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ABSTRACT: Purpose: This pilot study examined the social behaviors of children with language impairment (LI) and their typical peers on the playground.
Method: Eight children with Lt and their age-matched peers were videotape recorded for 45 minutes during morning and lunch recesses. Samples were divided into 5-second segments and coded according to the child's behavior occurring during the segment. The behavior displayed during each interval was then coded into one of 37 subcategories. These subcategories were grouped into six general categories of (aj peer interaction, (bj adult interaction, (c) withdrawal, (d) aggression, (e) victimization, and (f) other.
Results: Significant differences were observed in the categories of peer interaction and withdrawal. Typical children spent significantly more time interacting with peers
than did children with LI. Conversely, children with LI demonstrated significantly more withdrawn behaviors than did their typical peers. Analyses of effect size using (02 indicated that group membership accounted for approximately 30% of the variability in both of these types of playground behavior. No other significant differences were observed. These findings support the conclusions of researchers using teacher interview procedures, indicating that children with LI are more withdrawn than their typical peers at school.
Clinical Implications: Specific intervention targeting social language skills in playground contexts may be warranted to include children with LI in social interactions at recess.
KEY WORDS: language impairment, social skills, withdrawal, playground, peer interaction
Recent investigations suggest that many children with language impairment (LI) have social difficulty with peers in school settings. Some of this evidence comes from teacher reports (Fujiki, Brinton, Morgan, & Hart, 1999; Fujiki, Brinton, & Todd, 1996; Redmond & Rice, 1998). For example, Fujiki et al. (1996) asked teachers to rate the social skills of children with LI and typically developing children using the Social Skills Rating System-Teacher Form (Gresham & Elliott, 1990). Teachers viewed children with LI as having more behavior problems and poorer social skills than their typical peers. Redmond and Rice (1998) studied the socioemotional behavior of children with language problems using the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991a) and the Teacher Report Form (Achenbach, 1991b). Teachers, but not parents, rated children with LI as having higher levels of internalizing problems than their typical peers. It was found, however, that the children...