Promoting socio-communicative development in students with autism who use augmentative and alternative communication

Supporting social interactions between children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and their typically developing peers presents many challenges. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of a peer-mediated intervention designed to teach two students with ASD to use speech-generating devices (SGDs) to engage in interactions with peers in a social context at school. Six typically developing peers (three from each participant’s inclusive classroom) were taught to support SGD use by their classmates with ASD during game activities. A multiple baseline design was used to examine the relationship between peer-mediated instruction and an increase in total communicative acts by the two participants. Although a functional relationship was not established unequivocally, the results suggest that the intervention was effective at increasing total CAs. These results failed to generalize to non-experimental social settings, but social validity ratings by all of the confederates were positive. Results are discussed regarding educational implications, limitations, and future research.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat