Use of a newly designed intervention to support social problem-solving in primary schools

Abstract

There is much research to describe the value of social problem-solving interventions in terms of long-term outcomes for children and young people, a great deal of which is summarised in two key review papers (Barnes et al., 2018; Merrill et al., 2017). A key element in effective teaching of social problem-solving skills to children is turning an abstract situation into a concrete situation. This has been demonstrated by Carol Gray through her development of Comic Strip Conversations (CSCs) (Gray, 1995). CSCs allow children and young people to reflect on social situations and to engage in problem-solving around them. This continues to be an area of difficulty for many children, and not solely those with diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Conditions. Comic Strip Conversations have, and remain to be, a widely recommended and used intervention to support the development of social problem-solving in schools. However, in our work as educational psychologists we find, anecdotally, that children (and staff) sometimes find them difficult to implement and to generate engagement. The present single-case study describes the introduction of a newly designed intervention which aims to support the development of social problem-solving skills using Playmobil. As there is a lack of research in this area with girls (Bradley et al., 2004), the research describes a female primary school child’s experience of the new intervention. Following suggestions that, in this area, researchers should use ‘adequate intervention descriptions to allow for replication’ (Smith, Daunic & Taylor, 2007) the research includes a full description of the intervention and examples of resources used.