The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently funded a study that shows that children with autism may have improved social behavior if their peers receive training in how to interact with them. Connie Kasari, Ph.D., of the University of California, led a team that compared different interventions among children with autism who were already partially mainstreamed. One of the interventions consisted of teaching neurotypical kids how to interact with their classmates who were on the spectrum. The children whose peers received training spent less time playing alone, were thought of as friends by the neurotypical kids, and had increased social skills.