The paper reviews the literature on the training of social behavior in autistic children and reports on a project which developed and evaluated a program which explicitly trained mildly handicapped peers to facilitate the social behavior of autistic children. The extensive literature review looks at the etiology of social deficits in autistic…

This study investigated the effects of teaching sociodramatic scripts on interactions among three triads, each containing two typical preschool children and one child with autistic characteristics. Results supported the inclusion of systematic training of scripts to enhance interaction among children with and without disabilities during…

This study examined a system for fading teacher prompts to children who served as peers in peer-initiation interventions for young children with disabilities (n=6). Results indicated that social interaction continued at the levels found during intervention and was maintained during a short maintenance period. (Author/DB)

A sequential withdrawal design was used to examine the effect of social skills intervention on the frequency of positive peer interaction in four moderately hearing-impaired preschool children. High rates of positive peer interaction were maintained when teacher modeling and prompting were gradually (but not abruptly) withdrawn. (Author/DB)

This study, involving five elementary students with severe emotional and behavioral problems, demonstrated the effectiveness of an intervention package comprising (1) observation of videotapes following peer activity sessions; (2) self-evaluation of peer interactions observed on videotapes; and (3) delayed feedback and reinforcement for desirable…

Four students with profound multiple disabilities were taught to use a microswitch communication system to request a change in recreational stimuli during social interactions with nondisabled peers. Outcomes are discussed in terms of the effects of controlling stimulus presentation on student behavior and the stability of preference hierarchies…

Eight high school students who were peer tutors in a classroom for students with severe disabilities were matched in pairs and then randomly assigned to interact with and serve as a partner for a classmate with severe disabilities. One participant in the pair received social interaction training, and one participant did not. Statistical analysis…