Interaction – it depends – a comparative study of interaction in preschools between children with intellectual disability and children with typical development

The aim of this study is to investigate differences and similarities in interaction of preschool children with and without intellectual disability. Observations of preschool children (COP) and questionnaires to which preschool staff responded were used to study differences and similarities in how the children interact. Similarities concerned children's engagement and context of play; differences involved how children initiated and adjusted their interaction. The study revealed that teachers decided what the interaction should be for children with intellectual disability more often than for children with typical development and were often physically closer to intellectually disabled children than to the children with typical development. The results also revealed that children with intellectual disability, compared to children with typical development, interacted more frequently during structured activities than during free play. In conclusion, how the interaction evolves depends on the classroom situation, the child, and the child's physical environment. In structured contexts there were fewer differences in interaction between children with and without intellectual disability.