The effects of children's friendship training on social skills and quality of play among children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Among the challenges faced by children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) involves developing social skills and building quality friendship through social activities, interactions and playing games. The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of Children's Friendship Training (CFT) on social skills among children with ASD. Utilising the quasi-experimental design of one-group-pretest-posttest study, this research was conducted on 40 children aged 7 to 12 years in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The intervention lasted for 12 weeks and involved both the children with ASD and their parents. Data was collected twice for pretest and post-test scores using two sets of questionnaires, Social Skills Rating Scale (SSRS) and Quality of Play Questionnaire (QPQ). Descriptive and inferential statistical tools were used to analyse the data. The findings indicated that there were significant increase in the social skills of children with ASD after the intervention, based on both the teachers' (t(30) = -6.298, p =.000) and parents', (t(30) = -8.266, p =.000) evaluations. All the three subscales of Quality of Play also showed significant differences after the intervention, with significant decrease in conflict, (t(30) = 3.949, p =.000) and disengagement (M = 5.52, SD = 1.93), (t(30) = 3.474, p =.002), and significant increase in engagement, (t(30) = -4.892, p =.000). In conclusion, CFT effects were significant in enhancing social skills and quality of play among children with ASD. As social skills are very much related to social acceptance and ultimately self-concept and self-esteem, the potentials of CFT in overcoming social skill issues among children with or without learning disabilities should be explored further.