BBLC Students Improve

Social Skills Using SiLAS

ESCNJ PRESENTATION-BRIGHT BEGINNINGS LEARNING CENTER

PRESENTERS: BBLC Supervisor, Cindy Borell, BBLC Classroom Teacher,

Nicole Cornely, BBLC Speech Therapist, Marisa Martin-Vargo,

SiLAS Curriculum Developer, Bernadette Mullen

NJ Techspo Presentation 1/31/2019

Bright Beginnings Learning Center

ESCNJ provides educational and business services to

over 700 school districts throughout NJ. BBLC is one of

six schools serving students ages 3-21 with autism,

multiple disabilities, and at-risk behaviors

An evidence based program that follows the principles of

Applied Behavior Analysis

In-house occupational, physical, and speech therapy

BBLC/ESCNJ is always seeking innovative uses of

technology to advance student skills across curriculum

and methodologies

Educational Services Commission of New Jersey

1660 Stelton Road Piscataway, NJ 08854

Bright Beginnings Learning Center (BBLC)

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What is SiLAS?

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Who uses SiLAS at BBLC?

Facilitators: Speech Therapists

Classroom Teachers

Student Profile: Elementary age

Diagnosis of Autism

Functional Communication Skills

Follows directions

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Why BBLC Chose SiLAS

Technology speaks to this generation of students.

Can be individualized based on student needs.

Students have fun while simultaneously learning

social skills.

Students are engaged and interactive when

playing SiLAS

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Previous BBLC Social Skills Teaching Tools

ESCNJ Social Skills Curriculum

Script/script fading

Social Skills Builder CDs –Video Modeling Preschool/School/Community Volumes

Social Stories (Carol Gray, 1994)

Social Skills Picture Book (Jed Baker, 2001)

Social Thinking Curr. (Michelle Garcia-Winner, 2005)

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Benefits of Using SiLAS at BBLC

Students strengthen social skills by using SiLAS

software to create videos and hear their voices

through Avatars.

Students gain understanding of eye contact -

(many can verbally instruct a peer to face the

speaker.)

What is an avatar?

An avatar is, “something visual used to represent non-visual concepts

or ideas, or is an image that is used to represent a person in the

virtual world of the Internet and computers”.

avatar. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16th, 2017, from http://www.yourdictionary.com/Avata

Avatars help teach facial emotion recognition

to children with ASD

Children with autism are relatively skilled in responding to visual cues such as

pictures and animations (Bernard-Opitz, Siram & Nakhoda, 2001).

Children with ASD are drawn to predictable, rule based systems, whether

these are repeating mathematical patterns, or repeating electrical patterns like

light patterns, or repeating patterns in films(Golan, Ashwin, Granader, McClintock,

Day, Leggit, & Simon_Baron Cohen, 2009).

Children with ASD can narrowly focus on specific elements of a communicative

exchange and not understand the gestalt or message in its entirety.

Current Research

Current Research on Multimedia technology

(television, audio, animations, computers etc)

specifically computer applications present a

new venue for teaching social skills because

emerging evidence indicates that media

including these programs may be a key force

in how behaviors and beliefs are shaped

(Singer-Califano, 2008).

avatar. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16th, 2017, from http://www.yourdictionary.com/Avata

Why Non Submersive Virtual Reality? (advantages of virtual reality as an intervention technique).

● Children with autism demonstrate relatively good skills in responding to fixed visual cues. ● Virtual reality represents real-life experiences in a safe, controllable manner that allows for

repeated practice and exposure (Freyberger, 2017). ● Virtual reality can be adapted to the current level of the child and develop at different levels,

leading to a scaffold learning approach (Cobb, Eastgate, Glover, Kerr, Neale, & Reynard, 2002).

● The number of cues in the environment can be manipulated (Cobb et al., 2002). ● There is likelihood of instructor fatigue in traditional programs but not in computerized

programs (Freyberger, 2017). ● Students are motivated to participate and there is a likelihood of generalization . ● Virtual reality has previously been shown to improve social recognition including affection

recognition and TOM in young adults (Kandalaft, M., Didehbani, D., Krawczyk, T., & Chapman, 2013).

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● 3 male students (ages 7-10)

● Data taken over 3 weeks

● Classroom and speech therapy

● 2 different rubrics

○ Level 1-Prerequisite skills

○ Level 2-Social skills

● 3 social skill topics

Case Study

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Level 1 Rubric-Adult/Child

● Male, age 7.5

● Personal space

● Level 1 rubric: prerequisite

skills

● Adult/student data

● Made gains in orienting

avatar, initiating social

interaction and self-

monitoring performance

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Level 1 Rubric-Adult/Child

● Male, age 8

● Feelings

● Level 1 rubric:

prerequisite skills

● Adult/student data

● Made gains in self

evaluation skills and level

of independence when

using the controller to set

up the scenario

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Rubric 2-Peer to Peer

● Male, age 10

● Winning and Losing

● Level 2 rubric: skill based

● Peer to peer data

● Initially unable to demonstrate

appropriate responses to

winning and losing

● Verbal and gestural prompts

needed during teaching

● Reached independent

responding after winning and

losing after 3 weeks

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BBLC Table Top Lessons

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BBLC Table Top Lessons

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BBLC Making the Movie

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BBLC Generalization

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Lesson - Bullying

Break Up Into Small Groups

Create One Appropriate Script &

One Inappropriate Script

Use SiLAS and make a movie!

Review Your Movie with the Group

It’s Your Turn

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Contact Info

Educational Services Commission of New Jersey

https://www.escnj.us/

Cindy Borell BBLC Supervisor

cborell@escnj.us

Nicole Cornely, BBLC Elementary Teacher

ncornely@escnj.us

Marisa Martin-Vargo, BBLC Speech Therapist

mvargo@escnj.us

Bernadette Mullen, SiLAS Curriculum Director

mullenb@kean.edu

Chris Dudick, SiLAS CEO

chris@silassolutions.com

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Special Thanks

Christine DeMarco, BBLC Elementary Teacher

Noa Elbaum, Speech Therapist

Ettie Luban, Speech Therapist

Cristina Pallone, Elementary Teacher

Chris Dudick, SiLAS Founder