This cross-sectional study was performed to examine the extent to which levels of aloneness in primary school children (8 to 12 years), without autism (n = 30) and with autism (n = 31), were...Show moreThis cross-sectional study was performed to examine the extent to which levels of aloneness in primary school children (8 to 12 years), without autism (n = 30) and with autism (n = 31), were related to their levels of loneliness. The children completed questionnaires about loneliness and friendship nomination, and during break their alone time was measured using Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID). Analyses controlled for age differences between groups were conducted utilizing one-way Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) and linear regression analyses were performed. Results revealed significant effects of autism on reciprocal friendships and alone time, but not on loneliness. Moreover, for non-autistic children, increased alone time contributed to higher levels of loneliness, whereas, for autistic children, this relation was weaker and negative. Friendship did not significantly influence loneliness. The reason autistic children often spend time alone away from social situations may be because social situations are exhausting and overwhelming, prompting the need for time alone to recharge and restore their energy. Consequently, teachers and other people surrounding the children need to be aware that these children have different social preferences in comparison to children without autism. This also applies when interventions against loneliness are made, children with autism may want to have some quiet time alone, and this may even differ within this group, while children without autism do not want this.Show less
Social interactions in the playground play an important role in the emotional and psychological well-being of children. Poor social interactions with peers can heighten the risk of loneliness among...Show moreSocial interactions in the playground play an important role in the emotional and psychological well-being of children. Poor social interactions with peers can heighten the risk of loneliness among children. This study investigated the experience of loneliness in autistic children, focusing on its relation with peer interaction factors including the amount of time in interaction and the number of interaction partners in comparison to their non-autistic counterparts. Ninety-nine children, aged 8-13 years, were observed in the school playground. Children's time in interaction and the number of interaction partners were measured with Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID). The integration of RFID proximity sensors facilitated continuous monitoring, offering insights into social contacts among children throughout their unstructured play time. Loneliness in school was assessed using the Children Loneliness Scale (CLS). Results revealed that autistic children spent less time in interaction than their non-autistic peers, with no significant differences in the number of interaction partners or levels of loneliness between the two groups. Surprisingly, the autistic group exhibited a positive association between levels of loneliness and time in interaction, indicating that those spent longer time in interaction also reported higher levels of loneliness. This might be explained by their social challenges, sensory overload, the understanding of loneliness, and the quality of the interaction. In conclusion, this study highlights the complex dynamics of social interactions and loneliness among autistic children, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive understanding. The use of innovative technology for continuous monitoring in a naturalistic setting contributes valuable insights to the research on social experiences of autistic children in the school playground.Show less
Recess in the schoolyard provides a great opportunity for physical exercise and building social engagement. Children with autism are often seen as having difficulties with social interactions,...Show moreRecess in the schoolyard provides a great opportunity for physical exercise and building social engagement. Children with autism are often seen as having difficulties with social interactions, friendships and loneliness. There is little research exploring if children with autism feel safer in the presence of certain playground structures, and if they would spend more time interacting socially when they feel safer in the schoolyard. In this thesis, we examined i) the relationship between playground areas with distinct features and how safe autistic children feel there, additionally to how much time children spend in that location, and ii) the relationship between the safety ratings and the time autistic children spent in social interactions in each location. We measured 61 autistic children from one special education primary school in the Netherlands. We measured how safe children feel in four locations of the playground with a self-report questionnaire. The time spent in a location was measured with a GPS logger on a belt the children wore. On this belt was also an RFID proximity-sensing tag, to measure how much time children spent in social interactions. The data showed statistical differences in the ratings of how safe a child feels between locations with different autism-friendly playground features, as the location with ballgame area rated lower than the location with wooden floating steps (Z=-2.839, p=0.005). We additionally found two contradictory relationships between how much time was spent in interaction between the four playground locations and the rated safety (r2(34)=-0.35, p2=0.035, r2=0.12; r4(34)= 0.45, p4=0.007, r2=0.20). In an explorative search we did find the ballgame area and the climbing structure to give more noise-complaints (F(1.00, 60.00) = 5.49, p=0.022, ηp2=0.084) and more crowdedness issues stemming from the climbing structure (F(3, 180)= 6.65, p<0.001, ηp2=0.100). We did not find a correlation between how rated safety of an area and how much time a child spends in interaction in any of the locations. Further research could explore playgrounds with more structures offering varied activities and solutions for solving crowdedness or noise complaints from larger play structures, or the effect of additional diagnoses (e.g. ADHD) or gender on play.Show less
