This study examined the effectiveness of a social competence program for mentally challenged(IQ 58-74) and/or somewhat autistic 6- and 7-year old children with peer relationship difficulties. The Hierarchical Model of Social Competence by Guralnick(19...
This study examined the effectiveness of a social competence program for mentally challenged(IQ 58-74) and/or somewhat autistic 6- and 7-year old children with peer relationship difficulties. The Hierarchical Model of Social Competence by Guralnick(1992) provided the framework of the experimental program. The intervention consisted of 16 sessions: 2 intervention teachers implemented each session for 90 minutes once a week. Target behaviors were to initiate interactions with others, to respond to behaviors of teachers and peers, to participate in group activities, and to express their needs to others with speech. Data on the frequencies of target behaviors, the behavior episodes and parent reports were analyzed. Most of children became to be more sociable, although there were individual differences in the changes in target behaviors.