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Approved kinetic traditional games in school break. Impact in students’ social skills with and without autism (Master thesis)

Τζαμπαζάκη, Ζαχαρούλα/ Tzampazaki, Zacharoula/ Δημιουργική και Προσαρμοσμένη Φυσική Αγωγή

The purpose of this research was to develop and implement a pilot program of structured traditional play in the school break, aiming at the kinetic participation and social development of a student with autism. For children with autism spectrum disorders, routines in the educational program led them to feel comfortable and not anxious, since they are familiar with it. The survey involved 22 Primary School students aged 11-12 years (class)including a student with autism who attended the department with parallel support. The student with autism was 12 years old. An initial assessment of the students was conducted with the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters-II tool in its Greek version, which was built to assess the social skills of children aged 4-18 years. The questionnaire consists of fifty-seven topics divided into three factors that investigate three dimensions of social skills: the first factor is called 'hostility', the second 'adaptability/appropriateness', and the third 'overconfidence.’ The answers were given on a five-stage Likert scale, where one responded to "I totally disagree" and 5 to "I totally agree". The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were checked through the confirmatory factorial analysis and the use of Cronbach's index. Then the modified traditional games were put in place during the break. Within two months and per week each game alternated. Each game was played twice a week and in total each game was played four times. The student with autism was observed and recorded during the games through a diary by the teacher of parallel support and by the teacher of the class. The course of the investigation is suspended for a period of 2 months due to the forced closure of the country's schools, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It continued as normal and was completed as soon as the schools were closed for a month. The course of the research showed a positive differentiation of the social skills of the children of the experimental group. At the same time, the contribution of structured play, during the break, was observed to the development of the social relations of the children of the class both with each other and with the student with autism. It is concluded that a structured break with modified motor games can contribute positively to improving children's social relationships with each other and with the student with autism, but also to reducing unwanted behaviors that often occur in the breaks of both the student with autism and other children.