Date Presented 03/28/20
The study investigated the motivation for real-life social engagement in three preschool children with ASD using the experience-sampling methodology (ESM). The results showed that they had motivation for social engagement in the everyday contexts where they felt autonomous and competent and experienced social reciprocity. Further, the study demonstrated that ESM provides clinicians and caregivers a way to understand how real-life social contexts influence the children’s motivations and experiences.
Primary Author and Speaker: Tzu-TIng Yu
Contributing Authors: Yu-Wei Chen, Hsing-Jung Li, Ching-Hong Tsai, Kuan-Lin Chen
PURPOSE: Preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently experience challenges in social interactions. While motivation for social engagement is a determinant of social participation, which is critical for child development, understanding their social motivation and experience could assist occupational therapists and researchers to develop interventions addressing their needs and enhancing their social engagement. However, laboratory assessment was primarily used to measure social motivation of individuals with ASD; thus, the results could not be generalized to real-life contexts. Furthermore, motivation is context dependent as proposed by the self-determination theory (SDT), which emphasizes the impacts of social contexts on motivation and engagement. It is crucial to use an ecologically valid method to investigate the motivation for social engagement in everyday life. As the experience sampling methodology (ESM), an ecological momentary assessment, can capture individuals’ subjective experience in real time and across natural contexts, the purpose of this study was to use ESM as the methodology and SDT as a theoretical framework to explore motivation for real-life social engagement and experiences in preschool children with ASD.
DESIGN: This study was a cross-sectional case study. Preschool children with ASD aged 3 to 6 years old and their caregivers were recruited. Children who had visual or auditory impairment or brain injury were excluded.
METHODS: Three boys aged 3 years and 8 months to 6 years and 9 months with severe ASD symptoms based on the Social Responsiveness Scale—2nd Edition were recruited. They presented impaired to normal verbal comprehension ability as examined by the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) of the Chinese version of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence—Fourth Edition (WPPSI-IV). Caregivers carried a smartphone, which prompted them randomly 7 times/day for 7 days, record what their children were doing, why, with whom and what they perceived in the situation. The reason for engagement was then coded into self-determined motivation and externally determined motivation. Descriptive analysis was used to present the children’s motivation for social engagement along with their experiences in daily contexts.
RESULTS: On average, children spent 47.5% of the time interacting with others and 39.2% of the time engaging in social activities such as playing toys and watching TV. They were more likely to show self-determined motivation and experience social reciprocity while interacting with parents or grandparents than other people. However, they were more frequently to perceive competent and autonomous while doing nothing and playing toys alone than engaging in activities with others.
CONCLUSION: The preliminary findings highlight that the motivation for social engagement in preschool children with ASD is context specific where they experienced social reciprocity. In addition, the study demonstrated that ESM provides clinicians and caregivers a way to understand how real-life social contexts influence the children’s motivation and experience. Interventions may need to address specific contexts where preschool children have self-determined motivation for social engagement and promote their autonomy and competence to enhance their experiences in the social interactions. Caregivers should also promote those specific contexts in their everyday life and encourage them to interact with others.
References
American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5 ed.). Arlington, VA, American Psychiatric Association, 2013.
Chen, Y. W., Bundy, A. C., Cordier, R., Chien, Y. L., & Einfeld, S. L. (2015). Motivation for everyday social participation in cognitively able individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 11, 2699-2709. doi:10.2147/NDT.S87844
Hektner, J. M., Schmidt, J. A., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2006). Experience sampling method measuring the quality of everyday life. California, US: Sage Publications.
Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. D. (2017). Self-determination theory: basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness (pp. 3-17). New York, US: Guilford Press.
