Understanding What Drives Real-Life Social Engagement in Preschoolers with Autism: Insights from Caregivers

Autistic children joyfully play with others, illustrating how their social motivation is influenced by their social contexts.

Understanding what motivates social engagement in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is important for their growth and development. Recent studies show that children's motivation can change depending on the social setting. In this study, we take a closer look at how preschoolers with ASD compare to their typically developing (TD) friends when it comes to social engagement, using insights from caregivers and two interesting approaches: self-determination theory (SDT) and experience sampling methodology (ESM).

We studied thirty preschoolers with ASD alongside thirty matched TD peers. Caregivers helped us out by recording their children's social interactions over a week using mobile devices.

Our findings revealed that both groups showed a greater sense of autonomy and intrinsic motivation during play and leisure activities. However, we noticed that motivation tended to drop during non-play interactions, with the ASD group being less focused on others around them.

This research brings to light the idea that social engagement motivation in preschoolers with ASD can really depend on the context. It highlights the importance of creating environments that encourage social play and leisure activities to help boost engagement for these wonderful children!

For more information, please visit:

Yu, T. T., Chen, Y. W. R., Chen, C. T., & Chen, K. L. (2023). Motivation for real-life social engagement of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder: From the caregiver perspectives. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 106, 102205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2023.102205