Peer-mediated 'playdates'

This study looked at the impact of peer-mediated ESDM “playdates” for autistic children.

Twice a week for three weeks, a five-year-old autistic boy and five-year-old 'typically developing' peer met for hour-long home-based ESDM 'playdate' sessions.

Main findings

• Preliminary results suggest moderate positive effects for parallel play and participation.
• No effect was found for vocalisations or 'typically developing' child initiations.

Read the full study

van Noorden, L., Waddington, H., van der Meer, L., & Tupou, J. (2020). Peer-mediated Early Start Denver Model “playdates” for a young child with autism spectrum disorder: a case study. Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, advance online publication.