Transcript Incorporating Social Skills in the School Setting

Incorporating Social Skills in
the School Setting
Tara Childs
Heather Weston
Hanover County Public Schools
Why teach social skills
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All environments are social
Compensation for social skills deficits is
impossible
If a student learns incidentally, he/ she would
already have learned these skills (obviously
that is not the case)
Students need direct instruction
Lavoie. (1994)
The purpose of social skills instruction
is to provide students with ASD the
means to acquire skills to function
socially when they CHOOSE to do so, or
NEED to do so.
McAfee, J. (2002)
What we know about current
teaching practices and social skills
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Current practices are ineffective
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Not enough time spent
Not in natural settings
Deficits are not matched to strategies
used
Often no assessments are used
No systemic programming
Interventions not being used effectively
Reasons people with ASD are
unemployed
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Lack of social pragmatics
Lack of social skills development
Behavioral issues
Missing supports
Social skills are extremely important!
Most employers value good social skills over good
vocational skills!
Herm Fishbein
Social Interaction
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Joint Attention
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Executive Function
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Process of sharing one’s experience
Organizational cognitive brain function
Theory of Mind
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Understanding different perspectives, point of view,
thoughts, emotions, etc.
Components of Successful
Social Interactions
Thinking
Doing
Feeling
S. Bellini, Ph.D., 2006
There is a difference…
Type of Skill
Deficit
Definition
Focus of Intervention
Skill
Does not possess
skill, thus cannot
perform skill
Teach the skills!
Performance
Does possess skill Remove barriers that
but cannot
impede interaction and
perform skill
add accommodations
that will aide with
performance.
Factors that Affect Performance
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Motivation
Sensory Needs
Mood/Anxiety
Attention and Impulsivity Control
Memory
Self-Efficacy
Mobility and Movement Differences
Your Role
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Emphasize competence!
 Pick times when the student is doing something in
which they are confident. If the student loves
building with logos, let the peer join in with that
activity
 Be careful with pairing with kids that are much
more competent in a skill (Especially with AS)
Work towards equal partnership
 If student is slow-paced pair with a peer that is
slow-paced too.
In terms of Instruction
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Baseline: Where is he at? What skills does he have? What skills
are missing? What skills does he display regularly? What skills
are not yet used effectively?
Create goals and plan for teaching skills needed
 Plan what activities are going to be reinforcing to all students
involved
 Create materials and scripts… What accommodations are
going to be needed!
Collect data
Reevaluate and rework social skills program
The lesson itself should include defining the skill, modeling the
skill, rehearsing the skill, and evaluating how the rehearsal went
and how people used the skill
Programming time
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Resource room:
 Actively teach social thinking vocabulary to establish a
stronger environment of social cooperation (pair with
curriculum)
 Communicate with the other teachers what concepts have
been introduced.
Self-Contained Classroom:
 Establish a regular time, on a daily basis where social thinking
vocabulary is introduced, expanded or maintained in the
classroom
 Connect social thinking for social skills to social thinking for
understanding the curriculum. Make modifications to ensure
understanding.
 You will still want to communicate to the other members of
the team what concepts have been introduced.
Programming cont.
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Paraprofessionals:
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Carry over the lessons introduced in the special
education classes.
Use social thinking vocabulary during teachable
moments.
Help integrate the ideas of social thinking across
the day.
Learning to monitor one’s
own behavior
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Encourage students to define and track one or
two behaviors related to classroom cooperation
or productivity.
Have them reward themselves for sticking with
their target behavior.
Create behavior charts or use with a behavior
contract
Hidden Curriculum
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The “unwritten rules”
Refers to the expectations that change
due to who you are talking to, where you
are, and what is emotionally charges at
the time
Must be taught directly
Intervention for kids with
poor social skills is not quite so
simple as teaching them
better social skills.
We need to help teach students to
become more efficient social thinkers,
before we can expect them to produce
better social skills.
Social Stories
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Carol Gray
Used to explain social situations, what
behaviors are expected, and how their
behaviors affect others
Works to teach the hidden curriculum
Should be positive
Make sure to explain vs. tell
Should be reviewed daily and before each
social event
Comic-Strip Conversations
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Carol Gray
The use of a comic
strip style drawing
to show what people
say, do, and think
Uses symbols and
colors to clarify
Peer Buddies/ Tutors
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Peers can be valuable
coaches
They can be prompters and
reinforcers!
Peers model appropriate
skills
Keep it simple
Structure the interactions
Create a time to practice
Make it enjoyable!!!
Peer Networks
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A clique or group
that the student
could join
Train the group on
ASD and strategies
that can help them
to prompt social
interactions
Monitor the group
Scripting
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Can use to teach a variety of different
social skills
Written script for a specific setting or
situation– What do they need to do or
to say
Role Play
5 Point Scale
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Kari Dunn Buron
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Used to explain the grey areas
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Gives students a visual picture
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Use in unison with social stories
and cartooning
Temple Grandin’s
Social Rule System
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Really bad things
 Assault
Courtesy rules
 Saying “please” and “thank you”
Illegal but not bad
 speeding
Sins of the System (SOS)
 illogical rules that must be absolutely followed
 you will be fired from work if you commit an SOS no
matter how good your work it.
Temple Grandin
Power Cards
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Elisa Gagnon
Present a short scenario of how a child’s hero/
favored topic solves a problem (written in first
person)
Then present the power card which tells how the
child can use the same strategy that their hero used (
in 3-5 steps) and a picture of the hero / special
interest
Introduce one card at a time
To be carried in a pocket, wallet, etc. and is easily
accessible by the student at all times
New cards can be added when the first skill has been
internalized by the student
Social Thinking and the Social
Skills Mapping Technique
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Michelle Garcia Winner
A cognitive behavior strategy to teach
individuals about the specific relationship
between behaviors, other's perspective,
other's actions (consequences), and the
student's own emotions about those around
him or her.
Promotes understanding of these abstract
concepts through a Flow Chart
Social Autopsy
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Helps the students understand their social
mistake
When the mistake occurs the student talks
with the teacher to identify the mistake and
who was harmed by it
Then the student and the teacher make a plan
to prevent reoccurrence
This is NOT a punishment!
Video Modeling
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More effective than live modeling
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Leads to generalization of skills
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Shows dramatic impact and quick progress
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Uses the highly visual learning style without requiring the difficult
social interaction
Is focused on the skill being taught and does not have much other
stimuli
Video Self Modeling
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A short (no more than a minute or two) video
showing the student completing something
successfully.
Prompts, mistakes, assistance are edited out so
that the student sees themselves doing the task
independently.
Skill being addressed must be within the ability
level of the child.
Can be role playing or in a natural setting
References and Further
Resources
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Bellini, S. (2006). Building Social Relationships. Shawnee Mission,
Kansas: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.
Buron, K.D. (2007). A 5 is against the law! Social boundaries: Straight
up! An honest guide for teens and young adults. Shawnee Mission,
Kansas: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.
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, Kansas: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.
Gagnon, E. (2001). Power cards: Using special interests to motivate
children and youth with asperger syndrome and autism. Shawnee
Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.
Grandin, T. & Barron, S. (2005 ). Unwritten rules of social relationships:
Decoding social mysteries through the unique perspectives of autism.
Shawnee Mission, Kansas: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.
References and Further
Resources cont.
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Gray, C. www.thegraycenter.org
Gutstein, S. E. & Sheely, R. K. (2002). Relationship Development Intervention
with Children, Adolescents, and Adults. United Kingdom: Jessica Kingsley
Henry S. & Myles, B.S. (2007). The comprehensive autism planning system (CAPS)
for individuals with asperger’s syndrome, autism, and related disabilities:
Integrating best practices throughout the student’s day. Shawnee Mission, KS:
Autism Asperger Publishing Company.
McAfee, J. (2002). Navigating the social world: A curriculum for individuals with
Asperger’s Syndrome, high functioning autism and related disorders. Arlington,
TX: Future Horizons.
Moyes, R. A. (2001). Incorporating Social Goals in the Classroom. United
Kingdom: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd.
The Behavior Guy
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8e8dc6f99b975754493e
and
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=31727f3e7be457307c3a
Winner, M.G. www.socialthinking.com