Children with Asperger’s Disorder often have difficulty with peer
relationships and socialization. The current study assessed whether peer social
interactions would improve in school settings if an intervention was designed
that incorporated the children with Asperger’s interests. Three children
who were fully-included in regular education classes but did not interact with
peers prior to intervention participated in this research. Social lunch clubs,
open to both the study participants and their typical peers, were implemented
twice weekly during regular lunchtime periods. Results showed that all three
children increased their time engaged with peers as a result of the clubs. While
their initiations greatly improved over baseline levels and approximated their
peers, they were often initiating below the level of most of their peers.
Implications for improving peer social interactions for children with
Asperger’s Disorder are discussed.
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