Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Roberta Carrlson

Abstract

Purpose: Transitioning to and between school settings (i.e., home to elementary, elementary to middle school, middle school to high school) can be a challenging experience for everyone. In middle school, there is an increase in academic, behavioral, and social demands (Chen et al., 2020; Fontil et al., 2020). While most students are able to navigate the different demands of middle school, students with disabilities struggle with building relationships and interacting with their peers along with academics leading to low involvement in extracurricular activities, inconsistent access to the general education classroom, and an absence of peer interactions throughout the day (Biggs & Robison, 2022; Carter, 2018; Espelage et al., 2016; Matthews et al., 2022). When schools engage in inclusive education through the use of peer-mediated interventions, opportunities for social interaction between peers increase (Biggs & Robison, 2022; Carter, 2018; Matthews et al., 2022). The purpose of this scholarly project is to assist schools in developing and implementing a peer to peer program to increase interactions between students with and without disabilities.

Methodology: A needs assessment was completed through a comprehensive literature review guided by the Ecological Model of Human Performance (EHP) to find common themes relating to social participation between peers with and without disabilities (Dunn et al., 1994). The program developed is based off Grand Valley State University’s Peer to Peer START Project where permission was granted to modify materials to fit the needs of the site. Following the literature review, a site was secured at a middle school in the Midwest.

Results: After modifying START Projects materials and creating materials to fit the middle school, a peer to peer program was created and partially implemented. It is anticipated the program will continue to be implemented through the rest of the school year and into the following years. With the success of the program at one middle school, development of a peer to peer program within the districts other middle schools can occur.

Conclusion: A need for more programs in schools to increase social interactions between students with and without disabilities was identified. In order to increase opportunities for social interactions to occur, a peer-mediated intervention approach was used in the form of a peer to peer program. Although implementation was limited due to the school schedule, it is expected to have a positive impact on both students and create an inclusive school culture.

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