Evaluating the generality and social acceptability of early friendship skills

McKeown et al. (2021) tested the friendship unit from Preschool Life Skills. They added small toys or stickers when praise alone was not enough.

Four preschoolers, some with delays, got one-to-one BST. The team then checked if the kids used the skills with adults and with peers.

All four children quickly used the friendship skills with adults. Peer use was slower and needed extra steps like peer models and more practice.

Parents and teachers said the skills looked normal and helpful.

Leung et al. (2014) showed that PLS skills only spread after teachers were told the exact targets. McKeown adds tangible reinforcers and still keeps the teacher-brief step, building on the earlier work.

Fingeret et al. (1985) and Odom et al. (1986) already paired peer training with tokens, but the gains faded when teacher prompts stopped. McKeown keeps the tokens and adds clearer peer-generalization steps, updating the old model.

Laermans et al. (2025) later moved the whole package to teacher-run peer mediation for autistic preschoolers. Their large gains show McKeown’s add-ons work when scaled up.

If you run PLS, keep the brief-the-teacher step from earlier studies and add tangible reinforcers when praise falls flat. Plan extra peer practice and model sessions so the skill jumps from adult face to playground buddy. The combo keeps gains strong and socially liked.