Peer Implemented Interventions

Social Communication Difficulties

Social communication difficulties can greatly impact the independence skills of children and young people with autism.  For example, difficulty reading social cues as well as engaging in interpersonal communication may prevent children and young people with autism from successfully interacting with their peers, particularly within the school setting (Bauminger, Solomon, & Rogers, 2010).

Many studies further indicate that school-aged children with autism display a disrupted pattern of social engagement, whereby they have fewer reciprocal friendships (Kasari, Locke, Gulsrud & Rotheram-Fuller, 2011)

To support the student within the classroom for e.g. to independently partake in group work one strategy recommended by Brenda Myles is  Peer mediated intervention (PMI) is a practice used to increase social skills in children with autism. This strategy often involves engaging with typically developing peers who act as social models to improve social initiations, responses, and interactions.

Educating Peers

For more information: Buddy System or Peer Mentoring.

So for example, as highlighted by Kari Dunn Buron, you have a child in your class who is not sharing…. words that might be used to describe this behaviour are:

• He/she is selfish​?
• He/she is rude​?
• He/she is mean​?
• He/she is self-centered?​
• He/she is inconsiderate​?
• He/she is greedy​?
• He/she has No manners?​

However, if we take a moment to think about the child and their behaviour what he or she lacks is joint attention, joint pleasure, and adaptive emotion regulation skills?​

To read more about Joint Attention and Emotional Regulation please click on the following links :

https://pathways-resilience.middletownautism.com/strategies/social-skills/social-thinking/

Emotional Regulation and Anxiety

How do we Change the Way we Describe and Think About a Behaviour?

Step 1 -Think about a child in your class…

What is he doing that you wish he wasn’t? ​

Hitting​

What would you rather he do?​

Share​

What skills does he need to do that?​

Joint attention/sharing emotions​

How can you teach those skills?​

Step 2 – Now think about what skills do we need to learn to share?

• Joint social attention​
• Joint social pleasure​
• Self-awareness​
• Social awareness​
• Effects of practice on the brain​

Step 3 – How can we teach these desired skills?

• Video self modelling

For further information on Video modelling: click here.

For additional information on video modelling and supporting strategies: click here.

For additional information on Teaching Life Skills within the curriculum: click here.