+

Social Skills for Students with Autism

By

Bonnie Houghton

+Autism

“Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior.” (NINDS, 2012)

+Social Skills and Autism

Socialization is the ability to interact and communicate with others. This is facilitated through a number of social skills.

Good social skills help us:A. determine what to say

B. make good choices

C. behave appropriately.

("Nasp Resources: Social Skills: Promoting Positive Behavior, Academic Success, And School Safety", )

+Students with Autism Tend to have Four Common Social Skill Deficits

1) Social Communication

2) Social Initiation

3) Social Reciprocity

4) Social Cognition

+Non-Verbal Social Communication

Non-Verbal Communication is the ability to read or express thoughts and feelings with the use of body language or facial expressions. The "Autism And University" (n.d.)

Students with autism have difficulties with the ability to “recognize the body language of others and infer the meaning of the nonverbal communication” ( Boutot, Myles, 2011).

There is an inability to interpret the meaning of inflection and tone in a conversation. (Please go to this site and watch the “Banana” video)

http://autismandu.weebly.com/autism-the-specifics.html

The "Autism And University" (n.d.)

+ According to "Non-Comm: Non Verbal Communication" (n.d.), here are some examples of non-verbal communication

+Difficulties with Non-Verbal Cues

Students’ with

autism have difficulties reading non-verbal signals and body language. (Hall, 2013)

+Social Stories

A social skill acquisition tool that can be used to help students develop non-verbal skills is a social story. A social story:

a) Should promote social understandingb) Can be written in the first or third person

perspectivec) Should be positived) Should be reinforced right before the skill is

practicede) A social story can be faded out as the student

learns the sequence of the routine. (Hall, 2013)

+The Personalized Story Book

This is an example of a social story that deals with deficits for non-verbal communication; it is in the form of a story book created for a little girl named Kealy (Houghton, 2013). 

http://www.kerpoof.com/#view?s=2gs11dD98Mo5cjs4c000-d-8c48b7-x

+The Importance of being able to

Communicate

Some children with autism have difficulties with verbal communication as well as non-verbal.

Without an appropriate method of communication, students will turn to negative behaviors to demonstrate:a) Sensory needs

b) Task avoidance

c) Attention seeking behaviors

d) Access a wanted or needed object  

("Autism Community: Communication And Behavior", n.d.). 

The video on the following page demonstrates a child who is unable to communicate his wants, needs or frustrations appropriately.

+Why students need a method of

communication

+

Social InitiationProblems

Students with autism tend to be grouped into one of two categories when it comes to social initiation.1. Barely ever initiates

2. The inappropriate initiator( Boutot, Myles, 2011)

+Why a Student Rarely Initiates

Socialization ( Boutot, Myles, 2011)

+ Inappropriate Social Initiation ( Boutot, Myles, 2011)

+Social Initiation Scripts

An effective strategy for initiating a social situation is “Photographic Activity Schedules”. Photographic Activity Schedules are: A. Sequenced events shown in picture form.

B. Activities that are broken down into each individual step.

C. A method of teaching socialization with minimum staff interaction.

D. Is a social script that promotes independence. (Hall, 2013)

+ Example of a Photographic Activity Schedule (This gives students’ examples of conversation starters)

+Social Reciprocity

According to “Boutot &, Myles”, (2011) social reciprocity refers to “the give-and-take of social interactions.

Students with autism may have difficulties with social reciprocity.

+Social Reciprocity

+Strategy for Social Reciprocity

An effective strategy for social reciprocity is a Social Skills Curriculum.

Social Skills Curriculum (Social Skills Group):A. Is specifically for high functioning students but can be used

for all levels of functioning

B. Teaches awareness of non-verbal communication

C. Teaches awareness of other peoples perspectives

D. Promotes joint attention

E. Teaches Emotional control

F. Promotes pro-social behaviors (Hall, 2013)

G. Should help generalize skills

H. Students with similar needs and levels of cognition

+Social Skills Groups

This is a video that describes the components and structure of an effective social skills group.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qogksh7gxEo

Keefer  (2011)

+Social Cognition

Social cognition is the ability to predict where a conversation may be going and the ability to alter your behavior and responses to fit the situation. In order to do this, a student needs:

a) Social awareness

b) Knowledge of social norms

1) Procedural—Learned behaviors

2) Declarative—The ability to decipher idioms and knowledge of unspoken rules.

c) Perspective taking (Boutot, Myles, (2011)

+Integrated Play Groups: Using a Social Constructivist approach

Integrated play groups:A. Are intended to promote socialization and play as well as

introduce peer culture

B. Promotes acquisition of cultural skills and expectations

C. Combines both neuro-typical and typical students

D. Should have a larger number of typical peers than neuro-typical

E. Use scaffolds to promote independent play

F. Requires joint engagement

+Integrated Play Group Model

Here is a video that explains the Integrated Play Group Model

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u867ilizx8M

("United Way Vancuver: Integrated Play Group Model Program", 2009). 

+Social Skills Acquisition

In order for a student with autism to acquire a social skill, there must be a plan or method put into action.

MethodsA. Social Scripting—demonstrates step by step conversations

or activity procedures

B. Video Modeling—watching and imitating videos for social training.

C. Problem Solving Strategies—a strategy that replaces a problem behavior with a replacement behavior that is appropriate.

+ Social Scripting

Here is an example of social scripting.

This is used to promote independence and routine.

+Video Modeling

Here is an example of video modeling. This video demonstrated the process and expectations of going to the dentist.

Look at Me Now (2012, June 7)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_n1aZy1NV8

+Problem Solving Strategies

An example of a problem solving strategy is a PowerPoint presentation that I created on Positive Behavioral, Interventions and Supports

I had a student who would sit down in the middle of the road while doing the mail run. The student would watch students as they moved around campus.

I am not able to upload the ppt but will show the hypothesis and the antecedent modifications.

+PBIS Hypothesis

The function of the behavior is to observe and/or integrate herself with regular ed students.

Sitting down on the ground is her way of telling teachers that she wants to participate in the social aspect of general ed—she wants to be part of the crowd.

+PBIS Antecedent Modifications

Environmental: Teach student to ask appropriately for times when she can observe

students. Mail run will be performed while classes are in process. Liz will bring PECS book with her in order to communicate her thoughts. Magazine will be brought for Liz’s use after placing mail in the teacher’s

slots at East.

Social   A volunteer student from study hall will walk with Liz and her 1:1 during

the mail run. Student will be encouraged to use her words to interact when students

walk by. If there are teachers in the mail room, student will be encouraged to

shake hands or say hello using her voice or her PECS book. Student will sit and observe students--while sitting on a bench--in the

halls during an appropriate scheduled time.

+The road to Social Success

There are many strategies that can be used to promote social success in students with autism. There is no way to show all of them.

The key to success is being consistent.

Students with autism do not tend to like socialization. If we don’t train them to socialize, they will be alone. The more they are left alone, the more they want to be left alone. We owe to these students to add a quality of life through socialization. (Bonnie Houghton)

+References:

Autism and university. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://autismandu.weebly.com/autism-the-specifics.html

Boutot, E. A., & Smith, Myles, B. (2011) Autism spectrum disorders: Foundations, characteristics, and effective strategies.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Houghton, B. A. (2013). Kerpoof: Princess Kealy learns about personal space. Retrieved from http://www.kerpoof.com/#view?s=2gs11dD98Mo5cjs4c000-d-8c48b7-x

http://www.educateautism.com/applied-behaviour-analysis/discrete-trial-training.html

Jacobs, J. (2012). Social Skill Builder:Development of social skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder . Retrieved from http://www.socialskillbuilder.com/articles/socialskillsASDchildren.html

Keefer, A. (2011). Health Central:How to find the right social skills group for your child with autism. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qogksh7gxEo

Koegel, L. K. (n.d). Education.com: Pivotal Response Treatment: Identifying and targeting areas of need in children with ASK. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article

NASP Resources: Social Skills: Promoting positive behavior, academic success, and school safety. (). Retrieved from http://www.nasponline.org/resources/factsheets/socialskills_fs.aspx

+References cont.:

 National Institude of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Autism fact sheet. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm

Naturally Autistic (Y2010ar, November 2). How to teach social skills to autistic childen [Video file]. Retrieved from Youtube website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=E1PeC4jvLvs

Non-Comm: Non verbal communication. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.google.com/search?q=nonverbal+communication&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=yEB9UfGKJ4PB4APauYGIAw&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1045&bih=614#imgrc=Ls2u3Y5E6_7kqM%3A%3BbMp5csHqSsmfmM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F3.bp.blogspot.com%252F-wN9q_evuLPQ%252FTV1pOZPNUqI%252FAAAAAAAAAAM%252F-IerC4KSDks%252Fs1600%252Feffective_teaching_016.gif%3Bhttp%253A%252F

http://speechtimefun.blogspot.com/

Look at Me Now (2012, June 7). Autism video model--Going to the dentist [Video file]. Retrieved from Youtube website:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_n1aZy1NV8

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