Social behaviors of children with language impairment on the playground: Apilot study

Purpose: This pilot study examined the social behaviors of children with la nguage impairment (LI) and their typical peers on the playground. Method: Eight children with LI and their age-matched peers were videotape r ecorded for 45 minutes during morning and lunch recesses. Samples were divi ded into 5-second segments and coded according to the child's behavior occu rring during the segment. The behavior displayed during each interval was t hen coded into one of 37 subcategories. These subcategories were grouped in to six general categories of (a) peer interaction, (b) adult interaction, ( c) withdrawal, (d) aggression, (e) victimization, and (f) other. Results: Significant differences were observed in the categories of peer in teraction and withdrawal. Typical children spent significantly more time in teracting with peers than did children with LI. Conversely, children with L I demonstrated significantly more withdrawn behaviors than did their typica l peers. Analyses of effect size using omega (2) indicated that group membe rship accounted for approximately 30% of the variability in both of these t ypes of playground behavior. No other significant differences were observed . These findings support the conclusions of researchers using teacher inter view procedures, indicating that children with LI are more withdrawn than t heir typical peers at school. Clinical Implications: Specific intervention targeting social language skil ls in playground contexts may be warranted to include children with LI in s ocial interactions at recess.