The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the turn-taking skills of children with and without disabilities who participated in a social communication intervention targeting peer-directed initiations and responses. Eight children met the selection criteria for inclusion in the study. A multiple baseline design across participants (dyads) was used to determine the effects of the social communication intervention. All eight participants showed increases of initiations with an immediate peer response. Follow-up assessments showed that the effects were maintained in the return to baseline condition but did not generalize into the classroom setting. Classroom teachers found the intervention procedures and the behavioral changes in participants to be socially valid. Several implications for practice can be derived from the findings of the present study.

This study examined the effects of a multicomponent social communication intervention to promote language learning and peer-directed social interactions in preschool children with disabilities. Participants were eight children with developmental disabilities who met the specified criteria for the study. The intervention consisted of three components: (a) a planning period for instructional purposes, (b) a play session to practice skills, and (c) a brief reporting period to review skill performance. A multiple baseline design across two dyads replicated across two additional dyads was used. Results indicated an increase in peer-directed requests, verbal requests, and word diversity for 6 of the 8 participants postintervention. Implications of the results are discussed. C 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The first research aim was to examine whether children's interactive play with peers changed during the course of the intervention. The second research aim was to examine whether children generalized newly learned skills to the classroom or playground. The third research aim was to examine how children responded to the intervention based upon the presence of a disability and disability severity. Method: We examined the use of a social communication intervention to promote interactive play for children in dyads using a multiple baseline single subject design. The intervention consisted of three components: (a) a planning period for instructional purposes, (b) a play session to practice skills, and (c) a performance reporting period to review skills. Participants included preschool students (n = 34) enrolled in Head Start and collaborative classrooms and kindergarten students (n = 2) with language difficulties, social skill difficulties, and/or problem behavior. Results: Results indicated that interactive play with peers increased during the intervention sessions for most children. The greatest effects were observed for at-risk children and children with emotional and behavioral disorders experienced limited effects. Conclusions: The results support the use of the intervention package. We discuss implications and future directions.

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