SOCIAL COMMUNICATION AND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER Erica Howell,
Ph.D.
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Welcome! Are you pumped to learn a variety of free and easy-to-
implement strategies that support your students social
understanding and involvement?
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Table of Contents I. Theory of Mind II. The Impact of TOM on
the Educational Setting III. Social Interventions a) The Hidden
Curriculum b) SODA c) Social stories d) Social Scripts e) Comic
Strip Conversations f) Power Cards
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What is Theory of Mind and why is it important? I. Theory of
Mind (TOM)
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Theory of Mind Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to infer the
mental states of others in relation to their knowledge, intentions,
beliefs, desires and the ability to use this information to
interpret what another says, make sense of the behavior and predict
what he or she will do next Depending on the researcher or
interventionist, ToM may also be referred to as perspective taking,
social thinking, social cognition, or empathy
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Theory of Mind cont. ToM is hypothesized to be the core,
central impairment of autism Functions as a continuum of impairment
with some individuals with autism exhibiting more theory of mind
impairment than others ToM is CRUCIAL to social, interpersonal, and
communicative relationships Mistakes in understanding and
interpreting social interactions can have serious implications for
relationships with others.
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Theory of Mind cont. Social Challenges may impact the
following: Joint attention Emotion recognition and sharing
Understanding knowledge Deception Humor Teasing Mental state
language (e.g. know, think, feel, guess)
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How does a Theory of Mind develop?
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Theory of Mind Development Typical developing children have
theory of mind by the age of three or four, but it develops as
early as infancy with behaviors such as Pointing or vocalizing to
direct anothers attention toward an object (establishing joint
attention) Learning what an item is like based on positive or
negative reactions from an adult (social referencing)
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Theory of Mind Development cont. Theory of mind also affects
how children understand emotions: by the age of three, children
should understand that a situation affects emotion By the age of
four, children can take into account someones desires and beliefs,
predict how they will feel
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Why is ToM an important construct for general and special
educators to understand? II. The Impact of TOM on the Educational
Setting
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Importance of ToM With the impact of IDEA and NCLB, the
inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder and testing
results hold higher importance for general educators than previous
years Teachers must learn to examine the relationship between ToM,
behavior, classroom instruction, and educational content
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School and Classroom Navigation A typical school day requires
repeated social navigation and can be exhausting for the student
with ASD. Classroom interactions that occur between the teacher and
student, peer work groups, and sharing space are examples of common
scenarios where a ToM is needed to interact.
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School and Classroom Navigation Cont. For example, one middle
school student with high- functioning autism I worked with was
distressed whenever a classmate sneezed. Upon seeing or hearing the
action, she would exclaim in a loud voice how disgusting the
sneezer was. Her impaired ToM prevented her from interpreting her
classmates snickers and facial expressions as a response to HER
inappropriate behavior. Another student often exclaimed, Im bored!
during his teachers instruction.
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School and Classroom Navigation Cont. Everyday school
activities such as recess or PE hold social challenges for our
students on the spectrum Recess/PE: Typically consists of a large
unstructured area where kids run around, engage in group games
without explicit rules, and use social language. How overwhelming!
Teach recess and PE skills explicitly! Most of these students want
to be part of a group, but dont know how to.
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Now that you have background knowledge on what TOM is and why
it is important, lets learn about some interventions that
facilitate social understanding III. Social Interventions
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The Hidden Curriculum of Schools Implicit or unstated social
rules make up a hidden curriculum When these rules are violated, an
individual may be teased, bullied or ostracized e.g. boys dont wear
pretty shirts, a teenager playing detective around the neighborhood
will be mistaken for a stalker The hidden curriculum differs
according to age, gender, groups of people, and culture The movie
Elf demonstrates this perfectly!
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The Hidden Curriculum Cont. Our students on the autism spectrum
need these rules explicitly taught to them When I was an elementary
school teacher, my young male students with autism continually
violated the hidden curriculum of using the bathroom. Neuro-typical
peers would often tattle that my students dropped their pants all
the way down to their ankles when using the urinals.
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Can you think of the hidden curriculum of a Birthday Party?
*Hint: Dont blow out the candles on the birthday kids cake!
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Stop, Observe, Deliberate, Act (SODA) SODA is a tool for
interpreting behavior and problem solving how to respond Typically
used with individuals with Asperger Syndrome in order to promote
social interaction skills and helps guides students on how to act
in novel situations
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Stop This component helps the student develop a framework for a
specific situation that requires social interactions. When the
student enters a novel situation, she uses self-questioning to
decide what to do. The first question guides the student to develop
an organizational schema for the setting (i.e., Where should I go
to observe? What is the room arrangement?). The student identifies
a place to stand to observe and learn about the social
situation.
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Observe The second step, Observe, helps the student become more
aware of social cues other people use in the setting. In this step,
the student should pay attention when she can hear other peoples
conversations. She can also note how others conduct themselves
(formal vs. informal language), length of conversations,
conversation topics, whether individuals stay in groups or move
from group to group, etc. However, the student should be careful
not to eavesdrop on peoples private conversations or be seen as
suspicious by loitering. During this step, the student seeks to
understand the roles of various social cues and the meaning of
typical phrases or behaviors used in the setting (i.e., When people
say, Where have you been? you are not supposed to name all of the
places you have visited). Thus, the goal of the Observe step is to
identify what others are doing.
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Deliberate The overarching question that should be asked during
this stage is, What do I need to do to successfully participate in
this setting? This component helps the student decide what to say
and how other people will perceive her. The student can ask
herself, What would I like to do? and How will other students react
if I say this? The secondary issue to be addressed during this
stage is to identify particular aspects of the event that might be
problematic and identify strategies to address these. For example,
if the situation is loud and the student is sound sensitive, she
may need to remind herself to wear her earplugs or immediately
create a plausible excuse that will allow her to leave the
situation quickly.
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Act The final step guides the student in how to interact with
others. The student identifies people with whom she wants to
interact in the specific setting and acts according to the plan she
developed during the Deliberate stage.
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Social Narratives
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Social Stories A social story is an individualized story from
the perspective of a person with ASD They can be created in a
variety of formats, including pictures with words, text alone,
audiotapes, videotapes, PowerPoint, etc.
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Who is Line Leader? My name is Andrew. I am in the first grade.
Sometimes, the children in my class form (one, two, three, etc.)
lines. www.graycenter.org
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The children in my class stand in a line when we are getting
ready to go to another part of the school. Children do move a
little when they stand in a line. Children may move to scratch, or
fix their shirt, or their shoe. Sometimes, because they are
standing close together, children may touch one another. Many
times, it is an accident when children touch one another in line.
They were not planning to touch another child.
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Usually, children stand and walk in lines for a short period of
time. Once the children reach their destination, their teacher
often doesn't need them to stay in the line anymore.
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Sometimes, I may be the Line Leader. This means that the other
children in my class will walk behind me.
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Sometimes, I may be second, or third, or fourth, or another
position.
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Many children in my class like to be the Line Leader. My
teacher knows who should be first in line. Teachers know about
being fair, and try to make sure each child is Line Leader now and
then.
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It's important to follow directions about who is Line Leader.
My turn to be Line Leader again gets closer every time the children
in my class walk in a line!
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Social Story Formula - The Four Basic Sentences Descriptive
sentences - answer wh questions, truthful, opinion & assumption
free statements of fact, only required sentence of the four basic
sentences Ex: At work we bag the breadsticks. Perspectives
sentences - describe feelings, beliefs, thoughts, motivation of
social situation -Ex: Eric likes working in the cafeteria.
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The Four Basic Sentences (continued) Directive sentences -
offer or suggest response or choice to a social concept or
situation, based on a students effort Ex: I will try to walk to the
cafeteria. Affirmative sentences - used to stress an important
point, refer to a rule or law, or reassure the individual, often
express a socially agreed upon value or opinion Ex: Most people eat
dinner before dessert.
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Social Story Ratio For every directive sentence, there needs to
be at least two to five descriptive, affirmative, or perspective
sentences in the story. This ratio ensures a descriptive quality to
the social story.
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Essential Elements of a Social Story Written from the
perspective of the student Answers wh questions Written in positive
language Has an introduction, body, and conclusion Is literally
accurate Uses language matching ability Can be adapted by using
pictures, illustrations, audio and video
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GOING TO GET A POLE
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My name is Keira Howell. Sometimes I go to the hospital to get
medicine.
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After I arrive at the hospital and go to my room, the nurses
ask me to put some medicine in my mouth. Sometimes I dont like
this!
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When it is time to take the medicine in my mouth, I can sip the
medicine or swallow it quickly. Fancy Nancy likes taking medicine
that tastes like grape, bubble gum, or cherry.
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Next, the nurses use soda *POP* because it helps my arm not
hurt when the needle goes in. Soda pop is loud! Mom can help by
covering my ears.
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Now it is time to put the needle in my arm. This is how the
medicine gets inside my body. The medicine helps my body feel good
and stay healthy.
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It is good to snuggle my mom and stay calm. If I kick and move,
the nurses and mom have to hold me still. I dont like when they do
this. If I start to get scared, I can: Let my mom hold me Remember
that God will keep me strong, and Know that it will be over very
fast!
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Cousin Brooke thinks it is very cool that I can take my
medicine in my mouth and stay still while the needle goes in my
arm!
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Sometimes the medicine makes me sleepy. Thats good because
mommy loves when I snuggle her! Mommy and I can put on a movie,
watch it together, and I can fall asleep on my mom if Im
tired.
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When I wake up, I can play with toys if it is not already time
to go home. There are a lot of fun activities to do at the
hospital.
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Once all the medicine is in my body, it is time to take the
needle out. Sometimes, the tape hurts. It is good if I let the
nurse or mommy use the alcohol wipes to take the tape off. This
will help it not hurt so much.
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Once the needle is out, I am all done! I get to pick a special
prize for being such a brave girl!
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It was a long day! My family is so proud of me for getting the
medicine that helps my body stay healthy!
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Social Scripts Social scripts provide an individual with
statements, comments and questions to use in specific social
scenarios that they may have difficulty navigating on their own.
Social scripts can reduce the stress of social interactions that
individuals on the spectrum can experience.
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Social Script: Ordering at McDonald's When I go to McDonald's I
like to order a Quarter Pounder with cheese and nothing else on it.
When the person taking the order at McDonald's says: "Can I help
you?" I say: "I want a Quarter Pounder with cheese only on it. No
onion, no tomato, no lettuce and no mayonnaise." They usually say
"Quarter Pounder, cheese only?" And I say: "Yes, please." The
person taking my order usually says: "Do you want fries?" And I
say, "Yes, please, medium fries and a medium Sprite to drink." The
person behind the counter then asks me if that will be all, and I
say: "Yes, thank you." I give the person my money and they give me
my change. I take one step to the side at the counter so the person
behind me can give their order while I wait for my order to be put
on the counter. www.autisminternetmodule.net
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Comic Strip Conversations Steps to creating a CSC: Engage in
small talk Draw about a given situation Provide structure or
sequence Present perspective Provide sequence or structure
Summarize the cartoon Identify solutions
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Power Cards Power cards are visuals that incorporate a child's
special interest in a brief scenario that deals with a situation
that is difficult for the child. They are written in the first
person from the perspective of a child's hero and describe how the
hero solves the problem. A small card recaps how the child can use
the same strategy to solve a similar problem of her own.
www.autisminternetmodules.org
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Wow! I cant believe how much I learned! Thats right! Its so
cool that all this information is at your fingertips. After
listening to this lecture, you have the knowledge to socially
support students with ASD in multiple ways. I encourage you to
continue developing your tool box of interventions. Dont be afraid
to use your tools to help a student with ASD! YOUDR. HOWELL
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Recommended Resources www.autisminternetmodules.org
www.autisminternetmodules.org Free online training modules
addressing a variety of topics pertinent to ASD
www.autismspeaks.org www.autismspeaks.org Loads of resources,
videos, assessment information www.socialthinking.com
www.socialthinking.com Michelle Winners website www.uctv.tv
www.uctv.tv Free videos and podcasts from leading researchers
www.tinsnips.org www.tinsnips.org Great website for teachers of
students with ASD
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Contact information Erica Howell, Ph.D. Assistant Professor
Department of Special Education Cal State University, Fullerton
[email protected]
