"Sometimes I Want to Play by Myself": Understanding What Friendship Means to Children with Autism in Mainstream Primary Schools

Autor/inn/en	Calder, Lynsey; Hill, Vivian; Pellicano, Elizabeth
Titel	"Sometimes I Want to Play by Myself": Understanding What Friendship Means to Children with Autism in Mainstream Primary Schools
Quelle	In: Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 17 (2013) 3, S.296-316 (21 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1362-3613
DOI	10.1177/1362361312467866
Schlagwörter	Friendship; Autism; Elementary School Students; Foreign Countries; Peer Relationship; Comparative Analysis; Social Development; Motivation; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Observation; Semi Structured Interviews; Mothers; Attitude Measures; Elementary School Teachers; Intelligence Quotient; School Role; Parent Role; Teacher Role; United Kingdom + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Freundschaft; Autismus; Ausland; Peer-Beziehungen; Soziale Entwicklung; psychologische; Motivation (psychologisch); Beobachtung; Mother; Mutter; Elementary school; Teacher; Teachers; Grundschule; Volksschule; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Intelligenzquotient; Parental role; Elternrolle; Lehrerrolle; Großbritannien
Abstract	Research has shown that friendship impacts the overall experience of mainstream school for autistic children. Using a unique combination of quantitative, qualitative and social network methods, we investigated the extent and nature of autistic children's friendships from their perspective and from those of their mothers, teachers and classroom peers. Consistent with previous research, children with autism (n = 12), aged between 9 and 11 years, rated their friendships to be of poorer quality than their non-autistic classroom peers (n = 11). There was, however, much variability in autistic children's ratings, which, unexpectedly, was related to neither children's cognitive ability nor their theory of mind ability. Encouragingly, the children generally reported satisfaction with their friendships, and although no child was socially isolated, the degree of inclusion in friendship networks varied widely. Furthermore, autistic children's social motivation emerged as a key factor in parents' and teachers' reports in determining both the nature and extent of their friendships. Adults played an active role in supporting children's friendships, but this sometimes conflicted with what the children wanted. These findings highlight the need to ascertain the perspectives of young people with autism on their friendships and to consider the social and ethical implications of when "and" how to intervene. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure, and 2 notes.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10