A clustered randomized design was used in which 28 inclusive preschool classrooms were randomly assigned to receive 2 years of training and coaching to fidelity in the LEAP (Learning Experiences and Alternative Program for Preschoolers and Their Parents) preschool model, and 28 inclusive classes were assigned to receive intervention manuals only. In total, 177 intervention classroom children and 117 comparison classroom children participated. Children were similar on all measures at start. After 2 years, experimental class children were found to have made significantly greater improvement than their comparison cohorts on measures of cognitive, language, social, and problem behavior, and autism symptoms. Behavior at entry did not predict outcome nor did family socioeconomic status. The fidelity with which teachers implemented LEAP strategies did predict outcomes. Finally, social validity measurement showed that procedures and outcomes were favorably viewed by intervention class teachers. About the AuthorsPhillip S. Strain, PhD, is professor of educational psychology at the University of Colorado Denver. His primary research interests include children's social emotional development, remediation of challenging behaviors, and comprehensive early intervention services for young children with autism.Edward H. Bovey II, MA, is the assistant director of the Positive Early Learning Experiences Center at the University of Colorado Denver. His research interests include the implementation of naturalistic teaching strategies and peer-mediated interventions for children with autism in inclusive preschool settings, and the prevention and remediation of challenging behaviors.

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a systematic decision-making process that has gained widespread popularity as a problem-solving framework for organizing hierarchies of evidence-based interventions in the context of ongoing progress monitoring. Initially applied to literacy instruction, RtI is being incorporated into an expanding breadth of domains, including early intervention and the prevention of social-emotional delays and the occurrence of challenging behaviors. In this article, we describe RtI and its relationship to the "Pyramid Model" (L. Fox, G. Dunlap, M. L. Hemmeter, G. Joseph, & P. Strain, 2003) for promoting social, emotional, and behavioral development of young children. The 2 approaches have close parallels and are considered to be highly compatible. The discussion examines this congruence, identifies challenges in need of resolution, and emphasizes the exciting promise offered by the emergence and implementation of the 2 problemsolving and decision-making frameworks.

The literature on peer-mediated treatment approaches is reviewed, and three types of peer-mediated treatment--proximity, prompt/reinforce, and peer initiation interventions--are identified. The relative efficacy of these interventions is examined, treatment issues are discussed, and directions for future research are considered.

The purposes of our study were: (a) to train a set of observationally determined social behaviors via peer initiation; (b) to determine if effects generalized across dassroom settings and to directly intervene if generalization did not occur; and (c) to analyze components of the peer-initiation intervention. After baseline, nonhandicapped preschool children (confederates) were taught to direct social initiations to the three handicapped preschool-aged students. Teachers prompted the confederates to engage the students in social interaction when necessary and rewarded the confederates with tokens. Confederates' initiations to the students resulted in increased frequencies of positive social interaction. There was no generalization to other classroom settings, and the intervention was subsequently implemented in a second and third dassroom. Next, the confederates' token reinforcement system was withdrawn, with no apparent deleterious effects on the confederates' or students' social interactions. When teachers substantially reduced their prompts to the confederates, students' social interactions decreased. Finally, reinstatement of teacher prompts resulted in increases in the confederates' social initiations and, consequently, the positive social interactions of the students.DESCRIPTORS 3 increase the subjects' levels of positive social interaction.Critics of peer-initiation interventions and other behavioral forms of social skills training assert that positive social interaction is increased without regard to the quality of the behaviors targeted for treatment (Gresham, in press). However, in a recent study designed to identify potential target behaviors for social skills interventions, Strain (1983a) observed the social interactions of handicapped children who had received high sociometric ratings by their nonhandicapped classmates and a second group who received low ratings. High-rated children shared materials, organized play, assisted with tasks, were affectionate, and responded positively to peers' social initiations more often than did lowrated children. Low-rated children were involved in negative social interactions more frequently than high-rated children. One purpose of our investigation was to examine the feasibility and efficacy of using the set of behaviors Strain identified as behavioral targets in a peer-initiation intervention with young, behaviorally handicapped children.

This paper provides a summary of research on behavioral interventions for children with autism 8 years of age or younger published between 1996 and 2000. The analysis is divided into four sections: (1) emerging themes in the technology of behavior support, (2) a review of existing research syntheses focusing on behavioral interventions, (3) a new literature review of current pertinent research, and (4) an evaluative discussion of the synthesis results and the field's future needs to develop effective behavioral interventions for young children with autism. The authors offer recommendations for strengthening the existing research base and advancing behavioral technology to meet the needs of the defined target population.

We compared two procedures for improving the social interactions of three autistic children. In a peer-initiation condition, confederates were taught to initiate interaction with the autistic children. In a teacher-antecedent condition, teachers prompted the autistic children to initiate with confederates, who had been taught to reciprocate. Using an alternating treatment design, differential effects were found. The peer-initiation procedure reliably increased the social responses of the autistic children, whereas the teacher-antecedent condition increased the initiations and responses of the autistic children. In addition, longer chains of social interaction occurred during the teacher-antecedent condition.

This article reviews eight comprehensive social—emotional curricula for children under 6 years of age and describes two promising curricula currently under investigation. These programs have been successful in the promotion of interpersonal skills and the reduction or prevention of challenging behavior for a wide range of children. Particular attention is paid to the level of evidence or scientific believability associated with criteria that reflect efficacious adoption of curricula. Areas for future research are discussed.

Social approach to peers was evaluated as an intervention for isolate preschoolers. During baseline, confederate peers made few social approaches to the target subjects. Confederates greatly increased their rate of social approaches during the first intervention, decreased social approaches during a second baseline, and increased social approaches again in a second intervention phase. Increases in confederate social initiations immediately increased the frequency of subjects' positive social behavior. Additionally, five of six subjects showed an increase in their own positive social initiations during intervention periods. The results suggest that: (a) peers may be programmed to increase the positive social behaviors of their isolate classmates, and (b) remediating social deficits requires assessment and intervention specifically tailored to the individual child.