The Impact of One-to-One Paraprofessional Aides on Social Skills Outcomes in Students with Autism

The social impact of being assigned a one-to-one paraprofessional aide for a child with high-functioning autism (HFA) in a school based setting was assessed. Aides are designated to assist children in academics, behavior management, and socialization. However, previous research indicates children with aides are less socially engaged on school playgrounds than children with HFA that do not have an aide (Kasari et al., 2012). These findings are examined further by investigating the effectiveness of social skills treatments in relation to a child having an aide. Results indicate children with an aide benefited most from an intervention with a peer-mediated component. Because aides were not directly involved in the intervention, these findings indicate aides potentially learned how to increase child engagement through observation. Future intervention studies should target integrating aides into social skills interventions as they can be a valuable tool for maintaining social engagement throughout the school year