The purpose of this study was to increase the social interaction skills of four preschool children with autism. Four teachers in integrated preschool classrooms participated. Experimental sessions occurred during daily 10-minute activities in which all children in the class were free to select from six to eight different activities. Prior to beginning the study, all four teachers were introduced to a variety of naturalistic teaching tactics designed to stimulate children's play and interaction with others. A multiple baseline design was employed to examine three different conditions. In baseline, teachers used these tactics with no assistance from research staff. In a second phase, teachers received daily feedback and technical assistance. Assistance was provided on only one occasion and then withdrawn during a maintenance phase. Results indicated that all four children increased their social interactions during the technical assistance phase. Each boy exhibited his skills in a range of different play activities, and two continued to display high levels of interaction during a maintenance phase.
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