Child and setting characteristics affecting the adult talk directed at preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder in the inclusive classroom.
In inclusive preschools, kids with autism hear mostly helper talk and little behavior talk—track your own talk types to balance the mix.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers listened to what teachers said to preschoolers with autism in inclusive classrooms. They coded every sentence into types like help talk, behavior talk, or social chat.
They wanted to know which kinds of words kids heard most and if child age, autism severity, or activity area changed the mix.
What they found
Helper talk ruled the day. Adults gave practical or personal help far more than any other talk type.
Behavior-management talk showed up least. Kids rarely heard calm reminders or rules.
How this fits with other research
Ferguson et al. (2020) extends this work. They added peer talk and found higher-language autistic kids chat more with classmates in the same inclusive rooms.
Higgins et al. (2021) also extends the picture. Using wearable sensors, they showed autistic preschoolers speak less to peers, yet each extra back-and-forth boosts language scores.
Lushin et al. (2020) looks at first like a clash. They say more aides in the room means less one-to-one ABA. Whiting et al. (2015) shows lots of helper talk. The two studies measure different things: Lushin counts formal teaching blocks, W counts everyday words. Helper talk can happen without planned ABA trials, so both can be true.
Why it matters
You now have a simple audit tool. Spend one circle-time listing the kinds of talk you hear. If helper talk crowds out behavior or social talk, add brief labeled praise or friendly questions. Small shifts in your language mix can widen the learning menu for every child.
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Join Free →Tally your talk for ten minutes: mark each sentence as help, behavior, or social, then add two labeled praises or social prompts.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Difficulty with social competence is a core deficit of autism spectrum disorder. Research on typically developing children and children with disabilities, in general, suggests the adult talk received in the classroom is related to their social development. The aims of this study were to examine (1) the types and amounts of adult talk children with autism spectrum disorder are exposed to in the preschool classroom and (2) the associations between child characteristics (e.g. language), activity area, and adult talk. Kontos' Teacher Talk classification was used to code videos approximately 30 min in length of 73 children with autism spectrum disorder (ages 3-5) in inclusive classrooms (n = 33) during center time. The results indicated practical/personal assistance was the most common type of adult talk coded, and behavior management talk least often coded. Child characteristics (i.e. age and autism severity) and activity area were found to be related to specific types of adult talk. Given the findings, implications for future research are discussed.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2015 · doi:10.1177/1362361313517398