Using Peer-Mediated Intervention to Increase Social Participation
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have trouble with social interactions, like reading social cues, taking turns, making friends, and playing with others. Due to this, children with ASD have a more difficult time making and maintaining friends and being involved in social activities in school. To overcome this, it is important to increase social participation in authentic environments through programs such as peer groups.
Peer-Mediated Interventions
One of the most promising interventions to help children with ASD to learn social interactions and succeed in the school environment is peer-mediated interventions (PMI). PMIs involve educating typically developing classmates about engaging with their peers with ASD. This involves educating them about ASD and explaining social and behavioral strategies. The typically developing classmates serve as models for children with ASD to follow.
Overall, the research on PMIs shows that they are very promising and improve on “social network inclusion (i.e., number of social connections, peer acceptance, and classroom connectedness), non-verbal social skills (e.g., eye contact, joint attention), play skills (e.g., turn-taking), reciprocal social-communication skills (e.g., conversations, initiations, responses) as well as greater social interaction and increased friendships for children and adolescents with ASD.”1
School is a great environment for PMIs, and studies show that it’s possible for ASD children to significantly improve their social and behavioral skills.2
Co-Occupation, School-Based Programs
Co-occupation programs in the schools are a great way to nurture interactions between those children with social and communication challenges and typically developing children.
Typically developing children prefer to interact with typically developing children, and those typically developing children that do interact with those that have social or behavioral issues may not understand ASD behaviors or approach ASD children correctly in order to nurture authentic relationships. This makes it partly the responsibility of adults, such as teachers, special education directors, and therapists, to help educate and initiate an environment of inclusion and education.
Case Study
A group of neurotypical students during the holiday season came together to make ornaments with the special education students. The teachers taught the neurotypical students some of the behaviors, likes, dislikes, and preferences of the special education students, as well as how to communicate with some of the students (those who used communication devices, for example). The students were able to make ornaments, complete some parts of it, or enjoy watching peers and being involved in the way possible for them.
The OT in charge concluded that “for some of our students with complex needs, being part of such enriching opportunities is possible only through the intentional support of others. What peers of the same age can offer naturally is irreplaceable.”3
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1. Chang, Ya-Chih and Jill Locke. “A systematic review of peer-mediated interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder,” Res Autism Spectr Disord. Vol. 27 (2016): 2, doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2016.03.010.
2. Chang, “A Systematic Review,” 7.
3. Sundar, Savitha. “Effecting Change in School-Based Practice: Fostering Social Inclusion in a Co-occupation Program,” OT Practice. 26, no. 5 (2021): 6, https://www.aota.org/publications/ot-practice/ot-practice-issues/2021/effecting-change-in-school-practice.
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Chang, Ya-Chih and Jill Locke. “A systematic review of peer-mediated interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder,” Res Autism Spectr Disord. Vol. 27 (2016): 1-10, doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2016.03.010.
Sundar, Savitha. “Effecting Change in School-Based Practice: Fostering Social Inclusion in a Co-occupation Program,” OT Practice. 26, no. 5 (2021): 1-14, https://www.aota.org/publications/ot-practice/ot-practice-issues/2021/effecting-change-in-school-practice.