Merging Naturalistic Teaching and Peer-Based Strategies to Address the IEP Objectives of Preschoolers with Autism

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of combining naturalistic teaching and peer-mediated tactics to address children's developmental skills. A multiple baseline design was used to compare three experimental conditions. In the first phase, 6 teachers used naturalistic teaching strategies to address the Individualized Education Program (IEP) objectives of 10 preschoolers with autism. In the second phase, teachers continued to employ naturalistic teaching but added the supplemental components of peer modeling, cooperation, and verbal exchanges (i.e., a combined intervention condition). Finally, teachers implemented sessions without any support or assistance during a four-session maintenance phase. A range of primary and corollary outcomes were collected to examine the effects of the two teaching procedures. Results indicated that teachers often conducted instructional episodes in a 1:1 fashion during the naturalistic teaching phase. With training and practice, however, all 6 teachers involved peers in instructional episodes during the combined intervention condition and continued to incorporate peer mediation during the brief maintenance phase. In comparison to naturalistic tactics only, the involvement of typical peers was also associated with a substantial increase in the duration and rate of skills addressed during each teaching episode. Finally, teachers addressed the same types of developmental skills with the two procedures and provided instruction within a similar range of stimulus contexts or classroom areas. These results are discussed with regard to their implications for future research and practice.