FOCUS ON PRACTICE: Naturalistic intervention for Asperger syndrome – a case study

Abstract

On the basis of their cognitive abilities, children with Asperger syndrome are attractive candidates for inclusive education and, in Australia, most are in integrated settings. However, social interaction between children with Asperger syndrome and their peers remains problematic, with the children with Asperger syndrome often being left alone despite being among or near classmates. For classroom teachers, effective interventions in terms of class management are critical to facilitate positive social interaction between these two groups of children, and case studies can tell us a great deal about what works. In practice, a combination of intervention techniques may be best, in case a single one is ineffective, and in order to take advantage of potential synergies. In this article, Serene Choi, of the School of Education at the University of Newcastle (Australia) and Timo Nieminen, of the Centre for Biophotonics and Laser Science in the Department of Physics at the University of Queensland, report a naturalistic multiple-component intervention used to develop the social skills of a boy with Asperger syndrome in a mainstream school in Australia. This combined intervention, making use of social stories, simple peer modelling and individual lessons, appears to be a practical teaching method for inclusive education.

A Systematic Review of Social Maintenance Behavior Outcomes of Interactive Social Interventions for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…Of the studies which measured greeting as an outcome variable, the five samples total 11 participants (eight male) between the ages of 5 and 12 years, who had received a diagnosis of an ASD (Barry et al, 2003; Choi & Nieminen, 2008; Ke & Im, 2013; Leaf et al, 2012; Olçay-Gül & Tekin-Iftar, 2016). No control groups were included.…”

“…Four of the five studies measured greeting quantitatively (Barry et al, 2003; Ke & Im, 2013; Leaf et al, 2012; Olçay-Gül & Tekin-Iftar, 2016) and one study measured greetings through qualitative report (Choi & Nieminen, 2008). Of the studies which measured greetings quantitatively, two studies defined greetings operationally through five steps, one of which recorded the percentage of steps exhibited (Leaf et al, 2012) and one of which scored participants for each step exhibited (Barry et al, 2003).…”

“…The other means of recording greeting behavior was the frequency of greeting behaviors across trials (Ke & Im, 2013; Olçay-Gül & Tekin-Iftar, 2016). Qualitative observations reported whether or not the participant initiated or responded to greetings (Choi & Nieminen, 2008).…”

Social competence intervention in autistic spectum disorders (ASDs). (c2011)

“…Bearing these studies in mind, research showed that natural teaching strategies used to improve social interaction between children with ASDs and their peers were designed on the basis of incidental teaching, 'social stories', and/ or simple peer modeling (Hyun-Jin Choi & Nieminen, 2008). A variety of peer-related strategies have been developed to improve the social functioning of children on the autism spectrum.…”

Strengthening Social Skills in Students With an Intellectual Disability in Secondary Education

“…The research of Choi and Nieminen (2008) proved the enforcement of positive behaviors to a student with ASD through teaching with social stories, because he could rationalize and face any problem. In this search, there were used stories that dealt with the growth of eye contact through his morning activities, his spare time activities, his participation during natural course, and how to get help.…”