A Peer-Delivered Social Interaction Intervention for High School Students with Autism

Abstract

Limited social interaction typically occurs between high school students with autism and their general education peers unless programming is introduced to promote interaction. However, few published social interaction interventions have been conducted among high school students with autism and their general education classmates. Such studies typically have involved considerable researcher assistance in arranging and supporting opportunities for interaction. This study represents a departure from previous interventions by teaching general education students a strategy to prompt themselves to increase their interactions with classmates with autism. Three general education high school students were taught to set interaction goals and monitor their interactions with a peer with autism in their classes. The goal-setting package was associated with increased social interaction among participating students. Based on findings, recommendations are provided for future research and practice.

Keywords

autism goal setting high school students peer assistance self-monitoring social interaction

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bandura

Cervone

(1983). Self-evaluative and self-efficacy mechanisms governing the motivational effects of goal systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 1017–1028. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.45.5.1017.

Bock

M. A.

(2007). A social-behavioral learning strategy intervention for a child with Asperger syndrome: Brief report. Remedial and Special Education, 28, 258–265. doi:10.1177/07419325070280050101.

Broden

Hall

R. V.

Mitts

(1971). The effect of self-recording on the classroom behavior of two eighth-grade students. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 4, 191–199. doi:10.1901/jaba.1971.4-191.

Carter

E. W.

Hughes

(2005). Increasing social interaction among adolescents with intellectual disabilities and their general education peers: Effective interventions. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 30, 179–193. doi:10.2511/rpsd.30.4.179.

Carter

E. W.

Hughes

Guth

C. B.

Copeland

S. R.

(2005). Factors influencing social interaction among high school students with intellectual disabilities and their general education peers. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 110, 366–377. doi:10.1352/0895-8017(2005)110[366:FISIAH]2.0.CO;2.

Carter

E. W.

Kennedy

C. H.

(2006). Promoting access to the general curriculum using peer support strategies. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 31, 284–292. doi:0.1177/0885728808317656.

Carter

E. W.

Moss

C. K.

Hoffman

Chung

Sisco

(2011). Efficacy and social validity of peer support arrangements for adolescents with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 78, 107–125.

Carter

E. W.

Sisco

L. G.

Brown

Brickham

Al-Khabbaz

Z. A.

(2008). Peer interactions and academic engagement of youth with developmental disabilities in inclusive middle and high school classrooms. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 113, 479–494. doi:10.1352/2008.113:479-494.

Carter

E. W.

Sisco

L. G.

Melekoglu

M. A.

Kurkowski

(2007). Peer supports as an alternative to individually assigned paraprofessionals in inclusive high school classrooms. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 32, 213–227.

10.

Christopher

J. S.

Hansen

D. J.

MacMillan

V. M.

(1991). Effectiveness of a peer-helper intervention to increase children's social interactions: Generalization, maintenance, and social validity. Behavior Modification, 15, 22–50. doi:10.1177/01454455910151002.

11.

DiSalvo

C. A.

Oswald

D. P.

(2002). Peer-mediated interventions to increase the social interaction of children with autism: Consideration of peer expectancies. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 17, 198–208. doi:10.1177/10883576020170040201.

12.

Duckworth

A. L.

Grant

Loew

Oettingen

Gollwitzer

P. M.

(2011). Self-regulation strategies improve self-discipline in adolescents: Benefits of mental contrasting and implementation intentions. Educational Psychology, 31, 17–26. doi:10.1080/01443410.2010.506003.

13.

Fantuzzo

J. W.

Polite

(1990). School-based, behavioral self-management: A review and analysis. School Psychology Quarterly, 5, 180–198. doi:10.1037/h0090612.

14.

Fey

M. E.

(1986). Language intervention with young children. San Diego, CA: College-Hill Press.

15.

Fixsen

D. L.

Phillips

E. L.

Wolf

M. M.

(1972). Achievement place: The reliability of self-reporting and peer-reporting and their effects on behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 5, 19–30. doi:10.1901/jaba.1972.5-19.

16.

Gaylord-Ross

R. J.

Haring

T. G.

Breen

Pitts-Conway

(1984). The training and generalization of social interaction skills with autistic youth. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 17, 229–247. doi:10.1901/jaba.1984.17-229.

17.

Goldstein

Kaczmarek

Pennington

Shafer

(1992). Peer-mediated intervention: Attending to, commenting on, and acknowledging the behavior of preschoolers with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, 289–305. doi:10.1901/jaba.1992.25-289.

18.

Haring

T. G.

Breen

C. G.

(1992). A peer-mediated social network intervention to enhance the social integration of persons with moderate and severe disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, 319–333. doi:10.1901/jaba.1992.25-319.

19.

Horner

R. D.

Baer

D. M.

(1978). Multiple-probe technique: A variation of the multiple baseline. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 189–196. doi:10.1901/jaba.1978.11-189.

20.

Hughes

Carter

E. W.

Hughes

Bradford

Copeland

S. R.

(2002). Effects of instructional versus non-instructional roles on the social interactions of high school students. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Development Disabilities, 37, 146–162.

21.

Hughes

Golas

Cosgriff

Brigham

Edwards

Cashen

(2011). Effects of a social skills intervention among high school students with intellectual disabilities and autism and their general education peers. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 36, 46–61.

22.

Hughes

Rodi

M. S.

Lorden

S. W.

Pitkin

S. E.

Derer

K. R.

Hwang

(1999). Social interactions of high school students with mental retardation and their general education peers. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 104, 533–544.

23.

Hughes

Rung

L. L.

Wehmeyer

M. L.

Agran

Copeland

S. R.

Hwang

(2000). Self-prompted communication book use to increase social interaction among high school students. The Journal of the Association for Persons With Severe Handicaps, 25, 153–166. doi:10.2511/rpsd.25.3.153.

24.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, PL 108-446, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq.

25.

Kasari

Rotheram-Fuller

Locke

Gulsrud

(2012). Making the connection: Randomized controlled trial of social skills at school for children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53, 431–439. doi:10.111/j.1469-7610.2011.02493.x.

26.

Kazdin

A. E.

(1982). Single case research design: Methods for clinical and applied settings. New York: Oxford University Press.

27.

Korotitsch

W. J.

Nelson-Gray

R. O.

(1999). An overview of self-monitoring research in assessment and treatment. Psychological Assessment, 11, 415–425.

28.

Locke

E. A.

Latham

G. P.

(2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57, 705–717. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705.

29.

Newman

(April 2007). Facts from NLTS2: Secondary school experiences of students with autism. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International. Retrieved from www.nlts2.org/fact_sheets/nlts2_fact_sheet_2007_04.pdf.

30.

Nientimp

E. G.

Cole

C. L.

(1992). Teaching socially valid social interaction responses to students with severe disabilities in an integrated school setting. Journal of School Psychology, 30, 343–354. doi:10.1016/0022-4405(92)90002-M.

31.

Owen-DeSchryver

J. S.

Carr

E. G.

Cale

S. I.

Blakeley-Smith

(2008). Promoting social interactions between students with autism spectrum disorders and their peers in inclusive school settings. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 23, 15–28. doi:10.1177/1088357608314370.

32.

Rock

M. L.

(2005). Use of strategic self-monitoring to enhance academic engagement, productivity, and accuracy of students with and without exceptionalities. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 7, 3–17. doi:10.1177/10983007050070010201.

33.

Sainato

D. M.

Goldstein

Strain

P. S.

(1992). Effects of self-evaluation on preschool children's use of social interaction strategies with their classmates with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, 127–141. doi:10.1901/jaba.1992.25-127.

34.

Scattone

Tingstrom

D. H.

Wilczynski

S. M.

(2006). Increasing appropriate social interactions of children with autism spectrum disorders using Social Stories™. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 21, 211–222. doi:10.1177/10883576060210040201.

35.

Shukla

Kennedy

C. H.

Cushing

L. S.

(1999). Intermediate school students with severe disabilities: Supporting social participation in general education classrooms. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 1, 130–140. doi:10.1177/109830079900100301.

36.

Stokes

T. F.

Baer

D. M.

(1977). An implicit technology of generalization. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2, 349–467. doi:10.1901/jaba.1977.10-349.

37.

Thiemann

K. S.

Goldstein

(2004). Effects of peer training and written text cueing on social communication of school-age children with pervasive developmental disorder. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 47, 126–144. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2004/012).

38.

U.S. Department of Education. (2010). 29th Annual report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 2007. Washington, DC: Author.

39.

Wehmeyer

M. L.

Agran

Hughes

Martin

J. E.

Mithaug

D. E.

Palmer

S. B.

(2007). Promoting self-determination in students with developmental disabilities. New York: Guilford.

40.

Wolf

M. M.

(1978). Social validity: The case for subjective measurement or how applied behavior analysis is finding its heart. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 203–214. doi:10.1901/jaba.1978.11-203.