Teaching social interaction skills in the integrated preschool: An examination of naturalistic tactics

The purpose of this study was to increase the social interaction skills of four pre-school children with autism. Four teachers in integrated preschool classrooms participated. Experimental sessions occurred during daily 10-mi nute activities in which all children in the class were free to select from six to eight different activities. Prior to beginning the study, all four teachers were introduced to a variety of naturalistic teaching tactics desi gned to stimulate children's play and interaction with others. A multiple b aseline design was employed to examine three different conditions. In base line, teachers used these tactics with no assistance from research staff. I n a second phase, teachers received daily feedback and technical assistance . Assistance was provided on only one occasion and then withdrawn during a maintenance phase. Results indicated that all four children increased their social interactions during the technical assistance phase. Each boy exhibi ted his skills-in a range of different play activities, and two continued t o display high levels of interaction during a maintenance phase.