Social network analysis of children with autism spectrum disorder: Predictors of fragmentation and connectivity in elementary school classrooms

Social connectedness at the playground before and after COVID-19 school closure

Social connectedness at school is crucial to children's development, yet very little is known about the way it has been affected by school closures during COVID-19 pandemic. We compared pre-post lockdown levels of social connectedness at a school playground in forty-three primary school-aged children, using wearable sensors, observations, peer nominations and self-reports. Upon school reopening, findings from sensors and peer nominations indicated increases in children's interaction time, network diversity and network centrality. Group observations indicated a decrease in no-play social interactions and an increase in children's involvement in social play. Explorative analyses did not reveal relations between changes in peer connectedness and pre-lockdown levels of peer connectedness or social contact during the lockdown period. Findings pointed at the role of recess in contributing to children's social well-being and the importance of attending to their social needs upon reopening.

Social engagement and loneliness in school-age autistic girls and boys

OBJECTIVES

This study examines the relationship between social engagement and loneliness in female and male autistic children and adolescents in school-based social settings. Secondary aims sought to explore the emergence of loneliness across different age groups and differences in social engagement and loneliness between genders.

METHODS

This study conducted an analysis of previously collected data from two multi-site randomized control trials. This study included 58 autistic students (29 females, 29 males) between the ages 6 through 18 years. Female and male participants were matched on age and intelligence quotient. Concurrent mixed methods were used to examine participants' social engagement and loneliness.

RESULTS

Findings revealed a significant relationship between joint engagement and loneliness, such that autistic students reported more loneliness when they were mutually engaged with social groups than when they were isolated or alone. Positive correlations between joint engage and loneliness were identified in elementary-age girls and secondary-age boys, suggesting that being mutually engaged with peers leads to increased loneliness. Negative correlations between parallel and loneliness identified in secondary-age boys suggested that boys in close proximity to peers felt less lonely than boys who were mutually engaged with peers. Qualitative analysis of social behaviors indicated that elementary girls and secondary boys were more likely to be mutually engaged or in close proximity to activities, but they had difficulty sustaining this engagement throughout the entire social period. Secondary girls and elementary boys, on the other hand, were more likely to be solitary and less likely to engage with peer groups.

CONCLUSION

Study findings highlight the relationship between social engagement and loneliness in school-based autistic populations, and that more engagement itself can lead to more loneliness for younger girls and older boys. The influence of age and gender on engagement and loneliness highlights a need to tailor social interventions to leverage existing social strengths.

Using Social Network Analysis to Measure Social Inclusion for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

The aim of this perspective is to describe the theory and practical steps of using principles of social network analysis to help measure the social inclusion of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Social inclusion for those with disabilities has become an important area of focus of rehabilitative professionals in the past decade. Social inclusion is comprised of the domains participation and social interaction. Decreased social inclusion can negatively impact quality of life and health. Individuals with IDD continue to experience barriers to social inclusion such as limited opportunities to socialize and participate in community groups, physical barriers, and the lack of available valued social roles. There are limited methods for measuring social inclusion for individuals with IDD. Social network analysis is one way to analyze and understand social relationships to better understand the social inclusion of individuals with IDD. Providing a way to measure social inclusion may help answer questions about the effectiveness of interventions, ultimately leading to increased social inclusion for individuals with IDD.

Exploring the role of interpersonal contexts in peer relationships among autistic and non-autistic youth in integrated education

The double empathy problem theory posits that autistic social difficulties emerge from an interpersonal misalignment in social experiences and expectations between autistic and non-autistic people. Supporting this, emerging research reveals better social outcomes in interactions within than across neurotypes among autistic and non-autistic people, emphasizing the need to examine the role of the interpersonal context in autistic social outcomes. However, research on peer relationships among autistic youth primarily focuses on individual characteristics in isolation from the interpersonal context. To address this, this preliminary study explored the effects of student-peer neurotype match on peer relationships among autistic and non-autistic youth in an integrated educational setting. We plotted the peer relationship networks among youth in a school club based on systematic observations of peer interactions over eight 45-min sessions. Descriptive network statistics (node degree and strength) showed that both autistic and non-autistic youth had more and stronger peer relationships with their same- than cross-neurotype peers. Assortativity coefficients revealed a tendency for youth to connect with peers of the same neurotype, rather than with peers with similar social popularity or activity. We further modeled the effects of student-peer neurotype match on peer relationships using exponential random graph models. The findings suggested that student-peer neurotype match predicted the total strength of peer relationships above and beyond the effects of student neurotype, individual heterogeneity in social popularity and activity, and the tendency of mutuality in social relationships. We discussed the strengths and limitations of this study and the implications for future research and inclusion practice.

The Development of an Escape Room-Based Serious Game to Trigger Social Interaction and Communication Between High-Functioning Children With Autism and Their Peers: Iterative Design Approach

BACKGROUND

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have social deficits that affect social interactions, communication, and relationships with peers. Many existing interventions focus mainly on improving social skills in clinical settings. In addition to the direct instruction-based programs, activity-based programs could be of added value, especially to bridge the relational gap between children with ASD and their peers.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to describe an iterative design process for the development of an escape room-based serious game as a boundary object. The purpose of the serious game is to facilitate direct communication between high-functioning children with ASD and their peers, for the development of social skills on the one hand and strengthening relationships with peers through a fun and engaging activity on the other hand.

METHODS

This study is structured around the Design Research Framework to develop an escape room through an iterative-incremental process. With a pool of 37 children, including 23 children diagnosed with ASD (5 girls) and 14 children (7 girls) attending special primary education for other additional needs, 4 testing sessions around different prototypes were conducted. The beta prototype was subsequently reviewed by experts (n=12). During the design research process, we examined in small steps whether the developed prototypes are feasible and whether they have the potential to achieve the formulated goals of different stakeholders.

RESULTS

By testing various prototypes, several insights were found and used to improve the design. Insights were gained in finding a fitting and appealing theme for the children, composing the content, and addressing different constraints in applying the goals from the children's and therapeutic perspectives. Eventually, a multiplayer virtual escape room, AScapeD, was developed. Three children can play the serious game in the same room on tablets. The first test shows that the game enacts equal cooperation and communication among the children.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper presents an iterative design process for AScapeD. AScapeD enacts equal cooperation and communication in a playful way between children with ASD and their peers. The conceptual structure of an escape room contributes to the natural emergence of communication and cooperation. The iterative design process has been beneficial for finding a constructive game structure to address all formulated goals, and it contributed to the design of a serious game as a boundary object that mediates the various objectives of different stakeholders. We present 5 lessons learned from the design process. The developed prototype is feasible and has the potential to achieve the goals of the serious game.

Developing an Online Tool to Measure Social Network Structure and Perceived Social Support Amongst Autistic Students in Higher Education: A Feasibility Study

The academic, daily-living, and social challenges all students face during university transition can become magnified for many autistic students, who might struggle to adapt to changes in their social network structure (SNS) and perceived social support (PSS). This study assessed the development, feasibility, and convergent validity of a novel online tool (Social Network and Perceived Social Support-SNaPSS) designed to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate SNS and PSS during university transition. SNaPSS demonstrated good feasibility for completion amongst autistic students (Study 1, n = 10, 17-19 years), and adequate convergent validity against other PSS, autism symptom severity, and social anxiety measures amongst autistic (n = 28) and typically developing students (Study 2, n = 112, 17-19 years). Broader implications of SNaPSS to measure SNS/PSS are discussed.

Non-reciprocal Friendships in a School-Age Boy with Autism: The Ties that Build?

This mixed-methods study examined differences in social interaction patterns between a school-age boy with autism and his friends, non-reciprocal friends, and non-friends during recess time at a mainstream school (third grade of elementary school). Through a combination of observational methodology and social network analysis with an idiographic, follow-up and multidimensional design approach, we used lag sequential and polar coordinate analysis to ascertain the associations between various interactive behaviors as a function of type of friendship relation. After 40 sessions, we found that the non-reciprocal friendship relations of the boy with autism could have significantly greater potential than his reciprocal friendships to increase active engagement and reduce the time he spent alone during recess.

Understanding Friendship Sex Heterophily and Relational Characteristics to Optimize the Selection of Peer Models for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study used social network analysis to evaluate whether sex heterophily, the degree to which peers are different in sex, between 126 children with autism (ages 5-12 years) and their peers affected social network connectivity. Results indicate that: (1) the quantity and sex of friends were more important in predicting social network connectivity than the relational characteristics of the friends (friendship nominations and social network salience/popularity); and (2) sex heterophily is an important factor in predicting social network connectivity. For males with autism, having friends of the same sex was associated with better social network connectivity; this was not true for females with autism. These findings have important implications for the selection of peer models for elementary-aged children with autism.

Evaluating the quality of peer interactions in children and adolescents with autism with the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS)

Background

A core difficulty for individuals with autism is making friends and successfully engaging and interacting with peers. The majority of measures to assess peer interactions are observations in a school setting or self-report. The present study examined the convergent validity of using a teacher rating scale, the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS), for collecting information about the quality of peer interactions at school.

Methods

Teachers completed the PIPPS for 107 children with ASD when the child was 9 and 13 years of age. Clinicians completed diagnostic and cognitive assessments and caregivers completed the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) when the child was 9.

Results

Parent report of reciprocal friendships from the ADI-R was associated with teacher report about how socially connected the child was at school on the PIPPS, indicating strong convergence between teachers and parents. Children with more severe restricted and repetitive behaviors and lower verbal abilities were less connected with peers. Children with access to typical peers had more connections with peers compared to those who were in a special education classroom.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that teacher ratings from the PIPPS can accurately capture the quality of peer interactions in children and adolescents with ASD and may be useful for clinicians and researchers to evaluate peer engagement in the classroom.

Characteristics of socially successful elementary school-aged children with autism

BACKGROUND

The extant literature demonstrates that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty interacting and socially connecting with typically developing classmates. However, some children with ASD have social outcomes that are consistent with their typically developing counterparts. Little is known about this subgroup of children with ASD. This study examined the stable (unlikely to change) and malleable (changeable) characteristics of socially successful children with ASD.

METHODS

This study used baseline data from three intervention studies performed in public schools in the Southwestern United States. A total of 148 elementary-aged children with ASD in 130 classrooms in 47 public schools participated. Measures of playground peer engagement and social network salience (inclusion in informal peer groups) were obtained.

RESULTS

The results demonstrated that a number of malleable factors significantly predicted playground peer engagement (class size, autism symptom severity, peer connections) and social network salience (autism symptom severity, peer connections, received friendships). In addition, age was the only stable factor that significantly predicted social network salience. Interestingly, two malleable (i.e., peer connections and received friendships) and no stable factors (i.e., age, IQ, sex) predicted overall social success (e.g., high playground peer engagement and social network salience) in children with ASD.

CONCLUSIONS

School-based interventions should address malleable factors such as the number of peer connections and received friendships that predict the best social outcomes for children with ASD.

Peer-Mediated Intervention for the Development of Social Interaction Skills in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication, which manifest at school especially in less structured situations such as recess. Recess provides opportunities for relationship with peers in a natural context, for which students with ASD may not be equipped with the necessary skills to use without support. Using a single-case design, we evaluated an intervention applied in recess to improve the social interaction skills of a student with high-functioning ASD mediated by his peers without ASD, in second grade of elementary school. This intervention includes different strategies to initiate the peers without ASD, using direct instruction, modeling, and social reinforcement carried out in the recess setting. After 14 sessions, changes were observed in the rates of initiating and responding to interactions, and a negative trend in the percentage of time that the student maintained low-intensity interactions or was alone. Teachers and family perceived improvements in social skills, more peer acceptance, and increase in the frequency and duration of social interactions. This intervention can help teachers to apply research-based practices to improve some social interaction skills in high-functioning students with autism in inclusive school environments.