Peer-Mediated Interventions for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Systematic Review of Reviews of Social and Behavioral Outcomes.

Peer-mediated interventions (PMIs) have been firmly established as evidence-based approaches for facilitating peer relationships among students with and without disabilities. We conducted a review of reviews evaluating PMI studies to support social skills and positive behavioral outcomes for children, adolescents, and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). A total of 4,254 individuals with IDD were participants across 43 reviews of the literature, reflecting 357 unique studies. This review includes coding related to participant demographic information, intervention characteristics, implementation fidelity, social validity, and social outcomes addressed by PMIs across reviews. Our findings suggest that PMIs yield positive social and behavioral outcomes for individuals with IDD, mostly in the areas of peer engagement and initiating social interactions. Specific skills, motor behaviors, and challenging as well as prosocial behaviors were less likely to be examined across studies. Implications for research and practice to support the implementation of PMIs will be discussed.

Peer Tutoring Interventions for Students With or At-Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: A Systematic Review of Reviews.

This systematic review of reviews is the first to summarize peer tutoring outcomes for students with or at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Eleven narrative literature reviews, three systematic reviews, and two meta-analyses of peer tutoring interventions that met inclusion criteria were summarized. Participants across the 16 reviews included more than 2,404 students with or at-risk for EBD in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 across 73 individual, unduplicated studies. Findings support the efficacy of peer tutoring for students with or at-risk for EBD regarding academic and behavioral outcomes. Lessons learned, and implications for research and practice derived from these reviews are provided.

Reading interventions for middle and secondary students with emotional and behavioral disorders: a quantitative review of single-case studies.

Many students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) experience learning problems in reading at the middle and secondary school levels. Yet, the academic performance of students with EBD is often overlooked in the research literature. The purpose of this article was to provide a quantitative synthesis of the published, peer-reviewed, single-case research literature on reading interventions for students with or at-risk for EBD. An omnibus nonoverlap effect size of .59 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) = [.54, .64] was found consisting of 219 phase contrasts and 44 participants across the 11 studies included in the review. The findings are discussed in the context of improving the academic and behavioral outcomes of middle and secondary students with EBD.

Effects of computer-based graphic organizers to solve one-step word problems for middle school students with mild intellectual disability: A preliminary study.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of computer-based graphic organizers, using Kidspiration 3© software, to solve one-step word problems. Participants included three students with mild intellectual disability enrolled in a functional academic skills curriculum in a self-contained classroom. A multiple probe single-subject research design (Horner & Baer, 1978) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of computer-based graphic organizers to solving mathematical one-step word problems. During the baseline phase, the students completed a teacher-generated worksheet that consisted of nine functional word problems in a traditional format using a pencil, paper, and a calculator. In the intervention and maintenance phases, the students were instructed to complete the word problems using a computer-based graphic organizer. Results indicated that all three of the students improved in their ability to solve the one-step word problems using computer-based graphic organizers compared to traditional instructional practices. Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research directions are discussed.