Enhancing Peer Network Interventions to Improve Social Communication, Play, and Peer Relationships for Minimally Verbal Students with Autism

The PI will develop the intervention in two phases and evaluate its promise in a pilot study. The development phases will employ single-case design studies with embedded qualitative methods to identify factors that support or hinder successful implementation and improving the intervention's usability, feasibility, and effectiveness. Phase 1 will investigate the effectiveness, usability, and acceptability of training and coaching for peers on the social interaction strategies. Phase 2 will focus on the embedded instruction component. Both phases will include a total of four single-case design studies and semi-structured interviews with practitioners and peers. In the final year of the project, the PI will pilot test the promise of the full intervention by conducting a small randomized controlled trial with 18 student-practitioner dyads. Proximal and distal outcomes will be assessed, including communication and play skills, joint engagement with peers, reciprocal peer interaction, peer acceptance, and educator-reported playmates and friends. Fidelity of implementation by educational practitioners and peers will be measured using researcher-developed observational checklists and rating scales. Feasibility, usability, and acceptability will be assessed throughout the project through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The PI will also assess the costs of implementing the intervention during the pilot study.