Peer Mediation Interventions to Improve Social and Communication Skills for Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

This chapter is designed to present literature reviews and exemplary studies with a focus on peer training and peer mediation interventions (PMIs) to address social deficits presenting in autism spectrum disorders and to build social competence with peers. Studies including literature reviews were identified through a search of peer-reviewed journals using key search words: autism, social skills, peers, or peer mediation with selected dates from 2003 to 2016. The literature described is not inclusive of all 203 studies yielded from the search, but rather a representative sample of the findings. The chapter sections include (a) defining peer mediation interventions, (b) models of peer mediation interventions, (c) evidence-based practices and exemplary studies of peer mediation interventions, (d) summary of social skills intervention reviews, (e) summary of peer mediation intervention literature reviews, (f) key findings, and (g) conclusions and future research. Evidence from the review suggest that PMIs are effective for improving social and communication outcomes for children and youth with ASD across multiple settings and change agents.