Utilizing Peer Mentoring and
Mediation Strategies to Engage
Students with Autism in Learning
and Understanding Mathematics at
the Middle School level
Kathryn A. Brewer, B.S. and B.A.
The College of William and Mary
Curriculum & Instruction
Secondary Mathematics, M.A.Ed
Abstract
Students with Autism, and other developmental
disabilities, at the Elementary and Secondary levels
often have difficulty interacting socially with peers,
which can hinder their ability to learn in an educational
environment.
 Peer – Mediated Interventions promote equality among
students and foster environments where
developmentally disabled students can acquire social
skills through interactions with peers while learning
additional skills, such as self – monitoring and
accountability.
 The combination of self – monitoring and peer –
mediation can lead to lasting relationships, increased
language and social skills, and can also contribute to an
increased self-confidence in students with
developmental disabilities.

Effectiveness of Peer Mentoring
and Peer Mediation
Increase in Social interaction between
students diagnosed with a disability and
their normally developing peers
 Increase in classroom attentiveness and
overall engagement
 Increase in effectively using content based
discussion tools

◦ Talk Aloud Problem Solving / Math Talk/
Number Sense
Review of Literature
Each grouping of Power PALS (peer assisting, learning, and
supporting) utilized various helpful ideas that included, but are
not limited to, hanging out at lunch, assisting with homework,
inviting students to club penguin, and playing games. In addition
to providing individual progress results, this article included the
overall benefits to peers, the friendships formed, and the
perspectives of parents who’s children where involved in this
study. The overall theme of this article focused on the social
benefits to students with and without a disability, which can be
extremely beneficial in a middle or high school environment.
-Power-PALS (peers assisting, leading, supporting)…
Collet-Klingenberg, L., Neitzel, J., & LaBerge, J. (2012).
Review of Literature
This study began by establishing a baseline with which to
reference when evaluating progress based on each elicited
social response through peer training sessions or probes.
Overall there was a positive correlation between peer training
and an increase in any of the four social responses:
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maintaining eye contact (directional gaze),
maintaining close proximity to peers during interactions,
initiating or directing conversations with peers; and
maintaining the conversation topics.
The limitations point out the need for continued research.
- The effects of Peer training …
Krebs, M.L., McDaniel, D.M., & Neeley, R.A. (2010)
Review of Literature
This article utilizes a 5 step model for the use and
implementation of PMII, which includes:
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Selecting Peers,
Training and Supporting Peers,
Implementing a Structured Teaching Session,
Implementing in Classroom and School Settings, and
Extending Initiations Across the Day.
Careful selection of peers who are reliable and utilize effective
social and language skills, teachers and researchers can work
together to create reliable implementation strategies while
supporting all students through classroom setup and overall
management.
- Peer-Mediated Instruction …
Sperry, L., Neitzel, J., & Engelhardt-Wells, K. (2010).
Rationale
Is there a particular age group that responds
better to this particular intervention method?
If so, why do they benefit more?
 How does a teacher go about selecting and
training normally developing peers to become
peer mentors to autistic or developmentally
disabled peers?
 Is there reasonable data available on the
successfulness of this intervention? And, how
could we go about collecting data of our own
to support this methods implementation?

Evidence Based Practice
Peer Mentoring and Peer Mediation

Peer Mentoring is considered an
effective social intervention for both
students with Autism (or developmental
disabilities) and their normally
developing peers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC-13zO8ho8
Evidence Based Practice
Peer Mentoring and Peer Mediation

Coyote Crossroads is a program that pairs
normally developing peers who struggle
academically with Autistic students. These
students assist in building friendships and
creating basic mathematical understanding. This
program is also service oriented, where speakers
are invited to come and educate the normally
developing peers on autism and how to best
assist those diagnosed with autism. This program
has also positively impacted those students who
were struggling in increasing their grades and
school attendance due to their participation in the
program.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbO5SqTZC2c
Middle School Implementation
How can peer mentoring assist students
in middle or secondary school?
 What are the benefits?
 What are the disadvantages?

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=13567
The Faison School in Richmond,VA
•
•
Is a non-profit school for students with Autism
Spectrum Disorder
Peer – Mentoring and the Community Integration
Program
•
•
• The students are trained through example
The students are given reinforcements to encourage
positive behavior and increased social interaction
(the Wall – Mart)
Self-monitoring checklist and checklist for achieving
certain learning objectives per week
Community and Learning Unit Objective
Achievement Track Sheet
Rules Sheet with Work/Community
Points
The WALL MART
Measurement of Objectives

Charts
◦ plotting on-task versus off-task behavior
◦ works toward a particular learning goal or
level

Bar Graphs
◦ the student monitors their ability to
accomplish the task at hand;
◦ works toward a goal
Discussion/ Analysis

This intervention strategy is reliably and can benefit not
only the student diagnosed with the developmental
disability but also the peers mediating the intervention.
Examples from the literature include:
◦ Engelhardt – Wells, Neitzel, & Sperry (2010) states that
“research has shown that PMII can be effectively used to
increase the social interactions of learners with ASD with
others” (p. 261).
◦ Krebs, McDaniel, & Neeley (2010) also noted that their
investigation replicated previous peer – mediated intervention
studies and supported “that a peer mediated approach to social
intervention could successfully increase the use of socially
appropriate behaviors between children with ASD and their
typically developing peers” (p. 402).
◦ Collet – Klingenberg, LaBerge, & Neitzel stated that their
“outcomes suggest that Power Pals had a significant impact on
school experiences and social interactions for both learners
with and without ASD” (p. 3).
References
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Blancher, J., Horner, R. H., Odom, S. L., & Snell, M. E. (Eds.). (2007). Handbook of
developmental disabilities. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Collet-Klingenberg, L., Neitzel, J., & LaBerge, J. (2012). Power-PALS (peers
assisting, leading, supporting): implementing a peer-mediated intervention in a
rural middle school program. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 31 (2), 3 - 11.
Krebs, M.L., McDaniel, D.M., & Neeley, R.A. (2010). The effects of peer training
on the social interactions of children with autism spectrum disorders.
Education, 131 (2), 393 - 403.
Sperry, L., Neitzel, J., & Engelhardt-Wells, K. (2010). Peer-Mediated instruction
and intervention strategies for students with autism spectrum disorders.
Preventing School Failure, 54 (4), 256 - 264.
National Louis University (Producer). (2011). Peer mentoring networks for
students with autism [YouTube]. Available from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC-13zO8ho8
Upside CHN (Producer). (2011). Coyote crossroads program: mentoring autistic
classmates [YouTube]. Available from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbO5SqTZC2c
NYC Charter Center (Producer). (2008). Peer mentoring at autism charter school
[Teacher Tube]. Available from
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=13567
The faison school for autism. (2014). Retrieved from
http://www.thefaisonschool.org/welcome.php
Photo reference sites listed in the comments on slide 13