Enhancing social skills of kindergarten children with autism through the training of multiple peers as tutors.

The team trained every kindergartener in one class to be a peer buddy.

They used behavioral-skills-training: model, practice, feedback, and praise.

Kids with autism then worked and played beside these trained classmates.

An ABAB reversal design showed whether social gains came and went with the training.

When peers knew how to invite and respond, children with autism more than doubled their social bids.

These bids were not aimed at adults; they were kid-to-kid.

One child kept the new skills even when he moved to a new room.

Charlop et al. (1992) did something similar in preschool and got the same lift in play.

Their peers learned to attend, comment, and acknowledge—an earlier, smaller version of the buddy plan.

Finney et al. (1995) used a group prize instead of full tutor training.

Social gains rose, but peers coached less once the prize ended.

Chung et al. (2007) added video clips and tokens seven years later.

Three of four high-functioning kids gained social speech, showing the idea keeps growing.

You do not need a separate social group.

Train the whole class once, then let the room run itself.

Pick two peer buddies per center.

Give them a quick booster before recess.

Watch social bids climb without adult prompts.