2. SOCIAL SKILL
DEFICITS IN
AUTISM SPECTRUM
DISORDERS
Impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal
behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures,
and gestures to regulate social interaction.
Failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental
level.
Lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or
achievements with other people.
Lack of social and emotional reciprocity.
Social avoidance and withdrawal.
(Boutot & Myles, 2011)
9. SocialStories
Stories written to teach a particular skill or behavior
Useful for teaching
How to initiate interaction
How to make smooth transitions between settings and activities
How to follow the rules of a game
What to expect when going on a field trip.
10. Example of a
SocialStory
What Can I Do On the Playground?
The playground has a lot of fun equipment.There are swings.There
is a slide.There is a climbing wall. I like the swings.Other children
like the swings, too.When other children are on the swings, I can
use the slide or climb. If I want to swing, I can say, “May I have a turn
on the swing?”When the other child gets off of the swing, I can
say, “Thank you!” and then I can swing.When another child asks for
a turn on the swing, I can get off of the swing and play on the other
equipment. It is fair for everyone to have a turn.
11. Video
Modeling
&
VideoSelf-
Monitoring
(VSM)
Videos of the student (VSM) or another person (adult or child)
acting out a situation to model correct behavior. Requires
sufficient attention from the student. Benefits include:
Visual field can be reduced so that extraneous information is
reduced and student can focus attention on correct issue.
Reduced stress for the student because human interaction is limited.
Children tend to love to watch videos, so motivation to attend in
naturally reinforced.
13. Social Problem
Solving
SPSTeaches children to analyze and interpret social situations.
1. Describe a scenario
2. Have students predict consequences
3. Select alternative response to scenario
4. Have children predict new consequences
5. Select best outcome.
15. Pivotal
Response
Training
(PRT)
PRT
Teaches a child to respond to multiple cues
Teaches a child to initiate interactions
Enhances motivation by offering the child choices and using
natural reinforcers in the environment.
Teaches greater self-management by fading prompt levels so
that the child is less dependent of prompts to respond.
(Hall, 2013)
17. SocialScripts
Social Scripts are rehearsed lines to be used in specific social
situations.
Once learned, scripts can be faded and generalization can be
promoted.
18. Example of a
SocialScript
“Hello. My name is Bea. I go to Jefferson School. I am in the third grade.”
“Hello. My name is Bea. I go to Jefferson School….”
20. Self-
Monitoring
Students who are taught to
monitor and regulate their
own behavior can have
increased social
interaction, decreased off-
task behavior, and greater
generalization of skills across
settings.
(Boutot & Myles, 2011)
Self Monitoring
Strategies:
Setting Goals
Self-recording techniques
Reinforcement
Self-Graphing
Video monitoring
(Hall, 2013)
21. How to Initiate
Social
Interactions
withStudents
who have
ASD
* Questions can be tricky – start with a statement instead. “I like
to go to the gym” rather than “Where do you like to go?”
* Allow some extra time for a response – processing sometimes
takes longer in students with ASD.
*Take some time to find out about the student’s special interests
and include some content about those interests.
*Take sensory needs into consideration – if the room is too
bright, or too noisy, or has strong smells, or has a lot of visual
clutter, it may be too distracting for the student to maintain
attention in one area.
(Boutot & Myles, 2011; Heflin & Alaimo, 2007; Hall, 2013)
22. References
Boutot, E. A., & Myles, B. S. (2011) Autism spectrum disorders:
Foundations, characteristics, and effective strategies. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson Education
Hall, L. J. (2013). Autism spectrum disorders: From theory to practice (2nd
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education
Heflin, L. J., & Alaimo, D. F. (2007). Students with autism spectrum disorders:
Effective instructional practices. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education