Research Article The Association between Adult Participation and the Engagement of Preschoolers with ASD Ann M. Sam, 1 Stephanie S. Reszka, 2 Brian A. Boyd, 2 Yi Pan, 1 Kara Hume, 1 and Samuel L. Odom 1 1 Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 517 S. Greensboro Road, Carrboro, NC 27510, USA 2 Department of Allied Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Ann M. Sam; ann.sam@unc.edu Received 30 October 2015; Revised 19 January 2016; Accepted 24 January 2016 Academic Editor: Hansen Wang Copyright © 2016 Ann M. Sam et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Te ability for a child to engage in the classroom is associated with better academic outcomes. Yet, there is limited information on how child characteristics of autism and adult behavior impact engagement. Tis study examined (1) the pattern of adult participation and child engagement in preschool classrooms that serve children with ASD, (2) the associations between child engagement and adult participation, and (3) how characteristics of ASD (autism severity, language ability, and challenging behavior) moderate the relationship between adult participation and child engagement. Overall, children were less likely to be engaged when adults were actively or passively participating with them. Moderators impacted this relationship. Children with higher levels of autism severity were more likely to be engaged when adults were actively or passively participating with them. Similarly, children with lower language abilities were more likely to be engaged when adults were actively or passively participating with them. Finally, children with higher levels of challenging behaviors were less likely to be engaged when adults were actively or passively participating with them. Tese fndings have important implications for how adults can best support the engagement of children with ASD. 1. Introduction Te National Research Council of the United States [1] recommended that young children with autism spectrum dis- order (ASD) receive intensive services for 25 hours per week to promote communication, social skills, cognitive skills, and appropriate behavior. While young children with ASD are spending many hours in various programs and class- rooms, there is limited information concerning the efcacy of various comprehensive treatment models or how these models are implemented in schools [2]. Even less is known about how adults are participating with children in school- based classrooms and how adult participation impacts child engagement. Teachers and other adults in classrooms play a key role in a child’s developmental process as they assist in regulating a child’s activity level and interactions with peers and adults [3]. Early interactions with teachers provide a working model of teacher-child relationships and create a pattern of how children engage with other adults in the school environment [3, 4]. Te relationship between teachers and children can shape and alter developmental trajectories of children with more positive relationships with teachers associated with better academic and social outcomes for young children [5– 7]. On a day to day basis, these interactions may infuence the quality of instruction a child receives by impacting the level of a child’s engagement in the classroom environment [7]. Child engagement is defned as “the amount of time chil- dren spend interacting with the environment (with adults, children, or other materials) in a manner that is developmen- tally appropriate” [8, p. 60]. Higher levels of engagement are correlated with better outcomes for learners [9, 10]. For exam- ple, kindergarteners who were identifed as more engaged in classroom activities had higher literacy achievement scores at the end of the year than kindergarteners with lower levels of engagement in classroom activities [10]. Te amount and quality of child engagement difer between children who are typically developing and children Hindawi Publishing Corporation Autism Research and Treatment Volume 2016, Article ID 6029837, 10 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/6029837