Diane Pellegrini Resource Teacher Wando High School

Write something good that happened to you over the weekend Place it on the board Benefits: Students bonding Applying social skills

1 in 88 have autism More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism While there is no medical detection or known cure for autism-significant improvement resulting from early diagnosis and use of effective interventions Cause of autism remains unclear-genetics and environment both play a role in the increase.

Why teach social skills?

“Learning to engage in reciprocal social exchange is a challenge facing every person on the autism spectrum” (Rutter, 1985, Rutter, Mahwood, & Howlin, 1992) “Good social skills are critical to successful functioning in life” (NASP Fact Sheet) “To maximize writing outcomes, teachers will need to differentiate instruction for their students with ASD” (Berlin) “Lack of social skills, difficulty working in groups, and adapting to change are all hallmarks of ASD, which will affect the job prospects of an estimated million young adults in the coming decade” (Exceptional Minds)

Eye contact Volume of Voice Tone of Voice Personal Space Positive Self-Talk Empathy Rule Police Stress/Anxiety Conversational Skills Big Deal/Little Deal Different Perspectives Group Work

Watch Video Clip  Ask a question  Write down answer  Ask the person to initial your paper Benefits Getting to know each other Eye contact Conversational skills Reflective writing

Watch Video Clip  You will chose an emotion  Demonstrate your emotion to your teacher  Think about when you felt that way  Write a story about it  Share your story with the class Benefits: Understanding different people’s perspectives Everyone experiences emotions

Watch Video Clip  You will complete the stress thermometer sheet independently  Pair-Share with a partner  Create a comic strip about a stressful situation that you had and how you handled the stress or write a poem  Share your story with the class Benefits: Understanding stress and how to appropriately handle it Remember stress is a lifelong issue