The Effects of Social Skills Training on the Peer Interactions of a Nonnative Toddler

The purpose of the present study was to increase peer interactions of a toddler who is nonnative. A 30-month old boy evidenced social withdrawal when playing at playgrounds. Social skills training served as the intervention to increase social initiations by this participant. Targeted social skills included greeting peers, gesturing to peers, imitating peers, offering something to peers, and accepting something from peers. The training included instructions, models, and praise. A multiple baseline across skills design was applied in this study. Results demonstrated that the participant's social interactions with peers increased when the social skills training intervention was introduced across each of the five social skills and was maintained as the instructions, models, and praise was gradually decreased. These findings indicate that this type of social skills training can be an effective way to increase the appropriate peer interactions of a nonnative toddler.