College of Education and Human Ecology
If you ask an elementary school child to identify their favorite time of the school day, chances are their answer will be recess. Not only is recess a popular time, but it also creates a natural opportunity to develop social competence and build social connections. However, the experiences of students with significant disabilities at recess have not been well studied. Dr. Matthew Brock will discuss recent research using observations of social and play behavior at recess for elementary students with significant disabilities. His research team also interviewed students to understand social networks. These data were then compared to data of typically developing peers. Dr. Brock will share the findings on differences between students with and without significant disabilities as well as group variability.