Communication Skill Building in Young Children With and Without Disabilities in a Preschool Classroom

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the turn-taking skills of children with and without disabilities who participated in a social communication intervention targeting peer-directed initiations and responses. Eight children met the selection criteria for inclusion in the study. A multiple baseline design across participants (dyads) was used to determine the effects of the social communication intervention. All eight participants showed increases of initiations with an immediate peer response. Follow-up assessments showed that the effects were maintained in the return to baseline condition but did not generalize into the classroom setting. Classroom teachers found the intervention procedures and the behavioral changes in participants to be socially valid. Several implications for practice can be derived from the findings of the present study.