Peer engagement in toddlers with autism: Community implementation of dyadic and individual JASPER intervention
Peer JASPER in toddler rooms equals adult-only JASPER and lifts peer talk for kids with stronger language.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Shire and her team ran JASPER in real preschool rooms.
They put the toddlers with autism into two groups.
One group got JASPER with a peer buddy.
The other got the same lessons one-on-one with an adult.
Teachers, not researchers, ran every session for ten weeks.
Kids were tested on play, language, and how often they talked to peers.
What they found
Both groups improved the same amount in play and social words.
Kids with stronger early language and play gained the most peer talk.
Peer JASPER worked just as well as adult-only JASPER.
Classroom staff kept the program going after the study ended.
How this fits with other research
ACruz-Montecinos et al. (2024) moved JASPER even younger.
They coached parents of 12-month babies and saw the same joint-play gains.
Together the two papers show JASPER works from infancy to preschool.
Conant et al. (1984) first proved trained peers can boost autistic kids’ social time.
Shire’s RCT now shows the same trick works inside a full curriculum.
Stewart et al. (2018) used peer-mediated PRT at recess and got big interaction jumps.
Their recess setting and Shire’s classroom setting back each other up.
Same idea: let typical classmates carry the intervention.
Why it matters
You no longer need to choose between peer time and adult instruction.
Run JASPER pairs right in circle-time areas.
Pick the kids who already understand some words; they will talk to peers most.
Train staff once, then step back.
The social gains stick and the class keeps running itself.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Center-based classroom community interventions create opportunities for young children with autism to connect with peers. Yet, there has been little examination of the peer interactions of toddlers with autism who experience core challenges in social communication and play skills that may create barriers to successful peer interactions. Classrooms of toddlers were randomized to an experimental social communication intervention including peers or to the standard individual (adult-child) social communication intervention. Both toddlers in peer and no peer conditions demonstrated significant gains in social communication and play. Toddlers with greater receptive language and combination and presymbolic play skills were most likely to demonstrate peer engagement.
Autism, 2020 · doi:10.1177/1362361320935689