Does providing descriptive and/or explanatory information affect peer attitudes and intentions towards children with High Functioning Autism?

Peer-mediated interventions to increase the social interaction for children with high functioning autism (HFA) were systematically reviewed.

All 13 included studies indicated peer training was a practical and effective approach for increasing the frequency and duration of interactions between children with HFA and their peers.

However, the quality of these interactions was not measured.

Promising effects were found in a study using social skills alongside visual-based strategies. Another study producing worthy results involved peer training based on the theory of mediated learning.

Overall, findings indicated that targeted skills generalised less effectively to natural settings. 

The majority of studies employed single-subject research that was limited by low experimental control. Alongside this, methods of classification and grouping practices of autism within studies were ambiguous.

More group research designs based on the same diagnostic criteria would enhance the validity of interventions, while demonstrating if large scale intervention programs are practical and effective for this population of children.

This empirical study examined peer attitudes and behaviour intentions (10-11 years) towards a hypothetical peer with HFA.

Peers received different information (no info/descriptive/explanatory/combined info) after watching a video. Peers did not report more positive attitudes or behaviour intentions when they were given a combination of both descriptive and explanatory information.

In fact, boys showed less willingness to engage in activities with an unfamiliar peer with HFA after receiving an explanatory message.

Girls reported more positive attitudes than boys irrespective of information received and more willingness to engage in academic activities. Alongside this, girls reported themselves to be more similar than males to the child with HFA.

Finally, peer perceptions of responsibility did not result in positive changes to attributions after an explanation was provided.

In fact, this message resulted in males attributing the child with HFA to be more responsible of his behaviour.