Peer-mediated intervention (PMI) may be very helpful for children with autism, and a strong research base supports use of PMI.

This review article was designed to describe all research in which therapy for children with autism was performed by the child’s peers. The review covered 42 studies that used PMI in the treatment of people with autism. Many of the studies did not measure whether or not the studied treatment plan was followed by the peers. Some studies did ask the questions: Did the treatment occur for at least 10 minutes? Are there at least 1 or 2 peers in the treatment? Was an adult there to watch the session? The authors note that future studies should focus on what level of PMI can be performed by children at each age.