PARTICIPATION OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIABILITY SKILLS

Abstract

The development of social skills has been a special focus on autistic children's growth so this
study examined the relationship between Participation in Extracurricular Activities and the
development of Sociability Skills in Autistic Children. The study sample consisted of (n=200)
autistic children in the primary stage in Riyadh city. a questionnaire to estimate participation
of autistic children in extracurricular activities and Sociability Skills scale was used, the study
applied a descriptive approach. The study results indicated that there was a statistically
significant correlation at the level of significance (0.01) between the participation of autistic
children in extracurricular activities and development of sociability skills, There were no
statistically significant differences between mean scores of sample individuals according to
gender (male, female) in all domains and overall score on Sociability skills scale and a
questionnaire estimating participation of autistic children in extracurricular activities, and there
were statistically significant differences between the average scores of the sample individuals
according to participation in extracurricular activities (low, high) at a significance level (0.05)
in both domains of sociability skills scale (social interaction, tasks performance) and overall
score on the sociability skills scale in favor of whom obtained high scores in participation in
extracurricular activities. Future research on the quality of involvement is necessary to further
understand what specific aspects of activities facilitate social development