Effectiveness of Peer-Mediated Interventions on Social Skills of Students with Autism in Integrated Schools in Abuja

This study evaluates the effectiveness of peer-mediated interventions for improving social skills of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in integrated secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Peer-mediated interventions, in which typically developing peers are trained to initiate and sustain social interactions with autistic classmates, leverage the natural social ecology of school environments and have demonstrated strong empirical support internationally. In Nigerian integrated schools, where specialist support for autism is limited, peer-mediated strategies offer a potentially resource-efficient approach to social skills development. This study employs a multiple-baseline single-subject design across five students with autism in three integrated schools in Abuja. Typically developing peers in each school are trained in three structured social initiation strategies over a two-week preparation phase. Social skills are assessed through direct observation of targeted social interaction behaviours during structured and naturalistic school activities across baseline and intervention phases. Visual analysis and Tau-U effect size calculations are applied. The study also assesses peer trainer social competence and attitudes before and after involvement, exploring co-benefits of the intervention. Findings are expected to demonstrate meaningful increases in social interaction frequency and quality in all five participants. Recommendations include developing a replicable peer-mediated intervention training package for use in Nigerian integrated schools and piloting whole-class autism awareness programmes to support peer relationship quality. Keywords: peer-mediated interventions, autism, social skills, integrated schools, Abuja.