Peer-Mediated Intervention for the Development of Social Interaction Skills in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study.
Quick peer-training at recess can pull a high-functioning student with autism into more games and less alone time.
01Research in Context
What this study did
One team trained four typical classmates to play with a high-functioning elementary student with autism.
They used a short behavioral-skills package: model, practice, and praise.
All sessions happened at recess for 14 school days.
What they found
The student started more games and answered peers more often.
Time spent alone dropped.
Both teachers and parents later said the child looked more social and better accepted.
How this fits with other research
The idea is old but gold. Jones et al. (1992) ran the same recess-peer plan 24 years earlier and saw bigger, measured gains in the same age group.
Zhang et al. (2022) later copied the peer-mediation logic inside classroom iPad work and still lifted social responses, showing the trick works outside recess.
McGonigle et al. (2014) looked like a clash: their CBT recess trial posted huge numbers while Rodríguez-Medina did not. The gap is method, not truth: J used structured perspective-taking lessons and an RCT design built to show size; the pilot used brief peer coaching and no control group.
Why it matters
You can fold peer training into recess without pulling kids from class. Ten minutes of modeling and practice can start a social snowball that adults and parents notice. Try it next week: pick two friendly classmates, show them how to invite, praise, and stay, then let recess run. Track one minute of alone time and one minute of back-and-forth play; you should see both move in the right direction.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Pick two peers, model how to invite your target student to play, rehearse twice, then watch and tally social bids at recess.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication, which manifest at school especially in less structured situations such as recess. Recess provides opportunities for relationship with peers in a natural context, for which students with ASD may not be equipped with the necessary skills to use without support. Using a single-case design, we evaluated an intervention applied in recess to improve the social interaction skills of a student with high-functioning ASD mediated by his peers without ASD, in second grade of elementary school. This intervention includes different strategies to initiate the peers without ASD, using direct instruction, modeling, and social reinforcement carried out in the recess setting. After 14 sessions, changes were observed in the rates of initiating and responding to interactions, and a negative trend in the percentage of time that the student maintained low-intensity interactions or was alone. Teachers and family perceived improvements in social skills, more peer acceptance, and increase in the frequency and duration of social interactions. This intervention can help teachers to apply research-based practices to improve some social interaction skills in high-functioning students with autism in inclusive school environments.
Frontiers in Psychology, 2016 · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01986