Evaluating the quality of peer interactions in children and adolescents with autism with the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS).

The PIPPS was not normed for 9- and 13-year-olds, because the T scores were based on kindergarten-age children, so age comparisons and score interpretation may be limited. Analyses with raw scores weakened one finding: the association between restricted and repetitive behaviors and peer disconnection was not significant (p = 0.064). Classroom placement was not randomly assigned, so it is not possible to know whether access to typical peers, verbal ability, or initial placement choices explain peer connection. The sample was cognitively impaired, with a mean verbal ratio IQ of 49.1, so results may not apply to older or more cognitively able children and adolescents with ASD. Some analyses had smaller samples because of missing data: three children were missing ADOS scores, two were missing cognitive testing, six were missing ADI-R friendship data, and 65 children were included in the social communication subdimension analysis. It was not known whether the same teacher completed the PIPPS for the same child at both time points. The analysed sample was 107 of the 213 original participants, so it may not represent the wider group.

The funding statement lists the National Institute of Mental Health, Autism Speaks, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Mortimer D. Sackler Family, the Leon Levy Foundation, and the DeWitt-Wallace Reader's Digest Fund. The supplied text does not include an author conflict-of-interest declaration.

Do not treat the PIPPS as a single overall score of friendship or social skills. The paper says there is no total score, and only the disconnection subscale matched parent-reported friendship; the interaction and disruption subscales did not.