Peer-mediated intervention: attending to, commenting on, and acknowledging the behavior of preschoolers with autism.

Charlop et al. (1992) worked with five preschoolers with autism in an inclusive classroom.

They taught four typical peers to watch, comment, and acknowledge the autistic classmates during play.

The researchers flipped the peer-training on and off in an ABAB design to see if it changed social play.

When peers used the three-step script, four of the five autistic children played and talked more with classmates.

Social interaction dropped each time the peer training stopped, then rose again when it returned.

The same year, Davidson et al. (1992) mapped which peer moves work best. They found share offers and play organizers get the fastest positive replies, backing the script choice.

Mueller et al. (2000) later copied the idea with a whole-class peer-buddy plan. They also saw big gains in social bids, showing the effect holds when you scale up.

Dai et al. (2023) stretched the package to minimally verbal preschoolers who also have intellectual disability. Most kids gained play and imitation skills, proving the method reaches children once left out.

Chung et al. (2007) added video feedback and tokens for older, high-functioning children. Their update kept the peer core but layered in tech and rewards.

You can teach typical preschoolers a simple watch-comment-acknowledge routine in minutes. The 1992 pattern has been repeated, expanded, and modernized for thirty years, and it still lifts social play. Try it next free-play period: pick two peers, give them the three prompts, and count the interactions.