PBS Goes to Middle School: Building Capacity of Peer Buddies to Implement a PBS Intervention with Fidelity

During adolescence, peer behavior is a strong stimulus that influences how students initiate and respond to their physical and social environment. Yet, the majority of school-based behavioral studies (Dunlap, Clarke, & Steiner, 1999) do not include peers as intervention agents. This study demonstrated how to include peers as contributing members of a Positive Behavior Support (PBS) team. Findings indicated that peers were able to implement a behavior support plan with fidelity, resulting in decreased challenging behavior and increased activity engagement in a middle school peer with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).