Briet Gaëtan, Le Maner-Idrissi Gaïd, Seveno Tanguy, Le Marec Olivier, Le Sourn-Bissaoui Sandrine
University of NIMES, APSY-V, F-30021, Nîmes Cedex 1, France.
LP3C (Laboratoire de Psychologie, Cognition, Comportement, Communication), Université Rennes, Rennes, France.
Autism Dev Lang Impair. 2023 Oct 19;8:23969415231204837. doi: 10.1177/23969415231204837. eCollection 2023 Jan-Dec.
Peer-mediated interventions (PMIs) are effective strategies to foster socialization of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in natural settings. However, research examining the efficacy of peer mediation for students with ASD who have the greatest cognitive and language impairments remains limited. Additionally, previous studies essentially targeted communicative abilities of participants. To address this gap, the present study evaluated the effects of a play-based PMI on three socio-communicative skills (play, social engagement and imitation) of minimally verbal students with ASD who also have a comorbidity of intellectual disability (ID).
Seven children with ASD attending ordinary school settings and 14 typically developing (TD) preschoolers participated. Seven single-sex groups were formed, and children played together during two 30 min weekly sessions. TD children were trained according to the principles of the integrated play group model. We used a multiple-baseline design across participants to measure the effects of the intervention on play skills, social engagement and motor imitation of students with ASD.
Outcomes revealed an intervention effect for most of the participants, despite some variations across children. After the peer training, four children increased their duration of functional/symbolic play, six children improved their duration of interactive play and five children increased their rates of motor imitation. Concerning maintenance gains, inter-individual differences are also important.
These findings suggest that a play-based PMI may be a feasible option for targeting inclusive education and improving socio-communicative skills of some minimally verbal students with ASD who also have an ID. However, variations across children invite further research to clarify how individual factors can moderate the effects of PMIs in children with ASD who are the most impaired.
同伴介导干预（PMI）是在自然环境中促进自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童社交化的有效策略。然而，针对认知和语言障碍最严重的ASD学生的同伴调解效果的研究仍然有限。此外，以往的研究主要针对参与者的沟通能力。为了填补这一空白，本研究评估了基于游戏的PMI对患有ASD且合并智力障碍（ID）的极少言语学生的三种社会沟通技能（游戏、社交参与和模仿）的影响。
七名就读于普通学校的ASD儿童和十四名发育正常（TD）的学龄前儿童参与了研究。组成了七个单性别小组，孩子们每周进行两次30分钟的游戏活动。TD儿童根据综合游戏小组模型的原则进行训练。我们采用跨参与者的多基线设计来测量干预对ASD学生游戏技能、社交参与和动作模仿的影响。
结果显示，尽管不同儿童存在一些差异，但大多数参与者都有干预效果。同伴训练后，四名儿童增加了功能性/象征性游戏的时长，六名儿童改善了互动游戏的时长，五名儿童提高了动作模仿的频率。关于维持效果，个体差异也很重要。
这些发现表明，基于游戏的PMI可能是一种可行的选择，用于开展全纳教育并提高一些患有ASD且合并ID的极少言语学生的社会沟通技能。然而，儿童之间的差异促使进一步研究，以阐明个体因素如何调节PMI对ASD中受损最严重儿童的影响。
