Chang Ya-Chih, Shih Wendy, Kasari Connie
California State University, Los Angeles, USA
University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
Autism. 2016 Jan;20(1):65-74. doi: 10.1177/1362361314567761. Epub 2015 Feb 18.
Children begin to show preferences for specific playmates as early as the first 2 years of life. Children with autism spectrum disorder have difficulty making friends, even in elementary and middle school. However, very little is known about earlier friendships in children with autism such as preschool friendships. This study examined friendships in preschool children with autism and explored how joint attention contributes to these friendships in mainstream settings. A secondary aim was to determine the extent to which teachers used strategies to facilitate friendship development. The participants were 31 mainstreamed preschool children (ages 2-5 years) with autism spectrum disorder. School observations were conducted individually to capture participants' interactions with peers and adults during free play. The results indicated that 20% of the participants had friendships at school. Children with friends were more likely than children without friends to be jointly engaged with their peers during free play, and they used higher joint attention skills. Teachers used few friendship facilitating strategies, and more often used behavioral management strategies within the classrooms. Future studies may want to examine the effects of early interventions and/or teacher training on the development of friendships in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder within the school setting.
儿童早在生命的头两年就开始表现出对特定玩伴的偏好。患有自闭症谱系障碍的儿童即使在小学和中学阶段交朋友也有困难。然而，对于自闭症儿童早期的友谊，比如学龄前的友谊，我们所知甚少。本研究调查了自闭症学龄前儿童的友谊，并探讨了共同注意如何在主流环境中促进这些友谊。第二个目的是确定教师使用策略促进友谊发展的程度。参与者是31名患有自闭症谱系障碍的主流化学龄前儿童（年龄在2至5岁之间）。通过单独进行学校观察，以捕捉参与者在自由玩耍期间与同龄人和成年人的互动。结果表明，20%的参与者在学校有朋友。有朋友的孩子在自由玩耍期间比没有朋友的孩子更有可能与同龄人共同参与活动，并且他们使用更高水平的共同注意技能。教师很少使用促进友谊的策略，更多地是在课堂上使用行为管理策略。未来的研究可能希望研究早期干预和/或教师培训对学校环境中患有自闭症谱系障碍的学龄前儿童友谊发展的影响。
