Efficacy of PEERS® for Adolescents via Telehealth Delivery

Estabillo et al. (2022) ran PEERS social-skills groups for autistic teens on Zoom. They wanted to know if online delivery works as well as face-to-face sessions.

The study used a quasi-experimental design. Teens logged in from home and practiced conversation, texting, and choosing friends.

Telehealth PEERS produced clear gains in social skills. Parents and teens rated the improvements just as high as in earlier in-person studies.

No one dropped out because of tech problems. Groups stayed on task and used the same lesson plans.

Shum et al. (2019) showed in-person PEERS works for Chinese teens. Estabillo keeps the same gains while moving the class online.

Howard et al. (2023) scoping review warned that most telehealth autism studies skip teens. This paper fills that gap.

Sawyer et al. (2014) used a 3-D virtual world for social skills and also saw positive results. Both studies prove remote social training is possible, not just parent coaching.

You can keep running PEERS even when families live far away or have transport issues. Schedule groups after school without busing. Ask parents to sit nearby for tech help, then fade out as teens get comfy on camera. Start with one online cohort and compare week-one to week-fourteen social checklists to see the gains yourself.