Children's social preference for teachers versus peers in autism inclusion classrooms: An objective perspective.
Madison Drye, Chitra Banarjee, Lynn Perry and 3 others
PMID 39627983WHAT IT FOUND
Children with autism moved faster toward teachers and were approached faster by teachers than peers were.
They also spent less time in social contact with peers. Teachers did not replace peer interaction, but peer engagement remained lower for children with autism.
Key findings
01Children with autism approached teachers at higher velocities than typically developing peers, and teachers approached children with autism at higher velocities than typically developing peers.
02Children with autism spent significantly less classroom time in social contact with peers compared to typically developing children.
03Children with autism showed an elevated preference for approaching teachers over peers and for time in social contact with teachers over peers compared to typically developing children.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample size of 77 children and 12 teachers is relatively small. The group with other developmental disabilities was heterogeneous, potentially masking specific patterns within that subgroup. The study used categorical group assignments rather than continuous measures of symptom severity or support needs. In some classrooms, typically developing children were present for the full day while children with autism were present for only half the day, which may have affected contact opportunities. Automated tracking measures physical proximity and orientation but cannot capture the qualitative nature or subjective experience of the social interactions.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The work was funded by the National Science Foundation, Institute of Education Sciences, Spencer Foundation, National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders, and the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high teacher engagement as a sign that teacher support is displacing peer interaction. The study found that teacher engagement was positively associated with peer engagement, meaning children who interacted more with teachers also tended to interact more with peers, though overall peer contact remained lower for children with autism.