Peer Modeling Intervention: Social Skills with Preschoolers with Special Needs

Rationale “Inclusion is children of all abilities learning, playing and working together” (Center for Inclusive Child Care, 2015, n.d.a.). Peer modeling and other peer facilitated interventions have been recent topics that have shown very promising results when working with children with disabilities and social skills. Peer modeling consists of typical peers teaching a behavior/skill or modeling a behavior/skill to children with disabilities (Katz & Girolametto, 2013). Young children with disabilities often struggle with social skills and social interactions with fellow peers. Promoting prosocial behavior by reinforcing skills, such as turn-taking, joint attention, sharing, and altogether social interactions with peers, creates a positive atmosphere where young children with disabilities can learn and play alongside their fellow peers. My initial research question that fueled my literature review was: how does peer modeling and/or peer interaction affect social skills of preschool children with disabilities?

Synthesis of the Literature I focused on five main research articles for this literature review. The studies have shown that teaching prosocial skills with the use of peer modeling or a combination of adult directed and peer mediated interventions with children with disabilities often result in the skills becoming more generalized and adaptable when used in everyday activities. Three main strategies to enhance social skills with children with disabilities: adult directed intervention, peer modeling or peer mediation, and the use of sociodramatic play activities. Beginning the intervention with an adult directed activity to focus on teaching strategies for social skills will help the children have a good foundation of how to play and interact with each other in a meaningful way. Once the children have a firm grasp on social play and social communication, allowing the children to freely play with each other and learning from each other enhances their skill even more and becomes more meaningful in a natural environment. Lastly, the use of sociodramatic play provides more of a learning and language enriched opportunity where the children are allowed to pretend play, use their imaginations, and communicate freely with their peers.

Limitations The studies provided have limitations in two major areas. The first limitation that was described in all of the studies was the level of adult participation. Some studies suggested that varying levels of adult participation in the intervention may have varied the results. The second limitation for all studies revolved around the idea of having a less structured “play time.” Having more of a flexible play time during the peer modeling portion of the intervention would increase the likelihood that the skills will be maintained once the intervention is complete and they are in their own classrooms.

Future Studies and Interdisciplinary Practice Future studies may examine how peer modeling can be implemented more with teaching social skills as the primary intervention, allowing adult directed strategies be more of a secondary focus. General education teachers along with special education teachers could collaborate with these interventions and formulate ideas on how to make their classrooms more inclusive and create an atmosphere where all the children could learn and grow from each other.

Rationale for Research Plan There have been very few studies that focus on peer modeling as the primary intervention when working with children with disabilities. This research plan will outline the implementation of an intervention that is solely focused on peer modeling and its effects on social communication of preschool children with developmental disabilities.

Revised Research Question How does peer modeling affect social communication of preschool children with developmental disabilities, specifically initiating and responding to a peer? I will implement a peer modeling intervention that was used in a recent study by Katz and Girolametto (2013). Their study involved a combination of peer mediated and adult directed interventions to increase social communication with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Adult directed intervention involved social skills training with both the peer models and the children with ASD. For the purpose of this study, I will only implement the adult directed social skills training on the peer model so that I may get a true idea of how solely focusing on peer modeling affects social communication for a child with developmental delays.

Participants Child with developmental disabilities: between the ages of 4.1 and 5.1 years old and have a diagnosis of Developmentally Delayed. The child will also have a score of 1.5 standard deviations below the mean on the Preschool Language Scales 4 (PLS-4) when looking at Auditory Comprehension and Expressive Communication. Typical developing peer: (a) typical language development, (b) typical social skills as described by the educator, (c) attendance in the same classroom as the targeted peer, and (d) previous interest in interacting with the child with developmental delays.

Intervention Three stages of the intervention: 1. two training sessions with the paraeducator taught by myself, 2. three 20-minute social skills training sessions for peer model and practice buddy, and 3. six 15-minute play sessions. Social Skills Training Sessions - the first two sessions will be reading the book Franklin's New Friend. Puppets of the main characters in the story will be provided so that the peer model and the other child can role play certain scenarios that were in the story. During role playing activities the researcher will praise the peer model when they are being a good friend or help the peer model when they seem to be lost in talking with their practice buddy. The third session, the I will introduce communication strategies to initiate and maintain joint play with the use of two communication boards. The communication boards illustrate social interaction strategies such as “Let’s play,” “Can I have a turn?”, “Here, you can have a turn with it,” and “Do you want to help me?” Communication boards will also be provided in each center as visual aids while playing. Play Sessions - peer model and targeted child will be placed in the center of the targeted child's choosing. I will observe them without intervening and will take data on how many verbal initiations and verbal responses are made by the targeted child towards the peer model and if they are appropriate in the context of the conversation.

Setting Suburban elementary school in an inclusive preschool classroom. The intervention will be implemented during center time. Centers include: table toys, block area, house area, art/writing area, and water table.

Data Collection Tool

Procedure Baseline - data will be recorded during three play sessions during one week. I will not intervene or prompt during the baseline period. Treatment - Play sessions will be recorded three times a week for two consecutive weeks. I will manipulate the center boards to allow the targeted child and the peer model to be placed in a center of the targeted child’s choosing. I will do a quick review of social communication strategies with the peer model and remind him/her of the social communication boards that will be set up in each center in case they need to see it. I will sit in the corner of the center area away from the play area with the data collection form and a stop watch. I will collect data on verbal initiations and verbal responses made by the peer model and the targeted peer. In case there is a period of silence, I will use the stop watch to determine when the period exceeds three minutes and then she will intervene and mark on the data sheet. I will not make any verbal cues or intervene unless it is the appropriate time. Maintenance sessions will be set up four weeks after the intervention is completed. Maintenance sessions will be designed identical to the format of the baseline data.

Data Analysis I will use a multiple line AB design graph to plot the points of initiations and responses during the three phases (baseline, intervention, and maintenance). I will graph the baseline data and then compare that data with the data collected during the intervention phase. To determine if the intervention has made an impact on the targeted child’s social communication behavior, I will look for trends or slopes between the baseline phase (A) and the intervention phase (B). If the peer modeling intervention is effective, there would be an increasing trendline occurring in the intervention phase. To show that the peer modeling intervention has been effective and maintained the trendline would either show an increasing trendline higher than the intervention phase, or a flatline trend that meets the intervention plot points.

Collaborative Teamwork and Recommendations Talk with other general education preschool teachers collaborate with them on making plans for future activities where peer modeling can be used. Plans may include children with disabilities visit the general preschool classroom once a day during centers or snack time to engage with their typically developing peers. Recommendations for further interventions will be determined after the data is analyzed and the results provide more information. If intervention in effective, discuss findings with school administration and IEP to determine what actions will need to be taken next. Also, share results with the targeted child's family members.

References Bourgeois, P. (1997). Franklin’s new friend. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Kids Can Press. Center for Inclusive Child Care. (2015). Special education terminology glossary. Retrieved from: http://www.inclusivechildcare.org/inclusion_glossary.cfm Gischlar, K., Hijnoski, R., & Missall, K. (2009). Improving child outcomes with data-based decision making: interpreting and using data. Young Exceptional Children,13(1), 2-18. doi: 10.1177/1096250609346249. Gischlar, K., Hijnoski, R., & Missall, K. (2009). Improving child outcomes with data-based decision making: graphing data. Young Exceptional Children, 12(4), 15-29. doi: 10.1177/10962506099337696. Katz, E. & Girolametto, L, (2013). Peer-mediated intervention for preschoolers with ASD implemented in early childhood education settings. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 33(3), 133-143. doi:10.1177/0271121413484972. Sandall, S., Hemmeter, M. L., Smith, B. J., & McLean, M. E. (2005). DEC recommended practices: A comprehensive guide for practical application in early intervention/early childhood special education. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.