The current study investigated the effectiveness of interventions designed to increase a child's engagement in sociodramatic play. Griffin, a 4-year-old boy diagnosed with autism, participated in a play group with two typically developing peers and ten sets of play materials pertaining to a specific theme. Baseline sessions indicated that Griffin engaged in lower rates of sociodramatic play and higher rates of isolate and other play compared to the typically developing peers. The Instructions to Peers intervention consisted of giving instructions to the peer participants prior to each play session, and the Structured Sociodramatic Play intervention consisted of the experimenter engaging Griffin and the peers in sociodramatic play with five sets of play materials prior to each play session. A larger play group with four typically developing peers (two of the peers were participants in the first play group) and five sets of play material themes was used to test for generalization. Results indicated that giving instructions to peers did not have an effect on the amount of sociodramatic play Griffin engaged in. The Structured Sociodramatic Play condition increased Griffin's levels of cooperative play to levels similar to the typically developing peers, and increased his sociodramatic play during some sessions. No differences in play occurred in the generalization setting or with untrained play materials in either setting. A discussion of limitations and factors contributing to the ineffectiveness of the interventions is included.

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The overall aim of the Educational Process Reflection (EPR) studies has been to develop a better understanding concerning interaction between adults and children and the conditions for children’s peer play and interaction within the pre-school arena. The ultimate goal of the present study is to explore how practitioners through the use of EPR may develop the dimension of social interaction between practitioners and children and between children, in order to consciously create a more healthy and inclusive experience for all children and especially for children at risk. The study is based on a hermeneutic and a socio cultural perspective and a combination of activity theory and object relation theory. The methodology draws on activity theory and Yrjö Engeström’s (1987) development work research and specifically a more elaborated version of learning activity termed Educational Process Reflection, which is a model for professional development created in the previous EPR-studies presented in Bygdeson-Larsson (2005a; b; 2006). It builds on practitioners´ observations of peer play interactions and practitioners retold experiences of interaction with the children. The model consists of an oscillation between EPR-sessions and pre-school practice. The results of the study are presented in a narrative way and show how changes in pre-school grow out of collaborative reflection combined with new theoretical perspectives. The practitioners´ competence or professionalism concerning the interactive dimension was improved and individual children at risk got new and better conditions for being included in positive peer play and interaction experiences. The pre-school turned out to become a resilient environment for children in peer play and interactive difficulties. The main results illuminate and give an understanding of how practitioners´ ways of working with children in peer play problems or special needs turned out to become more resilient and how children got better possibilities to be included in positive ways. It also enhances the understanding of how the processes in peer play situations changed for the better for other children and how the whole climate in the pre-school also seemed to change and become more inclusive. Overall the results of this study bring about an enhanced understanding of the complexity of the pre-school seen as an activity system and the need for new tools concerning interactive processes. This study implicates that pre-school practitioners own investigation and reflection of interactive processes in pre-school is essential, and may well be used before applying a categorising or diagnostic approach concerning children in special needs. This study has implications for professional development, researcher-practitioner co-operation and consultative activities concerning pre-schools and children. The present study implies that all these activities have an advantage of taking the dynamics of the pre-school as an activity system into account before focusing on practitioners or children as individuals.