Effects of Play Group Variables on Language Use by Preschool Children With Disabilities

Two experiments addressed the effects of play group composition (segregated or integrated), type of play materials (functional, constructive, or dramatic), and group size (2 or 4 children) on the amount and diversity of peer-directed language used by preschool children with disabilities during play. Twenty-four children with disabilities, along with 12 peer playmates with disabilities and 12 typically developing playmates participated in each experiment. Dependent variables were rate of utterances, number of different words, and mean length of utterance transcribed from videotaped play sessions. Group composition and type of play materials had no significant effects. Group size had a significant multivariate effect on utterance rate and number of different words, with the children speaking more often when playing in dyads, but using more different words when playing in quartets.

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