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…

Even when enrolled in general education classes, students with complex communication challenges may remain socially isolated from their classmates when receiving one-to-one paraprofessional support. We evaluated the efficacy and social validity of an intervention package incorporating paraprofessional facilitation, peer initiation, and increased…

Although positive peer relationships can facilitate the academic learning, skill development, and emotional well-being of students with complex communication challenges, few peer interactions are likely to take place in school settings apart from intentional intervention and support efforts. We conducted a systematic review to identify and examine…

We reviewed studies to identify strategies effective at increasing social interaction skills across a range of secondary school students with autism and/or intellectual disability who experienced limited peer interaction. We were particularly interested in identifying strategies that involved peers and were effective at increasing peer interaction…

This is an interpretivist qualitative study that explores the contexts and dynamics of friendships among three groups of young adults; each group included an individual with autism or severe disability and high school students without disabilities. Data were collected through ethnographic methods where friends interacted together. Particular…

Incorporating general education peers into social skills instructional programs has been effective at increasing social interaction of high school students with intellectual disabilities and autism with their classmates. In this study, communication book use (Hughes et al., 2000), combined with providing the opportunity to interact, was associated…

Social interactions with peers are an important aspect of childhood development that is closely linked to emotional well-being and success in school. We conducted a comprehensive review of recent intervention studies evaluating strategies to improve the peer interaction outcomes of students with intellectual disabilities and/or autism. The purpose…

Promoting access to the general curriculum has emerged as a central theme of the standards-based reform movement, challenging educators to identify effective strategies for supporting students with disabilities to access the numerous social and learning opportunities within general education. We examined peer support interventions as an…

Until recently, and even in many current research circles, social behavior in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (including those with high functioning autism or Asperger disorder) was considered to be unmodifiable. Mundy, Henderson, Inge, and Coman and McGee and Daly shed new light on this concept of intractability, suggesting that…

Three young children with severe, multiple disabilities were taught to utilize a voice output communication aid (VOCA) to request access to preferred items and/or peers during play activities. Acquisition of VOCA use resulted from a naturalistic intervention strategy that consisted of creating communication opportunities, prompting the participant…

Promoting access to the general curriculum for students with disabilities has emerged as a central theme of recent legislative and policy initiatives. Ensuring that students with severe disabilities benefit fully from the myriad learning and social opportunities available through the general curriculum remains an important challenge, particularly…

Peer support interventions are emerging as an effective alternative to traditional paraprofessional models for assisting students with moderate to severe disabilities to access the general curriculum. To contribute to the refinement of peer support interventions, we evaluated the impact of altering the number of participating peers on the social…

Conversation skills are critical to learning and the development of social relationships. Some students with severe disabilities have a difficult time conversing with their nondisabled classmates because of their unintelligible verbalizations or an inability to correct or repair a message that may have been misunderstood by their conversational…

Difficulties with social interaction are characteristic of autism. This study presents data illustrating the use of motivational strategies in play dates to improve the quality of social interactions between children with autism and their typically developing peers. Specifically, a multiple baseline design across participants shows how a…

Research indicates that peer interaction can have a substantial impact on the lives of adolescents with disabilities. However, social interaction among adolescents with intellectual disabilities and their general education peers typically occurs infrequently in secondary schools. This paper provides a critical analysis of twenty-six empirical…