The Use of Multiple Peer Exemplars to Enhance the Generalization of Play Skills to the Siblings of Children with Autism

Abstract

Three children with autism were trained to initiate social interactions to their normally developing peers. The study employed a multiple baseline design across three children with multiple probes across three normally developing peers. Clear differences were found between baseline and post-training sessions for all children across all peers. Generalization probes suggest that the children with autism were able to generalize the skills to a preschool playground, to an untrained child with autism, and to their brother or sister at home. These findings are discussed as offering evidence that children with autism can learn to initiate and maintain a social interaction with their peers, and that these skills will generalized to novel settings and people.