Enhancing social outcomes in autistic youth: Assessing the impact of PEERS® booster sessions.
Four quick PEERS booster sessions after the main class help autistic teens stay socially sharp and calm.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Montanaro et al. (2024) asked: Do PEERS booster sessions give autistic teens extra social gains? They ran a quasi-experiment. Some teens got the standard PEERS program only. Others got the program plus four booster sessions.
The team tracked social awareness, social talk, and problem behaviors. They compared the two groups after the boosters.
What they found
The booster group scored higher on social awareness and social communication. They also showed fewer externalizing problems like shouting or hitting.
In short, the extra sessions moved the needle on real-world social skills.
How this fits with other research
Van Hecke et al. (2015) already showed the core PEERS program helps. Their RCT found teens had more friend get-togethers and less autism-symptom stress after the 14-week class. Maria’s 2024 study builds on that work. It says the gains don’t have to stop when the class ends—brief boosters keep the climb going.
Ethridge et al. (2020) used preschool peer buddies and saw social language gains for both autistic and typical kids. Maria’s teen boosters echo the theme: peers still matter, but older kids may need structured refreshers, not just playtime.
Honig et al. (1988) taught four autistic boys with live peer models and saw strong skill upkeep for 13 weeks. Maria’s boosters fit the same upkeep idea, just delivered as small-group lessons instead of one-on-one modeling.
Why it matters
If you run PEERS for autistic teens, tack on brief booster sessions. Four short meetings kept social growth alive and even cut behavior problems. Schedule them at one, three, six, and twelve months after the main class. Use the same role-plays and homework so teens leave with a fresh skill set and a plan to use it.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) is a social skills training program for autistic adolescents and those facing social challenges. Its efficacy has been established worldwide, including in Italy. Although booster interventions are a potentially valuable strategy to maintain improvements over time, there is currently no research on the efficacy of providing booster sessions of PEERS® following the traditional treatment. AIMS: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of PEERS® Booster sessions in a sample who had previously participated in a traditional PEERS® Adolescent program. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A longitudinal non-randomized study was conducted involving 21 autistic adolescents, divided into the treatment group undergoing PEERS® Booster sessions and the control group without it. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: The study evaluated the primary outcomes (social abilities) and secondary outcomes (co-occurrences, executive functions) at two-time points (pre- and post-treatment). No significant differences were found between groups on baseline measures and primary outcomes. However, there were significant group differences between pre- and post-treatment on primary outcomes (social awareness and social communication) and secondary outcomes (externalizing problems). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The efficacy of the PEERS® Booster Sessions shows promise and clinical implications were also discussed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2024 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104698