Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on New Findings in Humanities and Social Sciences, 2024
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Friendship and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): correlation between friendships of students with ASD High Function (AHF) and teachers’ educational practices in the context of inclusion in primary education
Tatiani Gkatsa, Irene Antoniou
ABSTRACT:
The way in which children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and high Functioning (AHF) perceive friendships is significantly different from the way in which typically developing children and adolescents perceive them. The quality of the friendships they develop depends on the environment and the quality of the interventions. Objective The study aims to investigate the quality of friendships between children with high-functioning autism (AHF) and their peers in primary school as well as the relationship between friendships and teachers’ educational practices in the context of inclusion. Method The sample consisted of 143 teachers who teach students diagnosed with AHF in primary school. Two questionnaires were used, the Autism Inclusion Questionnaire (AIQ) (Segall & Campbell, 2007), which explores the instructional practices teachers use to include students with ASD in the mainstream classroom (Segall & Campbell, 2012), and the Questionnaire for friendships of children with ASD from their peers (Belidou, 2017). Results 35% of the teachers believed that children with AHF tend not to have friends and are mainly characterized by loneliness. Only a third of them had a good friend. However, these friendships could not be considered meaningful as they were not characterized by reciprocity and common interests. There are several inclusion strategies for children with autism that have a significant impact on improving the friendships formed by AHF students. Conclusion Developing friendships is a challenge for AHF students. Specific inclusive educational practices for AHF students could support the development of friendly relationships.
keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Autistic High Functioning Students (AHF), Inclusion, Friendship, Educational practices