The Effects of Variety of Activities on the Social Interaction of Preschool Children with Disabilities

Abstract

Analysis of previous research has indicated that restricting the amount of equipment available may be a practical strategy to facilitate peer interaction in childcare, but a disadvantage is a possible increase in aggressive behaviour. An alternative approach is manipulating the variety of activities while holding the quantity and type of equipment consistent. The effect of such an intervention was examined on social interaction of two children with disabilities including severe language problems. A single case alternating treatment design was used to compare the effectiveness of eight activities, as opposed to four activities with the quantity of equipment doubled. There was no consistent clinically significant difference in social interaction when the variety of activities was varied for the children in this study. It is possible that the language delay of the participants may have attenuated the effect of the intervention, and this possibility warrants further investigation.