity had less autism spectrum disorder symptomatology, controlling for nested group effects and relevant covariates. These results point toward subtle differences in social demands across naturalistic settings that can either support or impede prosocial interaction for autistic youth, providing a guidepost for identifying settings that best promote social success for neurodiverse populations.

Autistic children who create imaginary companions: Evidence of social benefits

LAY ABSTRACT

Research on neurotypical children with imaginary friends has found that those with imaginary friends have better social skills and are more able to think about how other people's minds work compared to children without imaginary friends. Research shows that some autistic children also create imaginary friends. This article is the first to look at whether or not autistic children with imaginary friends have stronger social skills and an improved ability to think about others' minds than those without imaginary friends. We asked parents to report about their children aged 5 to 12. Finding almost half reported their child had an imaginary friend, a much larger number than previous research with younger children. Our findings also suggested that autistic children with imaginary friends were better able to understand others' minds and had stronger social skills than their peers without imaginary friends. The children's language ability did not influence this. The findings of this study add to the evidence that with respect to the creation imaginary friends and their potential benefits, the play profiles of autistic children are similar to the general population. It also provides more evidence that the understanding of others' minds is not all or nothing in autism and gives reason for researchers to investigate whether the causes of these differences are the same or different for autistic children.

Scoping Review on Play-Based Interventions in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Play as a therapeutic strategy can help to improve daily functioning in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Play-based intervention can thus be an optimal option for treatment of this population. Our aim was to describe play-based interventions used in children and adolescents with ASD. We conducted a scoping review. A peer-reviewed literature search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science and PsycINFO databases. We included experimental studies which analyzed play-based interventions in children and adolescents with ASD, which were published in English/Spanish with full text available. We used three tables elaborated a priori to perform data extraction by two authors. Fifteen studies were included, mostly conducted in Australia and published during the past 10 years. Play-based intervention was categorized into three groups: new technologies, symbolic play or official techniques. Interventions lasted approximately 11 weeks, contained one weekly session of 30-60 min and were delivered by parents and teachers. Play-based interventions using new technologies were the most used. Intervention duration and number of sessions varied between articles. Further studies are needed to create play-based intervention protocols which can be implemented in clinical practice with children and adolescents with ASD, thus promoting evidence-based interventions in this field.

Effects of interventions for social anxiety and shyness in school-aged children: A systematic review and meta-analysis

In school, shyness is associated with psychosocial difficulties and has negative impacts on children's academic performance and wellbeing. Even though there are different strategies and interventions to help children deal with shyness, there is currently no comprehensive systematic review of available interventions. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to identify interventions for shy children and to evaluate the effectiveness in reducing psychosocial difficulties and other impacts. The methodology and reporting were guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement and checklist. A total of 4,864 studies were identified and 25 of these met the inclusion criteria. These studies employed interventions that were directed at school-aged children between six and twelve years of age and described both pre- and post-intervention measurement in target populations of at least five children. Most studies included an intervention undertaken in a school setting. The meta-analysis revealed interventions showing a large effect in reducing negative consequences of shyness, which is consistent with extant literature regarding shyness in school, suggesting school-age as an ideal developmental stage to target shyness. None of the interventions were delivered in a classroom setting, limiting the ability to make comparisons between in-class interventions and those delivered outside the classroom, but highlighting the effectiveness of interventions outside the classroom. The interventions were often conducted in group sessions, based at the school, and involved activities such as play, modelling and reinforcement and clinical methods such as social skills training, psychoeducation, and exposure. Traditionally, such methods have been confined to a clinic setting. The results of the current study show that, when such methods are used in a school-based setting and involve peers, the results can be effective in reducing negative effects of shyness. This is consistent with recommendations that interventions be age-appropriate, consider social development and utilise wide, school-based programs that address all students.

A Play-Based, Peer-Mediated Pragmatic Language Intervention for School-Aged Children on the Autism Spectrum: Predicting Who Benefits Most

This study explored characteristics of children with autism with large intervention effects following a peer-mediated pragmatic language intervention, to devise algorithms for predicting children most likely to benefit. Children attended a 10-week intervention with a typically-developing peer. Data from a pilot study and RCT formed the dataset for this study. The POM-2 measured intervention outcomes. Children completed the EVT-2, TACL-4, and Social Emotional Evaluation at baseline, and parents completed the CCC-2 and CCBRS. High CCC-2 Use of Context and CCBRS Separation Anxiety scores and comparatively lower EVT-2, CCC-2 Nonverbal Communication and Cohesion scores predicted children with large intervention effects. Results can be used by clinicians to predict which children within their clinics might benefit most from participating in this intervention.