The Impact of Playground Features on Social Interaction Time and Sensory Complaint Level in Autistic Children

Engaging in social interaction with peers helps children acquire necessary social skills, highlighting the importance of school environments that promote social interaction. Prior research has identified playground features that could promote social interaction in allistic (non-autistic) children, and types of joint play autistic children were found to engage longer time in. Additionally, prior research has hypothesized that sensory complaint levels could influence the time autistic children spend in playground areas with certain features. However, research focused on identifying types of playground features that could promote longer time in social interaction in autistic children has been limited. This study aimed to identify playground features that could promote longer time in social interaction in autistic children, alongside investigating whether the sensory complaint level of certain playground areas influences interaction time. Autistic children (six to 12 years old; N = 38),...Show moreEngaging in social interaction with peers helps children acquire necessary social skills, highlighting the importance of school environments that promote social interaction. Prior research has identified playground features that could promote social interaction in allistic (non-autistic) children, and types of joint play autistic children were found to engage longer time in. Additionally, prior research has hypothesized that sensory complaint levels could influence the time autistic children spend in playground areas with certain features. However, research focused on identifying types of playground features that could promote longer time in social interaction in autistic children has been limited. This study aimed to identify playground features that could promote longer time in social interaction in autistic children, alongside investigating whether the sensory complaint level of certain playground areas influences interaction time. Autistic children (six to 12 years old; N = 38), including three girls and 35 boys from a Cluster 4 school for children with behavioral and/or social-emotional disorders in the Dutch special educational system, were sampled during recess in which measurements were conducted on two consecutive days for each class for 15-50 minutes per session. We utilized proximity-sensing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) badges and GPS loggers to record total interaction time in four playground areas, and an adapted version of the Informal Social Space Rating Scale to measure sensory complaint level. We found no sufficient evidence that playground features/playground areas had an effect on interaction time and sensory complaint level in autistic children. Furthermore, we found sensory complaint level to be weakly associated with the amount of time spent in interaction in a playground area in autistic children. We evaluated various internal and external factors that may have affected our findings.Show less

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The Impact of Playground Features on Social Interaction Time and Sensory Complaint Level in Autistic Children