Supporting Best Practice in Peer-Mediated approaches with Minimally Verbal Autistic children
Details
TitleSupporting Best Practice in Peer-Mediated approaches with Minimally Verbal Autistic children
NameO’Donoghue
Type:Speech and Language
About
From the preschool years onwards, children spend a large proportion of their day in classroom settings. They play, eat, learn and grow alongside their peers. Peer interactions can be particularly challenging for autistic children. My research is interested in how skills can be developed in peers to support interaction, and how this can enhance opportunities for language learning and social interaction, while also building empathy and understanding in the peers. This approach is influenced by a social model of disability which foregrounds the importance of skilled and understanding communication partners. I am using a participatory research design to co-develop a module which can be used in preschools to support a peer-mediated approach.
