Replicating the PEERS Program in a Public School Classroom

Background:  

The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS; Laugeson & Frankel, 2010) is a manualized social skills curriculum for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and their parents. The program has been demonstrated as effective when implemented by clinicians in an outpatient setting (Laugeson, Frankel, Mogil, & Dillon, 2009).  The focus of this presentation is on the outcomes of a replication of the PEERS model when implemented by a middle school teacher working in a public school. Most adolescents are educated in public schools and youth with ASD can benefit from participation in an effective social skills program.

Objectives:  

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of the PEERS curriculum in a school setting using teacher-facilitation.

Methods:  

Eight adolescents (5 with ASD; 3 with ID) in the same middle school classroom participated in a 14-week PEERS program conducted in the public school classroom by their teacher trained in the model from the model developers. Handouts with information on the topics addressed were sent to parents weekly. Pre and post program measures were collected on the the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS; Gresham & Elliot, 2008), by parents and the teacher; the Social Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ) by the parents and a paraprofessional working with the group; the Test of Adolescent Social Skills Knowledge (TASSK; Laugeson & Frankel, 2006) and a Social Validity Survey designed for the purposes of this study was completed by each student participant.

Results:  

Pre-post intervention measures revealed an improvement in all subdomains of the SSIS as reported by parents with pre-intervention mean scores of 89.29 (SD = 16.96) and post-intervention scores with a mean of 95.86 (SD =13.64 ), with a 6-point increase (t= 2.59, p < .05) and a significant improvement on the Engagement subscale. The teacher’s measures the mean pre intervention standard score was 89.13 (SD = 6.85) and post intervention was 96.63 (SD = 7.48), with a 7-point increase (t= 2.87, p < .05).  Subscale analysis reveals an improvement in all subdomains, with a significant improvement on the Assertion and Self Control subscales. There was also a significant different in the mean pre and post intervention scores on the TASSK (t = 3.65; p < .01).  Seven of the eight students showed improvements on their knowledge of social skills rules taught. The items that showed the largest number of students that perceived self-improvement on the SBQ were: hosting get togethers and letting friend choose the activities, (87% of students reporting perceived self-improvement); when teased, acting like it doesn’t bother you, (63% of students reporting perceived self-improvement); not leaving too many phone messages in a row for a peer and the ability to tell when people don’t want to talk to you, (50% of students reporting perceived self-improvement).

 Conclusions:  

This study provides evidence that the PEERS social skills intervention program (Laugeson & Frankel, 2010), can be used within a classroom setting implemented by school staff with demonstrated increased social knowledge and skills by adolescents with ASD.