Thursday 30 th June

Social play promotes active peer engagement and social competence. Whilst we have learned more about the play of children with ADHD in recent years, there is limited research describing their playmates. This is surprising, given the important role of playmates in the social development of children with ADHD.\ud\udObjective: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of an intervention designed to improve the play and social skills of children with ADHD and their playmates. This paper focuses on the playmates of children with ADHD in acquiring social skills.\ud\udMethods: This study involved children with ADHD (n = 14) playing with age matched typically developing playmates (n = 14). The intervention involved seven weekly free-play sessions and various decentring techniques to promote social play. The test of playfulness (ToP) was used as a pre/post-test measure. Data was subjected to Rasch analysis to calculate measure scores on interval level; Cohen-d and paired sample test calculations were used to measure effect.\ud\udResults: Results revealed a large effect (d = 1.3) in improving the play and social skills of playmates of children with ADHD. A t-test for paired samples revealed that the children with ADHD improved in their social play (pre-test mean measure score = 56.8; post-test mean measure score = 75.7; SD = 10.3; t = 6.9; p < 0.01; df = 13).\ud\udConclusion: The intervention shows great promise in developing the play and social skills of the playmates of children with ADHD. The importance of involving the playmates of children with ADHD in interventions needs further investigation