To include or not to include: Evaluations and reasoning about the failure to include peers with autism spectrum disorder in elementary students.
Elementary students see exclusion of classmates with autism as wrong, and their reasons grow sharper with age.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Nicholson et al. (2017) asked elementary students to judge short stories. In each story a classmate with autism was left out of a game or party.
Kids explained why the exclusion was right or wrong. The team compared answers from younger and older students.
What they found
Most kids said leaving the autistic peer out was unfair. Older students gave deeper reasons, like "he will feel lonely" or "he can learn the rules."
Birthday-party stories sparked the richest answers. Students saw parties as extra-special events where everyone should be invited.
How this fits with other research
DeRoma et al. (2004) showed that teaching peers both facts and simple explanations improves attitudes. Kristen’s work adds that kids already carry a sense of fairness; we just need to tap it.
Mavropoulou et al. (2014) found that sharing a classroom boosts typical peers’ empathy. Kristen confirms the positive view but shows reasoning grows with age, so lessons should too.
Jahr et al. (2007) watched kindergarteners and saw autistic children initiate far less play. The two studies seem opposite—kids say "include them" yet interaction stays low. The gap makes sense: attitudes don’t equal skills. Kristen tells us peers are willing; Erik tells us they still need help knowing how to start.
Why it matters
You can build on students’ ready-made sense of fairness. Ask older elementary classes to role-play inviting peers with autism and explain why it matters. Pair the lesson with concrete join-in strategies so good intentions turn into real play.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Given the significant role that typically developing children play in the social lives of children with autism spectrum disorder, it is important to understand how they evaluate and reason about the inclusion/exclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder in social situations. The objective of this study is to determine elementary students' evaluations, reasoning patterns, and reasoning complexity regarding the failure to include children with autism spectrum disorder in social activities. Forty-four elementary-aged students participated in interviews, which included vignettes describing four contexts in which a child with autism spectrum disorder is not invited to a social event. Responses were analyzed according to social domain theory, an approach emphasizing that children identify and coordinate different domains of social knowledge, including the moral, personal, societal, and prudential. Results showed that regardless of grade and context, most children judge that failure to include on the basis of disability status is not acceptable. However, the complexity of children's reasoning (i.e. the extent to which they drew upon and coordinated multiple domains) was higher in older children. Mean complexity scores were also higher in a birthday party context as compared to a playdate context. We offer implications for future research and practice regarding the social inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2017 · doi:10.1177/1362361315622412