This study investigated the effects of written text and pictorial cuing with supplemental video feedback on the social communication of 5 students with autism and social deficits. Two peers without disabilities participated as social partners with each child with autism to form five triads. Treatment was implemented twice per week and consisted of 10 min of systematic instruction using visual stimuli, 10 min of social interaction, and 10 min of self-evaluation using video feedback. Results showed increases in targeted social communication skills when the treatment was implemented. Some generalized treatment effects were observed across untrained social behaviors, and 1 participant generalized improvements within the classroom. In addition, naive judges reported perceived improvements in the quality of reciprocal interactions. These findings support recommendations for using visually cued instruction to guide the social language development of young children with autism as they interact with peers without disabilities.

This study consecutively examined the effects of 2 social interventions-- peer training and written text treatment--on the social communication of 5 elementary students with pervasive developmental disorder. Each child with autism was paired with 2 peers without disabilities to form 5 triads. In Intervention 1 (peer training), peers were taught to use 5 facilitative social skills over 5 days. After peer training, 4 children with autism increased or used more stable rates of initiations and contingent responses overall. However, all children continued to demonstrate deficits in specific social-communication skills. Once Intervention 2 (direct instruction using written text cues) was implemented, increased use of 3 different communication skills was observed across all 5 participants. In addition, social validity outcomes revealed improved quality of child-peer interactions, 2 teacher reports of improved social skill development, and improved acceptance and friendship ratings for the children with autism. Results support the use of written text cues to improve children's social communication with peers, and suggest that combining approaches may be necessary to improve the quality of children's relationships.

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