- Initiations that were verbalized were heard and collected by an observer who was in close proximity to be able to hear the entire interaction
- Initiation had to be independent, spontaneous, and unprompted
- Proper initiations included questions/comments/requests made that prompted more information on the topic at hand
- total number of recorded initiations was divided by the length of the observation period to produce an initiation rate per minute

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

- 7 high schoolers with ASD diagnoses (age 14-16) participated and were referred by school psychologists who thought each child was having trouble socializing, especially during lunchtime. They were split into two "cohorts"; one fall and one spring. 
- Some 7-24 neurotypical peers also attended each club activity
- Opportunities for socialization were offered during lunch either in classrooms or outside on the school grounds
- Each cohort was observed to gain a baseline measure with no changes made to their typical lunch time routine, followed by intervention measures
- The intervention included assessing their preferred interests and creating new clubs that aligned with these interests and advertising them all around the school (none of the students were told to engage with any of their peers)

Data was collected for 3 categories:
- percent time engaged with neurotypical peers
- frequency of initiations made to neurotypical peers
- social validation measures





Improving Socialization for High School Students with ASD by Using Their Preferred Interests: Methodology

Koegel, R., Kim, S., Koegel, L., & Schwartzman, B. (2013). Improving socialization for high school students with ASD by using their preferred interests. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(9), 2121–2134. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1765-3

Improving Socialization for High School Students with ASD by Using Their Preferred Interests

Cohort 1:

- 4 adolescent boys made up cohort one; three were Hispanic and one was Caucasian. They each went to a public high school and all of them were included in normal classes. 
- Participant 1 expressed interest in a movie club, so researchers created a Movie Trivia Club that met on Fridays at lunch.
- Participant 2's interests revolved around frisbee, so researchers helped reform the school's Ultimate Frisbee Club which met once a week.
- Participants 3-4 both wanted to join the Video Game Club which already existed and met everyday of the week. They allowed a grad student who specialized in special education to come in twice a week to facilitate structured tournaments.

Cohort 2:

- 3 adolescents made up cohort two; one participant was hispanic and the other two were half caucasian and half hispanic. Two of them were boys and the other was a girl. Each went to public high schools and were all included in normal classes. 
- Participant 5 wanted to join an intramural basketball team, so researchers created an intramural basketball club which met once a week.
- Participant 6 was interested in computer graphics, so researchers created a computer graphics club that met once a week.
- Participant 7 was interested in cooking, so researchers created a cooking club which met once a week. This participant became the president. 


Improving Socialization for High School Students with ASD by Using Their Preferred Interests: Methodology: Cohorts

- percent time engaged with neurotypical peers was measured from watching videotaped sessions
- For each minute, a plus or minus was added to show whether the student was or was not engaged socially
- The number of pluses was divided by one-minute intervals and multiplied by 100 which was the resulting percentage
- "engagement" was considered with regard to previous research and studies and included the correct use of 3+ cues including eye contact, gesturing, smiling, nodding, etc.

Methodology: Percent Time Engaged

Methodology: Frequency of Initiations

- The measures of social validation were self-reported by giving participants (including neurotypical peers) a short survey to gauge participation, interest, and experience.
- Cohort 1 was asked 7 questions, whereas cohort 2 was asked 6


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