Autism Shapes Social Integration and Reciprocity in Elementary Classrooms. A Social Network Approach.

During childhood, schools are a crucial environment for social interactions, making them ideal forevaluating the inclusion of children with special educational needs (SEN). Children with AutismSpectrum Disorder (ASD) often face challenges in peer relationships, yet how this condition impactsspecific social dynamics and school coexistence is not well understood. To address this issue, weexamined social relationships and dynamics within elementary schools. We hypothesized that,compared to their peers without ASD, children with ASD: (i) occupy more peripheral positions withinsocial networks, reflecting a low degree of centrality, and (ii) engage less in reciprocal relationships,indicating diminished social reciprocity. To test these hypotheses, we introduced a novel ecologicalapproach, using game theory to quantify social integration and reciprocity among children with ASDin elementary schools. Social networks were constructed for each classroom based on the children'speer selections during a distributive game in which they had to send tokens to their peers. Afteranalyzing centrality and reciprocity network measures, we found that children with ASD weresignificantly less central and less involved in reciprocal peer relationships compared to their peerswithout ASD or with other SEN conditions. These results highlight the relevance of interventionsthat promote social inclusion and open new avenues for future research to explore the intersectionof neurodevelopmental conditions and social dynamics. This exploration has the potential to informpolicies and practices contributing to how educational systems accommodate diverse learningneeds.