132 Jill Locke and Colleen Harker
children with ASD (Bellini, Peters, Benner and Hopf, 2007; Rao, Beidel and
Murray, 2008; Chan et al., 2009; Kasari, Rotheram-Fuller, Locke and Gulsrud,
2012). Peer-mediated approaches are either indirect, in that the expert facilitator
works exclusively with the peer models rather than the target students with ASD,
or concurrent, in that the expert facilitator works with both students with ASD
and their peers simultaneously. In schools, peer-mediated interventions most
frequently take place during the recess/lunch period or as a pull out service.
Schools serve as important service delivery systems for all students, particularly
students with ASD (Locke, Kratz, Reisinger and Mandell, 2014). As children and
adolescents spend a majority of their day at school, it is critical to capitalize on
possible intervention opportunities in which they can practice new skills. Peer-
mediated interventions are particularly relevant in school settings, as schools pro-
vide ample opportunities in which children and adolescents with ASD can interact
with typically developing peers within a natural context (Bellini et al., 2007). The
number of peers present within schools provides a large selection of potential inter-
vention agents, which may mitigate implementation barriers commonly faced by
teachers and other school staff (e.g., lack of time, resources) (Bellini, et al., 2007;
Chan et al., 2009; Locke et al., 2014b).
Although adult-delivered, one-on-one supports are typical in school settings,
an overreliance on these methods may hinder students from fully participating
in the social opportunities available within inclusive settings (Hemmingsson,
Borell and Gustavsson, 2003). Furthermore, social skills interventions are not
only more ecologically valid when delivered by peers than by adults but also may
be more effective (Gerber, Finn, Achilles and Boyd-Zaharias, 2001; Giangreco,
Broer and Edelman, 2001; Hemmingsson et al., 2003; Carter and Kennedy, 2006;
Kasari et al., 2012). The use of peer models may create a more inclusive climate
and culture for children and adolescents with ASD at school, thereby encourag-
ing generalization and maintenance of skills that are often not achieved when
using an adult as the interventionist (Chan et al., 2009; Kasari, Locke, Ishijima
and Kretzmann, 2013).
Peer-mediated approaches
To date, peer-mediated approaches have the largest evidence base for improving
social functioning in children and adolescents with ASD (Haring and Breen,
1992; Sainato, Goldstein and Strain, 1992; Kamps, Potucek, Lopez, Kravits and
Kemmerer, 1997; Pierce and Schreibman, 1997; Laushey and Heflin, 2000;
McConnell, 2002; Bellini et al., 2007; Kasari et al., 2012). In the following section,
we briefly review the most common peer-mediated approaches, including
peer modeling, networking, tutoring, and mentoring (Utley, Mortweet and
Greenwood, 1997; DiSalvo and Oswald, 2002; Carter and Kennedy, 2006; Zhang
and Wheeler, 2011; Bohlander, Orlich and Varley, 2012; Kasari et al., 2012). These
methods differ in the roles that peer models play (i.e., direct vs. indirect), as