Active Social Engagement

Active Social Engagement for Students with Autism

Alice Hammel, Virginia Commonwealth and James Madison Universities

Background

Challenges for students with ASD

• Little interest in objects of people

• May not play simple interaction games

• May not laugh or smile in response to positive statements

• Limited interest in social speech, imitation, and joint attention

• Lack of social function or understanding of social cues

Socialization and Academic Progress

• Social communication and academic progress are inherently linked

 

• We learn by observing others and through witnessing the outcomes of those behaviors

Fundamentals of Social Development

• Social speech

• Collaborative play

• Eye contact

• Joint attention

Jim Along Josie

Rhythm Game (imitation)

Eye contact

• Gather information

• Indicate interests

and emotions

• The intent of others

can be very

confusing

Why?

• Attention has been drawn elsewhere

• Anxiety related to the expectations of the classroom at the moment

• Sensory input needs (hypo or hyper)

• Delay in cognitive processing necessary to comprehend or retain information

Levelance (in pairs)

Joint attention

• Attending to the interest of others

• This can be extremely difficult.

• Some students are not interested in engaging with others, their objects, or situations.

• An inability to process via eye gaze, theory of mind, or other means can exacerbate joint attention miscues.

• Simon Says

Central Coherence

• Central Coherence Theory

• Focus on the local rather than the global aspects of an object of interest

Theory of mind

• Trouble predicting actions, intent by assuming beliefs or state of mind

• Tone of voice

• Often cannot understand looks, glances, figures of speech, tone of voice, etc.

Let’s make music!Pass the Ball

We are the Dinosaurs

Other Challenges for Students with ASD

• Language Delays

• Age Appropriate

Interests

• Difficulty

interpreting

behaviors and

emotions

• Difficulty

interpreting facial

expressions that

include emotion

Socialization StrategiesFor Music Educators who teach Children with ASD

Considerations for lesson planning

• Imitation

• Fine motor movements

• Motor planning

• Taking turns on instruments

• Performing partner songs

Bach Activity

Social Stories

• As individual books

• Using pictures of the student modeling appropriate social behavior

• “Setting up” social scenarios

Lets make music!Lucy Locket

Great Big House in New Orleans

Strategies for Educators

• Eye Contact

• Appropriate Responses

• Joint Attention

Interest

• Finding interests that connect students

• May not be typical or age appropriate

I love to Laugh

• The Prism Project

• Theory of Mind (revisited)

• What is means to be funny

• Telling Jokes

I love to laugh

Other considerations

• Appropriate Atmosphere

• Reverse Inclusion Opportunities

• Pairing or “Buddying Up”

• Literal Explanation (slang, etc.)

Lets playUp, Up, and Away

Reverse Inclusion

• Students who are neurotypical may be included in music settings with students with autism. Some models of this include:

• ASSET (Autism Spectrum Support Education and Training)

The Prism Project: Hip-Hop Experience

Concluding thoughts

Alice Hammel

hammela@mac.com