Peer mediation to increase communication and interaction at recess for students with autism spectrum disorders

Recess plays an integral role in the social and emotional development of children given the time provided to engage in interactions with others and practice important social skills. Students with ASD, however, typically fail to achieve even minimal benefit from recess due to social and communication impairments as well as a tendency to withdraw. Implementation of evidence-based interventions such as peer-mediated social skills groups, are necessary to ensure recess is an advantageous learning environment for students with ASD. A multiple-baseline design across participants was used to determine if a functional relationship exists between a social skills instructional program combined with peer networks with school staff as implementers and increases in level of communicative acts for participants with ASD at recess. Results indicate all participants demonstrated an immediate increase in the number of communicative acts with the introduction of the intervention. Implications for practice are discussed.