Social Skills Training in

Students with Autism

November 13, 2008Rosalou Maxwell

Presenter

Social Skills– What do we see???

• Challenge for students with autism• Difficulty seeing the perspective of others• Isolation from peers• Difficulty managing day-to-day interactions• Struggle with communication skills• Poor problem solving skills• Confusion with “hidden curriculum”

Why Teach Social Skills?

For many students, the development of social competencies, even more than academic or vocational skills, will determine how independently they can be as adults.

(Staying in the Game, Loomis)

Steps to Success Step 1

1.Assess the student’s skills- Informal observations throughout the day- Skills rating forms

- Pragmatic checklist- Skill Streaming- Student and Parent involvement- Children’s Communication Checklist-2(Bishop 2003)

Psychological Cooperation- Pragmatic Language Skills Inventory (Gilliam & Miller,2006)

Step 2

2. Decide on Social Skills needed by student– Review all information– Give priority to skills involving danger– Continue with classroom rules– Generalize to society– Determine the type of deficits– Acquisition Deficits: Students do not have “target skill”– Performance Deficits: Students know how to do the

skill but do not perform it in one or more settings and do not use the skill consistently.– Fluency Deficits: Student performs the skills but does

not always execute it properly.

Step 3

3. Decide on Social Goals-Write the PLOP and make it specific (i.e. When Jane came into the classroom, she greeted the teacher 1 of 5 days when the teacher spoke to her)-Write Goals/Benchmarks– Observable---Can you see it?– Measurable—Can you count it?– Define the terminology used in your goals (What does

the student look like when he is angry?)

Examples of Goals

1. Jane will greet the teacher upon entering the classroom in the mornings, 4 out of 5 times by the beginning of the third nine weeks.

2. Susie will stay on the topic for 3 interchanges of information on the selected topic during her resource social group on 4 of 5 opportunities.

Goal Examples

3. Susie will stay on the topic during the group literacy time in the classroom with a visual reminder gesture given by the teacher during a 15 minute period of time on 4 of 5 days.

4. John will actively participate in a structured game for 5 minutes during recess for 3 days a week.

Step 4

4. Determine Intervention Method/Materials-Commercially Published Curriculum-Teacher made curriculum-DVD curriculum-Small group instruction-Individual instruction-Whole class instruction-Peer instruction

Examples of Curriculum Materials

• Walker Skills Curriculum• Skill Streaming, Research Press• Social Skills Training, Jed Baker, AAPC• The Social Skills Picture Book, Baker, Future

Horizons• Social Skills in Our Schools, AAPC• Social Stories, Gray, Future Horizons• Power Cards, Gagnon• Promoting Social Success, Brooks Pub.

Social Skills Guides

• With Open Arms, Schlieder, AAPC• Relationship Development, Gutstein,

www.jkp.com • Staying in the Game, Loomis, AAPC• The Hidden Curriculum, Myles, AAPC• Autism Spectrum Handouts, Boutot, Pro-ED• Practical Ideas that Really Work, Pro-ED• Group Treatment for Asperger Syndrome,

Plural Pub.

Websites for Social Skills

• www.ppst.com• www.speakingofspeech.com• www.alexkelly.com• http://www.thegraycenter.org• www.dotolearn.com• http://www.sandbox-learning.com• http://www.polyxo.com

Classroom Websites

• www.preschoolfun.com (TEACCH work jobs)• www.senteacher.org (Great picture index)• www.setbc.org (Downloadable powerpoint

books)• http://www.cindyautisticsupport.com

(classroom website)

Examples of DVD’s • Storymovies, Carol Gray, AAPC• Joining In, Linda Murdock, AAPC• Feelings• It’s so Much Work to Be Your Friend, PBS• Embracing Play, www.woodbinehouse.com• Intricate Minds I and II, www.coultervideo.com• My School Day, Super Duper• My Turn, Your Turn, Songs, www.rivannamusic.com• Video Scenes and Facial Expressions,

www.speechroom.com

•

Step 5

5. Progress Tracking• Teacher Made Data Sheets• Graph of progress• Complete another Social Skills Inventory• Frequency counts of “appropriate behavior “

per unit of time• Frequency counts of “inappropriate behavior”

Step 6

6. Generalization of social skills into entire school setting-Involve your general education teacher- Involve peers-Involve parents

Techniques for Generalization

• Self-monitoring strategies and social-communication assignments are useful for helping students to use their newly refined skills in other settings. (Timler, Vogel-Elias, & McGill, 2007)

• Daily reports (Fabiano & Pleham,2003) that include 3-5 specific behaviors are a good strategy. Parents and teacher circle a “yes” or “no” to identify if a behavior did or did not occur.

Techniques

• Determine the level of Social Challenge for the student. (Hudson & Coffin, 2007)– Predictability– Clarity of Expectations– Communication demands– Hidden Curriculum– Number of participants– Individuals involved– Sensory Demands– Duration of Social Activities

Tools to Make Social Situations Less Challenging

1.Rule cards: – Proper greeting behaviors– Problematic behaviors to avoid– Play rules2. Conversational Starters3. Scripts4. Situational Fact Sheets (Written or in pictures)5. Relaxers/fidgets6. Environmental supports7. Incentives/rewards

Successful Support for Social Success

• Peer Mentors: More naturally occurring support

• Adult Intervention: Levels of support– Monitor Level– Guide level– Intervention levelGradually “fade” levels of support:

- Fade the amount of information given, the length of teaching sessions, the frequency of sessions

Final Thoughts

• The goal of any social skills training should be to make sure the student learns enough social skills so that he can function independently in the community as an adult.

• We want the student to master sufficient social skills so that as an adult he’ll be able to “choose” how much social activity he would like in his life.

Final Thoughts

• “Learning and generalizing social skills is a dynamic process. Every year there are slightly different expectations to be met if a child is to stay in the game.” (Staying in the Game, Loomis)

• All the team must buy into the social plan, take responsibility, and make it happen.

Points to Ponderfor Successful Social Skills

Programs1. Keep it fun.2. Help People Become Comfortable with Unfamiliar

Strategies.3. Find Good Caring People to Collaborate With.4. Make the Plan Fit the Individual, Not the Individual

Fit the Plan.5. Realize That the Impact of Your Efforts Will be Far

Reaching.

(Staying in the Game, Loomis)