Resources

Peer-Based Instruction & Intervention (PBII) was previously named as Peer-Mediated Instruction and Intervention (PMII). It is an intervention in which peers directly promote autistic children’s social interactions and/or other individual learning goals, or the teacher/ other adult organizes the social context (e.g., play groups, social network groups, recess) and when necessary provides support (e.g., prompts, reinforcement) to the autistic children and their peer to engage in social interactions.

Progress monitoring can assist educators in the following ways:

• Assess if the activity was successful.
• Record specific skills that the learner on the spectrum is consistently demonstrating.
• Determine target behaviors that can be the focus of future interventions.
• Record change across time.³⁰

Typically developing peers also might benefit from PMII in a variety of ways:

• Expanded social network;
• Development of new friendships;
• Improvement in social skills;
• Higher quality interactions with classmates;
• Gain in academic skills;
• Increase in school activities;
• Development of advocacy skills. ^14-17

The specific content of the peer training sessions will vary according to the age and needs of the selected peers and the learner on the spectrum.

Peers can role play with one another to practice the skills.

A list of prompts and models that might be necessary to promote social interactions can be developed with peers during the session.

Plan for the assigned trained peer to interact with the learner on the spectrum for at least one 15 minute session daily.

Peers will need ongoing support and feedback from educators.

The learner on the spectrum might need additional materials or instructional supports to participate fully in a session.