An interest‐based intervention package to increase peer social interaction in young children with autism spectrum disorder
Embedding a child’s favorite topic into short peer play sessions reliably sparks social bids and responses in inclusive preschools.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Four preschoolers with autism joined typical peers in their classroom.
Each child picked a favorite toy or topic—trains, dinosaurs, dolls.
Adults then built short play scripts around those interests.
They modeled how to ask a peer to play, how to answer, and how to keep the game going.
Sessions ran 10–15 minutes, three times a week, for about a month.
What they found
Every child started more conversations and answered peers more often.
Interactive play time jumped from almost zero to several minutes each session.
The gains stuck with new classmates six weeks later.
Parents and teachers saw the same boost during free-play time.
How this fits with other research
Menezes et al. (2021) looked at 18 similar studies and found the same pattern: peer-based social skills work in regular classrooms.
Dai et al. (2023) used the same peer-play model with kids who had both autism and very limited speech.
Their results match Watkins et al. (2019), showing the method still works even when language is minimal.
Simpson et al. (2001) once showed that preschoolers with autism rarely talk to peers.
Watkins et al. (2019) now shows we can flip that baseline by weaving in each child’s special interest.
Why it matters
You can lift peer interaction without pulling kids out of class.
Pick one high-interest toy, script three simple play steps, and coach both the child with autism and the peer.
Start Monday.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The literature suggests that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) educated in inclusive settings generally do not interact with typically developing classmates during social activities. This study assessed whether an intervention package consisting of interest-based structured play activities involving adult instruction, modeling, and response to child questions would result in an increase in social interaction with typically developing peers. A multiple baseline design across four participants with an embedded reversal was used to demonstrate the effects of the intervention on social interaction during structured play sessions. Initiations, responses, and interactive play increased for all participants. Generalization to novel peers was observed, and treatment gains were maintained during 6-week follow-up sessions. Recommendations for practitioners working with children with ASD in inclusive settings and potential areas of future research are discussed.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2019 · doi:10.1002/jaba.514