Twin brothers with autism and their intra-pair interactions in a pre-school special education class

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe present study focused on the intra-pair interaction of a pair of dizygotic twins with autism in pre-school age and explored: (a) the type of play and the level of symbolic play the twins prefer and are most frequently engaged with; (b) the attitudes the twins usually display; (c) the most frequent initiator of interactions; and (d) the way the quality of interaction is being affected by the above factors. The twins’ interactions were observed in their classroom environment. Observational data were triangulated with data from a semi-structured interview with the twins’ mother, their teacher, and the school psychologist. Results indicated a number of intra-pair differences in the twins’ interactions. The triangulation revealed that the mother, the teacher, and the school psychologist had a slightly different understanding of these interactions. The need for a more systematic and consistent assessment of intra-pair interactions, coordinated by specialists, is highlighted.