Glenwood, Inc.
Autism and Behavioral Health Center Summer Teacher Training, 2013
Social skills can be defined as:
“Socially acceptable learned behaviors that enable a person to interact with others in ways that elicit positive responses and assist the person in avoiding negative responses” (Elliot, Racine, & Busse, 1995, p.1009).
Raise your hand to answer this question.
Manners and etiquette
Social skills are learned.
What social skills have you have learned in the course of your life?
Social skills facilitate positive interactions with peers.
Do we only want to teach
social skills that will make adults happy?
• Asks questions to request information
• Responds when name is called by teacher or peer
• Responds to questions
• Uses eye contact during social interactions
• Uses gestures during social interactions
• Coordinates eye contact, gestures, and words during social interactions
• Imitates peers during structured and unstructured situations
Understands social games on the playground and participates appropriately
Initiates social interactions with peers on the playground and in the classroom
Listens to what a peer says during a conversation and responds appropriately
Uses eye-contact and gestures when trying to get the attention of a peer or teacher
Acquire basic social skills like turn taking, play, initiating conversations, and other social behaviors.
They (neurotypical children) learn these skills rather quickly through experience, modeling, and trial and error.
Their brains seem “prewired” to learn and perform social behaviors.
Neurotypical Social Development
By 2-3 months: demonstrate a broad range of facial expressions
By 6 months: smile in response to the smiles of others
By 8-12 months: direct gestures and non-speech vocalizations to others to communicate (joint attention)
Source: Khalsa, 2006.
Neurotypical Social Development
By 9-12 months: look at what adults are looking at and acting on objects noticed
By 12-18 months: develop functional play
skills (such as giving a doll a bottle) Between 18-30 months: develop symbolic
play skills (such as pretending a block is a telephone)
Source: Khalsa, 2006.
Social Interactions
We observe
We imitate
We explore
We play
We join others
We initiate
We pretend
We communicate
Source: AZ Education Cadre, October 2007.
Social Levels of Interaction
Proximity
Parallel Play
◦ Sharing
◦ Turn taking
◦ Simple rules
◦ Reciprocal social interaction
Source: AZ Education Cadre, October 2007.
Cooperation
Often have more difficulty acquiring social skills
Children with ASD may not simply learn social skills through exposure to social situations.
Children with ASD need to be taught social skills directly and explicitly.
Are a central feature of ASD
However, few children receive adequate social skills programming (Hume, Bellini, & Pratt, 2005).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9Z5CCvGiZ4&feature=em-share_video_user
May lead to social failure and peer rejection
Can lead to anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and other forms of psychopathology (Bellini, 2004; La Greca & Lopez, 1998; Tantam, 2000).
“Most important, social skill deficits impede our ability to establish meaningful social relationships, which often leads to withdrawal and a life of social isolation” (Bellini, 2006).
One reason social deficits are so hard to treat is because they change over time.
What is expected of a preschooler is different than what is expected of a 10-year-old, which is different than the social expectations of a teenager or employee.
As the rules change, they also become increasingly complex.
Individuals across the autism spectrum will struggle with social skills throughout their lives.
Just because a person with autism exhibits atypical social skills does not mean they do not want friends or successful social interactions.
Social skills will be a lifelong learning experience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0xgjUhEG3U&vm=r
Social skills are critical to successful social, emotional, and cognitive development (Bellini, 2006).
Effective social skills allow us to elicit positive reactions and evaluations from peers as we perform socially approved behaviors (Ladd & Mize, 1983).
Affective: Improve child's ability to understand emotions, body language and facial expressions.
Behavioral: Improve initiating skills, maintaining and responding. ◦ Initiating often occurs in social situations. ◦ Maintaining often is related to conversations and through
friendship. ◦ Responding relates to responding to someone else's
initiation.
Cognitive: Improve the perspective the child takes and the theory of mind. ◦ This area also focuses on problem solving skill
development, including thinking through social interactions.
You can conduct observations of students within natural social settings to determine their strengths and needs related to social skills
You can simply create anecdotal records documenting positive and negative social behaviors
Choose skills that are specific and have true functions within the classroom and other natural settings.
Social skills goals for students with ASD may be on their IEPs.
However, that doesn’t mean that YOU are limited to teaching only those social skills.
It is important to address as many social skills throughout the school year as possible.
WHY???
Quinn et al. (1999) found that:
◦ Social skills programs that targeted specific social skills (turn taking, social initiations, etc.) were more effective
THAN: ◦ Programs that focused on more global
social functioning, such as “friendship” skills, cooperation, and so on.
Address Specific Goals
Global Goal Specific Goals
Instead of addressing
“Friendship Skills”
Address Specific Skills: joining in an activity with
peers Asking a peer to join you in
an activity Responding to a greeting of
others Initiating a greeting Reading and understanding
facial expressions of others Inferring the interests of
others Maintaining reciprocal
conversations
Nonverbal Communication
Social Initiation
Social Reciprocity and Terminating Interactions
Social Cognition
Behaviors Associated with Perspective Taking and Self-Awareness
Social Anxiety and Social Withdrawal
Global Goal Specific Goals
Nonverbal Communication Skills
Recognizing facial expressions of others
Maintaining eye contact during conversations
Exhibiting facial expressions congruent with emotion
Modulating the tone of his or her voice
Recognizing the “meaning” behind the tone of another person’s voice
Recognizing the nonverbal cues or body language of others
Using gestures to communicate needs
Correctly interpreting the emotions of others
Demonstrating a wide range of facial expressions
Bellini, S. (2006)
Source: A Quest for Social Skills for Students with Autism or Asperger’s (2010). By JoEllen Cumpata and Susan Fell, Future Horizons, Inc.
Source: Model Me Kids Friendship
Source: Model Me Kids Friendship
How would you teach Nonverbal Communication Skills?
In what subject areas would you incorporate these lessons?
Global Goal Specific Goals
Goal:
“Social Initiation”
Joining in activities with peers Asking questions to request
information about a person Requesting assistance from
others Demonstrating proper timing
with social initiations Asking questions to request
information about a topic Inviting peers to join in
activities Joining a conversation with two
or more people without interrupting
Initiating greetings with others Introducing self to others
Bellini, S. (2006)
Global Goals Specific Goals
Goal:
“Social Reciprocity”
“Terminating Interactions”
Taking turns during games and activities
Responding to the greetings of others
Allowing peers to join in activities Allowing others to assist with
tasks Ending conversations properly Politely asking others to move out
of the way Maintaining the give-and-take of
conversations Acknowledging the compliments
directed at him or her by others Responding to the invitations of
peers to join in activities Responding to questions directed
at him or her by others Reading cues to terminate
conversations
Bellini, S. (2006)
Global Goal Specific Goals
Goal:
“Social Cognition”
Compromising during disagreements with others
Responding promptly in conversations
Talking about topics that other people find interesting
Avoiding being manipulated by peers Correctly analyzing social situations Understanding the jokes or humor of
others Considering multiple viewpoints Correctly interpreting the intentions
of others Staying “on-topic” during
conversations Using eye contact or other gestures
to direct another person’s attention
Bellini, S. (2006)
Source: Model Me Kids Friendship
Source: Model Me Kids Friendship
Global Goals Specific Goals
Goals:
“Perspective Taking”
“Self-Awareness”
Maintaining personal hygiene Expressing sympathy for others Talking about or acknowledging
the interests of others Providing compliments to others Engaging in socially appropriate
behaviors Maintaining an appropriate
distance when interacting with peers
Speaking with an appropriate volume in conversations
Refraining from making inappropriate comments
Offering assistance to others
Bellini, S. (2006)
Source: Model Me Kids Tips & Tricks
Source: Model Me Kids Tips & Tricks
Source: Model Me Kids Tips & Tricks
It may be helpful to use something such as a 5-point scale to help teach a specific social skill.
For example, to teach a student appropriate voice volume, you can use a rating scale to make the concept more concrete. Here is a sample scale:
1. No talking at all
2. Soft voice/whisper
3. Classroom voice/talking
4. Recess/ outside voice
5. Screaming/ emergency only
Global Goals Specific Goals
Goals:
“Decrease Social Anxiety”
“Decrease Social Withdrawal”
Interacting with peers during unstructured activities
Interacting with peers during structured activities
Engaging in one-on-one social interactions with peers
Interacting with groups of peers Engaging in solitary activities in the
presence of peers Expressing fear that other children will
laugh or make fun of him or her Experiencing positive peer interactions Engaging in solitary interests and
hobbies Exhibiting or expressing fear or anxiety
regarding social interactions Experiencing negative peer interactions Actively avoiding social situations Exhibiting or expressing fear of public
performances
Bellini, S. (2006)
Source: Model Me Kids Friendship
Are common in children with ASD
Social anxiety significantly hinders social performance and may lead to social withdrawal, solitary interests, and isolation.
Direct and Explicit Language and Lessons
Task Analysis
Power Cards
Social Stories
Video Modeling
Peer Groups and Modeling
Incidental Teaching
The skills must initially be taught in a structured setting with numerous opportunities for practice.
After the skill is mastered in a structured setting, the skills must be generalized across environments as quickly as possible.
This will require pull-out as well as inclusive service deliveries.
Providing direct instruction to teach social skills is very important
For students with ASD, we need to explicitly teach social skills just as we explicitly teach academics to all students
Using a direct instruction model of instruction can be effective when teaching social skills
Introduction: Introduce the lesson, access background knowledge, provide a rationale
Lesson Presentation: Teach the skill using words, visuals, and demonstration
Guided Practice: Involve the class in demonstrating the skill through role play
Independent Practice: Create multiple opportunities throughout the day for the students to practice the skill. When the students are meeting the expectations, provide positive reinforcement. Provide positive redirection and reminders as needed.
Closure: Review the skill the students learned and summarize the importance of using the skill
An activity schedule is a set of pictures or words that cues students to engage in a sequence of activities
Activity schedules are designed to promote independent completion of specific tasks for students with ASD and decrease dependence on prompts and assistance from adults
For social skills, an activity schedule may simply be a step-by-step procedure for the specific skill
1. Notice if someone needs help. a. Look at what they are doing.
b. Look at their body language.
c. Listen to their words and voice tone.
2. Use a friendly voice
3. Ask if you can help
4. If the person says “yes,” then help.
5. If the person says “no,” do not help.
Power Cards are visual aids that incorporate a student’s special interest in teaching social skills
On a single sheet of paper or in booklet form, a scenario is written in the first person describing how the student’s hero solves a problem
A small card (Power Card) recaps how the student can use the same strategy to solve a similar problem
The contestants on Survivor love to play games! In fact, playing games on the show is how they win rewards or win immunity. Sometimes the players and teams win their games, but sometimes, they lose. When they win, they give each other "high fives," smile or say, "Alright!" When they lose their game, the Survivors might not be happy. They could take a deep breath and say, "Maybe next time," or say "Good job" to their opponent. The contestants on Survivor think everyone should have fun playing games. They also want you to remember three things when playing games with other people:
Games should be fun for everyone. 1. If you win a game, you can: Smile, give high fives, or say, "Alright!" 2. If you lose a game, you can: Take a deep breath and say, "Good job"
to the opponent or say, "Maybe next time." 3. Play games the Survivor way and your friends will have fun playing
games with you!
http://www.autismspectrum.ilstu.edu/resources/factsheets/powercard.shtml
Social stories are narratives written by parents or professionals that describe social situations in an explicit manner
Social stories can contain words, pictures, or even video clips if you are using computerized social stories
Social stories can be used to teach specific social skills, prepare a student for an upcoming event, or to teach a variety of positive behaviors
At school we walk in the hall. When my class is in the hall, other classes are working in their rooms.
When I am in the hall, I will try to stay in line
Other classes will be able to work.
My teacher will be proud and other classes will be able to work quietly.
Video modeling entails a student watching a video demonstration of students performing a specific behavior and then imitating the behavior of the students in the video (Bellini & Akullian, 2007)
Video-self-modeling is a specific application of video modeling that allows the student to imitate targeted behaviors by observing himself successfully performing a behavior (Dowrick, 1999).
The student then watches the video and describes what is happening in the video
The teacher can then refer to the video as a reminder for the student to display the selected social skill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0nBatn5vUo
Peer-mediated intervention involves systematically training peer mentors on how and when to initiate and respond to their peers with ASD (Bellini, 2008)
Lunch Bunch
Group that comes together during lunch to socialize
Peers model typical social language and interactions
Topics are given for discussion
Usually about 5 to 6 kids
No more than 2 with ASD
Modeling
Staff and peers model appropriate play
◦ Turn taking
◦ Appropriate use of toys
◦ Waiting
◦ Commenting
◦ Can be videoed and watched numerous times
Priming
Introduces students to information or activities before activity
Low-cost, time-efficient strategy
Priming familiarizes a child with material before its use
May be video or an index card that references materials
Priming sessions should be short
Use social stories
Model Me Kids/ Preschool Power
Model Me Kids – video modeling program (K thru high school) ◦ School, play date, friends, conversation cues,
etc. ◦ www.modelmekids.com
Preschool Power – use peers as role models to show preschoolers how to do different activities ◦ Self-help, academic, gross & fine motor ◦ www.preschoolpower.com
Photo Source: www.preschoolpower.com
Imaginative Play
Taught through
Modeling
Step by step tasks
Priming
Imitation
Very difficult to teach due to the
nature of the disorder
Integrated Play Groups
Developed by Pamela Wolfberg
• Integrated Play Groups are designed to help students with ASD fully participate in their peer play “culture”
• Include “novice players” and “expert players”
• 3-5 children participate, with a higher ratio of expert players
• Guidance is provided by a trained adult facilitator
• Used with children ages 3-11
Source: Khalsa, 2006.
Integrated Play Groups
Key Practices
Monitoring play initiations
Scaffolding play
Providing social-communication guidance for both novice and expert players
Providing guidance in play
Source: Khalsa, 2006.
Social Studies – Learn about social skills of different cultures Math – small group activities that encourage interaction,
group/pair projects Science – friendships among famous scientists Reading – so much literature (friendships, feelings, dating,
anger, frustration) P.E. – teach personal space and hygiene Art – social scenes in photos, paintings, videos, movies Library – self-control, waiting, voice volume Writing – self-reflection, scenarios Music – dance, calming, emotional regulation, stress
management History – social relationships among historical figures
You can transform the standards you are required to meet into functional social skills!
Praise appropriate behaviors.
Use incidental teaching.
Intentionally make mistakes and then use “think aloud” strategies to teach problem-solving skills.
Always use VISUAL SUPPORTS!
Bellini, S. (2008). Building social relationships: A systematic approach to teaching social interaction skills to children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and other social difficulties. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing.
Bellini, S., & Akullian, J. (2007). A meta-analysis of video modeling and video self-modeling interventions for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Exceptional Children, 73 (3), 264-287.
Buron, K. D., & Curtis, M. (2003). The incredible 5-point scale: Assisting students with autism spectrum disorders in understanding social interactions and controlling their emotional responses. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing.
Dowrick, P. (1999). A review of self-modeling and related interventions. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 8, 23-39.
Gray, C., & Garand, J. (1993). Social stories: Improving responses of students with autism with accurate social information. Focus on Autistic Behavior, 8, 1-10.
Quill, K. A. (2000). Do-watch-listen-say: Social and communication intervention for children with autism. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.