Document Type
Article
Source of Publication
Open Education Studies
Publication Date
1-1-2024
Abstract
This study investigates the effectiveness of the "Power of Camp Inclusion"program in enhancing social skills among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in an integrated educational environment of a camp. Caregivers, who received pedagogical training on disability issues, evaluated the program. The study involved 22 individuals with ASD, aged 7-25 years (mean age: 14.82), and 22 companions, aged 20-56 years (mean age: 25.27). Caregivers received in vivo training on social skills to support their role in the program. The Autism Social Skills Profile (ASSP) was used to assess social skills, including Social Reciprocity, Social Participation, and Harmful Social Behaviors, as well as the overall index of social skills. In addition to ASSP, all participants underwent semi-structured interviews. Statistical analysis examined demographic data, internal consistency of variables, their correlation, and t-test analyses of a sample and paired observations. The results indicated that the implementation of the "Power of Camp Inclusion"program had positive effects on the development of social reciprocity, social participation, overall index of social skills, and reduction of harmful social behaviors among children with ASD. The findings of this study highlight the importance of educational programs that support the development of social skills for children with ASD and emphasize the need for such programs to be integrated into modern educational policies.
DOI Link
ISSN
Publisher
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Volume
6
Issue
1
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Keywords
"Power of Camp Inclusion", ASSP questionnaire, autism spectrum disorder, camp, harmful social behaviors, integrated education, pedagogical training, semi-structured interview, social participation, social reciprocity, social skills
Scopus ID
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Dolyka, Aikaterini; Evaggelinou, Christina; Mouratidou, Katerina; Koidou, Irini; Efthymiou, Efthymia; Nikolaou, Eleni; and Katsarou, Dimitra, "Enhancing Social Skills Development in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Evaluation of the "power of Camp Inclusion" Program" (2024). All Works. 6731.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/6731
Indexed in Scopus
yes
Open Access
yes
Open Access Type
Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series