Did you know that research into the outcomes of Intensive Interaction started in 1991?

There are times when I feel that Intensive Interaction is still a fairly novel approach in educational or care services. However, the body of evidence for the range of positive outcomes for the approach actually goes back quite a way - in fact it goes back 28 years!

An Evaluation of Intensive Interactive Teaching with Pupils with Very Severe Learning Difficulties

Watson, J. & Knight, C. (1991) Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 7 (3), 310-25.

This 1991 article describes an evaluation of the use of Intensive Interaction by staff at a school for pupils with severe learning difficulties, in Edinburgh, over a one year period. Six pupils with severe learning difficulties were studied, these children being chosen to represent a range of age and ability. Six staff members worked with each given pupil over this period of time.

The Method: Staff were asked to behave as naturally as possible, and to introduce a toy or object that they felt would be interesting to the child at some point. The beginning of the session was signalled by taking off the pupils' shoes and leading them into the soft play area. Sessions were usually terminated when the staff member decided that the pupil had had enough (e.g. on the basis of decreased responsiveness). Each session was filmed, and staff also completed an interaction recording sheet. The staff were also interviewed at the end of the study.

The Findings: from this study it appeared that the interactions were important for the pupils, and staff emphasised the fact that ‘it builds a good relationship' and ‘there is confidence and trust ... built up'. Staff also talked about other positive effects, which included staff being more relaxed and more willing to wait for a pupil’s responses; and improvements in staffs’ observation skills.

In general, it was claimed that staff developed high levels of expertise, and that the interactive experiences ‘benefited their pupils and improved their own working practice’. Staff also claimed that the positive effects of the interactive experiences ‘also extended to other pupils in the class’ as the staff had become ‘more relaxed, more tolerant, and more willing to wait for responses’.

That research was published 28 years ago - and still we find ourselves introducing Intensive Interaction to staff teams who know little or nothing of the approach. More and more I find myself asking these questions:

Why isn't Intensive Interaction mandatory training for all staff who work in special education? and ...

What are we missing in getting Intensive Interaction truly embedded in the general fabric of our educational offer to all the children and staff (and parents) who would benefit?