Increasing peer-to-peer social skills through direct instruction of two elementary school girls with autism

This study was conducted to increase peer-to-peer social skills using direct instruction of two elementary students diagnosed with autism. Two participants and a peer were trained to initiate, share and respond to each other and to the peer. A multiple-baseline design across participants was used to determine the effects of the direct instruction strategy. Results indicated increased social initiations in both participants and sharing behaviours in one of the participants, but no increases in responses in both participants. Implications for practitioners and for future researchers are discussed.