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Abstract In inclusive preschools, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities (DD) are less socially engaged with peers than are typically developing (TD) children. However, there is limited objective information describing how children with ASD engage with teachers, or how teacher engagement compares to engagement with peers. We tracked over 750 hours' worth of children's (N = 77;NASD = 24,NDD = 23,NTD = 30;Mage = 43.98 months) and teachers' (N = 12) locations and orientations across eight inclusion preschool classrooms to quantify child‐teacher and child‐peer social preference. Social approach velocity and time in social contact were computed for each child and compared across social partners to index children's preference for teachers over peers. Children with ASD approached teachers–‐but not peers—more quickly than children with TD, and children with ASD were approached more quickly by teachers and more slowly by peers than children with TD. Children with ASD spent less time in social contact with peers and did not differ from children with TD in their time in social contact with teachers. Overall, children with ASD showed a greater preference for approaching, being approached by, and being in social contact with teachers (relative to peers) than children with TD. No significant differences emerged between children with DD and children with TD. In conclusion, children with ASD exhibited a stronger preference for engaging with teachers over peers, re‐emphasizing the need for classroom‐based interventions that support the peer interactions of children with ASD.
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Automated measures of vocal interactions and engagement in inclusive preschool classrooms
Abstract Classroom engagement plays a crucial role in preschoolers' development, yet the correlates of engagement, especially among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental delays (DD), remains unknown. This study examines levels of engagement with classroom social partners and tasks among children in three groups ASD, DD, and typical development (TD). Here, we asked whether children's vocal interactions (vocalizations to and from peers and teachers) were associated with their classroom engagement with social partners (peers and teachers) and with tasks, and whether the association between classroom engagement and vocal interactions differed between children in the ASD group and their peers in the DD and TD groups. Automated measures of vocalizations and location quantified children's vocal interactions with peers and teachers over the course of the school year. Automated location and vocalization data were used to capture both (1) children's vocal output to specific peers and teachers, and (2) the vocal input they received from those peers and teachers. Participants were 72 3–5‐year‐olds (Mage = 48.6 months, SD = 7.0, 43% girls) and their teachers. Children in the ASD group displayed lower engagement with peers, teachers, and tasks than children in the TD group; they also showed lower engagement with peers than children in the DD group. Overall, children's own vocalizations were positively associated with engagement with social partners. Thus, although children in the ASD group tend to have lower engagement scores than children in the TD group, active participation in vocal interactions appears to support their classroom engagement with teachers and peers.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2150830
- PAR ID:
- 10439025
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Autism Research
- Volume:
- 16
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 1939-3792
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 1586-1599
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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