Using Behavioral Skills Training to Teach Peer Models: Effects on Interactive Play for Students with Moderate to Severe Disabilities
Train classmates with BST and watch kids with moderate to severe disabilities double their playground interaction for months.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Covey and team trained typical classmates to run play sessions for students with moderate to severe disabilities. They used behavioral skills training: explain, model, practice, and feedback. The study ran in a special-ed classroom and tracked how much kids played together.
What they found
After peers learned the script, target students doubled their interactive play. The gains lasted the full 13-week follow-up with no extra coaching. Teachers also noted smoother recess periods.
How this fits with other research
Arntzen et al. (2003) did something similar with one preschooler and saw the same jump in play. Their tiny case study is now scaled up in classrooms.
Shireman et al. (2016) flipped the roles: they trained adults with autism to play with kids. Both projects show BST works no matter who you train.
Petit-Frere et al. (2021) added least-to-most prompts for safety skills. Covey kept the basic BST package and still hit strong maintenance, so extra prompts may not be needed for peer play.
Why it matters
You can hand the intervention to typical peers and step back. One 30-minute BST session per peer gave months of extra play for students with severe needs. Try it during recess or lunch bunch next week.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study examined the effects of using behavioral skills training (BST) to teach peer models to engage students with moderate to severe developmental disabilities in interactive play. Two separate multiple-baseline across participants designs were used to determine the effectiveness of BST on the peer models’ implementation of the procedural steps and the target students’ percent of intervals engaged in interactive play. Results demonstrated that BST was functionally related to the peer models’ accurate implementation of procedures and the target students’ percentage of intervals engaged in interactive play. In addition, all participants demonstrated generalization to novel activities and play partners, and three of the four target students maintained high levels of interactive play for up to 13 weeks after intervention.
Education & Treatment of Children, 2021 · doi:10.1007/s43494-020-00034-y