Individualized Peer-Mediated Interventions to Increase Young Children’s Social Competence

82 YOUNG EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN Vol. 24, No. 2, June 2021 https://doi.org/10.1177/1096250620928332 DOI: 10.1177/1096250620928332 journals.sagepub.com/home/yec Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions © 2020 Division for Early Childhood Ms. Caroline is the lead teacher of an inclusive preschool classroom in a suburban school district that serves children and families from lowincome backgrounds. Yan Alberto, a 3-year-old boy, is one of 15 children in Ms. Caroline’s class. He is monolingual, communicates with twoto three-word utterances in English, and follows two-word requests. In the mornings, many centers are available and up to five children participate in each center. Ms. Caroline observes that Yan Alberto engages in parallel play during these centers. He plays with the toys available in each center, stays close to his peers, and appears interested in what his peers are doing. However, he hardly initiates toward them. Yan Alberto’s parents have also observed this behavior with his older sibling and during family gatherings. Ms. Caroline and Yan Alberto’s parents feel he would like to interact with peers but that he does not know how to initiate those interactions. In consultation with a behavior specialist from the school district, she learns that peer-mediated interventions (PMIs) may help teach Yan Alberto to initiate and respond to his peers. Social competence is the ability to achieve interpersonal goals by engaging in social behaviors that are appropriate and context-specific (Guralnick, 1992). Social competence 928332 YECXXX10.1177/1096250620928332Young Exceptional ChildrenPeer-Mediated Interventions / Martinez et al. research-article2020