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Participants will learn a variety if strategies to provide social skills instruction to children with autism spectrum disorders that can be incorporated immediately in their classrooms.
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Social Skills Instruction for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Nicole Coneby, LSW, BCBAAssistant Director
Beautiful Minds of Princetondirector_familyservices@comcast.netwww.beautifulmindsofprinceton.com
Layman’s Definition
A developmental disability that:– appears during the first 3 years of life.– a spectrum of abilities that range from mild to severe– mainly affecting in areas dealing with:• social interaction• communication• leisure or play skill
Each child is different and presents a different combination of symptoms and severity
What It Is and Isn’t
Autism is:• A disorder that lasts throughout the lifespan.• A disorder to which there is no known cure.• A spectrum disorder that manifests in each individual
differently.
Autism isn’t:• A disorder that should bar a student from an education.• A disorder synonymous with intellectual disability .• A disorder that prevents students from acquiring
academic abilities.
Possible Things You May See
• Hard to distinguish fiction/reality• Special interests• Enjoys routines• Difficulty reading social cues and body language• Can be perfectionist about work products• Rigid, inflexible thinking• Planning ahead difficult• Difficulty generalizing• Sensory issues (hyper/hypo)• Visual/Auditory processing
Possible Things You May See
• Can have high levels of stress/anxiety• Difficulty reading others/expressing emotions• Perspective-taking difficulties• Literal thinker• Trouble with the gray areas (black/white)• Strong moral code/sense of justice
Positive Descriptors
• Honest• Reliable• Determined• Dedicated• Great memory• Attention to detail
Abilities
This is not an exhaustive list and each child has different strengths and weaknesses
Strengths:– Numbers &/or Math– Memorization– Routines– Pay close attention to detail – Concentrate for very long
periods of time on one thing – Typically visual learners– Reading (decoding)– Honest/genuine– Perfectionist
Weaknesses:– Appropriate language– Impulsive– Reading comprehension– Social skills & comprehending
social cues– Inflexible– Sensory processing– Eye Contact– Play skills– Obsessive– Sometimes delayed reactions
Social Skills
• Social Stories
• Direct Skill Instruction
• Hidden agenda (discuss body language)
• Fade support as soon as possible to decrease dependence
• Foster appropriate peer and staff social interactions
• Find out what they are good at and use it to their
advantage (e.g. have student read to the class)
Social Skills Training
• Some programs out there…– Hidden Curriculum (Brenda Myles Smith)
– Social Stories (Gray 1994)
– Social Autopsies (Richard Lavoie)
– Comic Strip Conversations (Gray 1994)
– Mind reading (Howling et al.)
– I Laugh (Michelle Winner)
– Parent Coaching (Steven Richfield)
Before You Start
• Ask yourself the following questions– What skill deficit is the student displaying?
• Performance Deficit- (won’t do problem)- the student knows how but does not use the skill.
• Fluency Deficit- the student needs practice using the skill to demonstrate competence.
• Acquisition Deficit - (can’t do problem)- the student does not know how to use the skill.
• Maintenance or generalization problem - the student demonstrates the skill appropriately in some, but not all settings.
– What behavior do you want to teach the child in place of the deficit?
Skillstreaming
• This is a program developed by Ellen McGinnis & Arnold Goldstein (McGinnis & Arnold, 1997)
• This includes– Explanation of the skills steps– Modeling– Role playing with feedback– Practice of the newly learned skills inside and outside the
group
Direct Social Skills Instruction
Key components of effective social skills instruction:Define the skillModel the skill (example & non-example)Role-playFeedback
Another way to view it: 3-D approach Discuss Demonstrate and Do (from Behavior Therapy
Associates)
Direct Instruction
• Think of a specific skill (e.g. greeting, dealing with anger, etc)
• Break down the skill into steps (task analysis)• Teach each of the skills • Generalize across settings, staff, materials
Following Directions
1. Listen carefully to the instructions2. Ask questions about anything you don’t
understand3. Repeat the instructions to yourself (or the
person)4. Follow instructions
From Skillstreaming task analysis of Following Directions pg. 95
Modeling & Role-Play
• Modeling– Show the correct way and the incorrect way– Modeler should “talk aloud” about the steps they
are taking• Role-play– Give students the opportunity to practice the skill– Be as realistic as possible in creating situations
One Way to Do It
• Have modeler talk aloud/demonstrate steps, but “forget” one
• Students job to figure out what step was missed/done incorrectly
• Can use a checklist to aid student’s in identifying missed/incorrect step
Coaching
• Coaching & Cueing– Preemptively prompt as much as possible– In a situation, try and remind the student what
options they have available.– Incidental Teaching– Social Autopsy- take what happened and discuss
or dissect it
Feedback & Reinforcement• Feedback– Peers and staff should give feedback on what the role-play
participants did well and areas for improvement• Reinforcement– Behavior specific praise (“That was a great job
remembering to raise your hand”, “I like the way you came and asked me for help”)
– Provide reinforcement as soon as possible after the appropriate behavior
– Make sure the reinforcement is personally meaningful to the individual
Social Stories™
• Developed by Carol Gray and colleagues (Gray et al., 1993)
• Uses stories written in the first person to increase awareness of problematic situations.
• Describes what is happening, why, and how people feel and think in a situation
Writing a Social Story™
• Includes Four Sentence Types– Descriptive– Perspective– Directive– Affirmative
Descriptive Sentences
• These are truthful statements of fact that describe who, what where, and when statements.
ie. My name is __________. I go to _________ School. I ride a school bus.
Perspective
• These statements usually refer to other people. They describe a person’s thoughts, beliefs, opinions, emotions, or condition.
ie. Many children like race cars. My teacher understands math.
Directive
• These statements give a suggested response to a situation. They are always worded in a positive way in order to describe what the student should do, not a should not.
ie. I will try to… I can try to..
I may…
Affirmative
• These statements add emphasis to a statement. They can be used to express common values or opinions.
Ie. This is a good thing.This is alright to do.
How to Introduce & Use
• Review before a situation where the skill would be needed
• At the beginning of the day• After an incident has occurred where skill use
is beneficial• On a periodic basis to refresh
Variations
• Modified Social Story (does not follow all of Gray’s guidelines including ratio or textual components)
• Adapting some of the language and usage for a behavior contract
• Making it more interactive by using Velcro strips and pictures to change the student’s choices (e.g. student selects appropriate feeling picture and attaches it to Velcro strip in the sentence)
Variations (cont)
• Using real photos of the staff and/or students doing the appropriate skill (e.g. picture of student raising his hand, student walking appropriately down the hallway)
• Audiotaping the story being read (by student, teacher, parent, etc)
• Videotaping the student modeling the skill and/or reading story (voice-over, etc)
Pros
• Capitalizes on the visual strengths on many students with autism
• Unobtrusive and possibly less stigmatizing• Concrete description of social skill that can be
easily and repeatedly referenced
Considerations
• More research is needed to flesh out which parts of Social Stories are key to success.
• Much research on Social Stories is anecdotal or utilizes a single-subject A-B design
• It should not be used as the only social skills intervention
• Should be linked with functional assessment
Power Card Strategy
• Developed by Gagnon (2001)• Based on visual support literature and
priming• Utilizes student’s special interests• Two parts:– Personalized script (read prior to event)– Power Card
The Script
• Brief scenario about special interest/hero and the behavior/situation in need of work
• Visual cues (photos, drawings, etc) related to special interest
• Brief scenario where hero/model attempts to solve behavior problem child struggles with
• 3-5 step strategy outlining the way to solve the problem and how it was successful
• Note of encouragement from the hero (Ex: Smokey the Bear says only you can prevent forest fires)
Power Card
• Small card (size of trading card, bookmark, or business card)
• Synthesizes script, in particular the steps necessary to solve the problem
• Reference to special interest
Implementation
• Start by introducing both the script & the Power Card together
• After a pre-set amount of time, allow student to choose between reading the script or just reviewing the Power Card
• Eventually fade to use of Power Card only
Expansion
• Student can carry around key ring with various cards on it to assist in social situations
• Student can place inside wallet for reminders• Power Card can be placed on corner of
desk/inside desk to provide a visual reminder of the skill that needs to be demonstrated
Power Card Script
• Scenario about special interest and the behavior in need of work
• Images related to special interests• Scenario where special interest model attempts
to solve problem the student struggles with• 3-5 step strategy outlining the way to solve the
problem and how it was successful• Note of encouragement from the special
interest
Lunch Buddies
• Pairing the child with a more social peer in order to promote friendships and relationships in the during lunch/recess periods.
Recess Groups
• Structured Recess Time• Identify general education peers that would like to be involved
in play groups• Identify activities in which the students would understand and
be successful with• Identify staff to facilitate play groups• Prior to recess, assign all students to a particular activity for
the day.• Staff will facilitate group • Students are assigned to a new activity next time
Adapted from program at Central Bucks School District
Student Preference Surveys
• Helping students develop relationships with peers by surveying student interest and grouping accordingly
ie. Discovering which students like a particular activity such as videogames, sports, and trading cards and promoting friendships based on these interests
Situational Training
• Priming the skill prior to a particular activity and setting a goal so the child uses the skill.ie. “During recess your goal is to play with one friend, and when you come in I want to hear all about it.”
Video Modeling• Involves watching a video demonstration and then imitating the
behavior of the model• Models can be:
– Self (video self-modeling)• Positive self-review (PSR)
– Edit video clips to show student engaging in appropriate behavior
• Edit video clips to show student showing inappropriate behavior
• Video feed forward – takes skills student possesses and sequences them
correctly– takes skills student can do with prompts, and edit out
the prompts– Peer, Adult, Point of View modeling
Beautiful Minds of Princeton“Teach, Reach, & Expand Potential”
For more information:Call: 1-800-675-2709
Email: [email protected] Visit us: www.beautifulmindsofprinceton.comwww.facebook.com/beautifulmindsofprincetonhttp://twitter.com/#!/Bmindsprinceton