Cullen Hannah, Billingham Sarah, St Clair Michelle C
Department of Language and Communication Science, School of Health and Psychological Sciences, City University of London, London, UK.
Confident Kids, Bracknell, UK.
Autism Dev Lang Impair. 2024 Aug 30;9:23969415241275775. doi: 10.1177/23969415241275775. eCollection 2024 Jan-Dec.
Peer interaction difficulties are often elevated amongst children with language disorders, yet the mechanisms underlying these difficulties are unclear. Previous research indicates that poor conflict management, social withdrawal, emotion regulation difficulties, and reduced prosocial behavior may contribute to peer interaction difficulties. However, this research often uses adult perspectives, failing to acknowledge child perceptions of these experiences. The present study aimed to qualitatively investigate perceptions of peer interactions from the perspective of children with language disorders.
Seven participants aged between 7- and 10-years-old took part. All participants were diagnosed with a language disorder and had language as their primary area of difficulty. Participants were recruited from a specialist language school and via an online database. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, with participants given the choice to answer questions verbally or creatively, using toys or drawing materials. Interview transcripts were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Participants valued play, conversation, and helping others. They felt that spending time with peers could alleviate loneliness. However, sometimes solitude was needed as social interaction could be overwhelming. Participants found conflict challenging and exhibited difficulties with regulating emotions. Participants relied on running away, retaliation, or asking an adult for help, to resolve conflict.
The findings suggest that children with language disorders are socially motivated and have relative strengths in displaying prosocial behavior. However, children with language disorders require support to promote positive relationships. This support includes help with making deeper connections with peers, opportunities to spend time alone when needed, and providing adept conflict resolution and emotion regulation strategies.
在有语言障碍的儿童中，同伴互动困难的情况常常更为突出，然而这些困难背后的机制尚不清楚。先前的研究表明，冲突管理能力差、社交退缩、情绪调节困难以及亲社会行为减少可能导致同伴互动困难。然而，这项研究通常采用成人视角，没有考虑到儿童对这些经历的看法。本研究旨在从有语言障碍儿童的角度对同伴互动的看法进行定性调查。
七名年龄在7至10岁之间的参与者参与了研究。所有参与者均被诊断患有语言障碍，且语言是其主要困难领域。参与者是从一所专业语言学校和一个在线数据库招募的。进行了半结构化访谈，参与者可以选择口头回答问题，或者通过使用玩具或绘画材料进行创造性回答。访谈记录采用解释现象学分析方法进行分析。
参与者重视玩耍、交谈和帮助他人。他们觉得与同伴共度时光可以减轻孤独感。然而，有时需要独处，因为社交互动可能会让人不堪重负。参与者发现冲突具有挑战性，并且在情绪调节方面存在困难。参与者依靠逃跑、报复或向成年人求助来解决冲突。
研究结果表明，有语言障碍的儿童具有社交动机，在表现亲社会行为方面有相对优势。然而，有语言障碍的儿童需要得到支持以促进积极的人际关系。这种支持包括帮助与同伴建立更深厚的联系、在需要时提供独处的机会，以及提供熟练的冲突解决和情绪调节策略。
