Effects of peer-mediated implementation of visual scripts in middle school

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Special Education
• Applied Behavior Analysis

Background:

• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) significantly impacts social communication skills.
• Peer-mediated interventions and visual scripts are established supports for children with ASD.
• The efficacy of peer-implemented scripts for individuals with ASD remains under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of peer-implemented scripts on communication behaviors in a student with ASD, intellectual impairments, and speech-language impairment.
• To evaluate the generalization of these communication behaviors to interactions with trained and untrained peers.

Main Methods:

• A multiple baseline single-case research design across behaviors was employed.
• A trained peer implemented scripts to support the target student's communication.
• Data were collected on three specific communicative behaviors.

Main Results:

• The target student showed significant improvements in the three targeted communicative behaviors when scripts were implemented by a trained peer.
• Generalization of improved communicative behaviors to interactions with an untrained typically developing peer was not observed.
• Peer implementation of scripts appears to be a viable strategy for enhancing communication in specific contexts.

Conclusions:

• Peer-implemented scripts can effectively enhance specific communicative behaviors in students with ASD and co-occurring impairments.
• Further research is needed to promote generalization of skills to untrained peers and diverse social settings.
• This intervention offers a novel approach to leveraging peer support in educational settings for students with autism.