What is a Peer Buddy Program?
Peer buddy programs are designed to increase access to general education curricula and inclusion in school activities by students with disabilities. General education students provide social and academic support to their classmates with disabilities by (a) helping them acquire skills needed to succeed in the general education environment and (b) adapting the environment to be more welcoming and accommodating to individual differences and needs. The peer buddy model addresses challenges to inclusion often present in middle and high schools, such as 50-minute class scheduling and departmentalized classes and faculty, by introducing peers as support to students with disabilities across classes, activities, and environments.
Upon enrollment, general education peers usually participate in orientation activities that address program expectations, disability awareness, communication strategies, suggestions for social interaction activities, relevant forms, strategies for dealing with inappropriate behavior, and web resources. Students also may be provided with a program manual that includes information on characteristics of disabilities, disability issues (e.g., disability awareness, person-first language), strategies for interacting with students with disabilities, and behavior management. Throughout the semester, students participate in activities that are instructional (e.g., functional academics, functional life skills, employment training skills) and/or social (e.g., participation in sports, eating lunch together, volunteering, “hanging out” between classes).
Promoting inclusion through peer buddy programs is timely in relation to recent legislation that seeks to increase access to general education and raise performance standards for all students, including students with disabilities and members of other underrepresented groups. School staff, parents, politicians, and others argue that insufficient resources are available to address these educational initiatives. General education peers can help teachers and administrators who are attempting to achieve legislative goals by serving as an additional source of support to promote the success of students with disabilities in general educational curricula and school activities.
