Effectiveness of the peer coaching intervention package presented to special education teachers in teaching communication skills to children with ASD

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PEER COACHING INTERVENTION PACKAGE PRESENTED TO SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN TEACHING COMMUNICATION SKILLS TO CHILDREN WITH ASD Ahmet Alperen YAVUZ Department of Special Education, Program in Education of the Mentally Disabled Anadolu University, Graduate School, June 2024 Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Veysel AKSOY In this study, the researcher aimed to examine the impact of the Peer Coaching Professional Development Package ("PCPDP") offered by the researcher to peer coaches (PCs) on PCs' learning, maintenance and generalization of coaching practice skills. In addition, the effect of the Non-Field Teacher Professional Development Package (NFDPP), which was prepared by the PCs using the coaching skills they learned and presented to the non-field teachers (NFTEs), on the teachers' learning and maintenance of the skills of demand modeling (DM) implementation was examined. In addition, the effect of the DM implemented by the NFTEs on the learning, maintenance and generalization of verbal object requesting skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was examined. Finally, it was aimed to examine the views of the PCs, NFTEs, mothers of children with ASD, and institutional administrators on the research process. There were three different participant groups in the study: PCs (teachers graduated from special education departments), NFTEs, and children with ASD. For all participant groups, a multiple probe model with a probe phase between participants was used, which is one of the single-subject research methods. The results of the study revealed that "PCPDP" applied to PCs, "NFDPP" applied to NFTEs, and DM applied to children with ASD were effective on all participant groups, and that the participants maintained these skills for one, two and four weeks. In addition, PCs generalized the skills they acquired to different environments and materials, and children with ASD generalized the skills they acquired to different people. PCs, NFTEs, mothers of children with ASD, and institutional administrators all expressed positive opinions about the research process and the results obtained. Keywords: Peer coaching, Mand model, Children with autism spectrum disorders, Communication skills, Coach training, Evidence-based practices, Professional development.