Creating a Social Skills Resource A Guide to help Teachers of Students with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome Masters project

Introduction Why I chose this topic.. -not sure where to start at the beginning of the year -wanted to help all of my students-not limited to those with Autism/Aspergers -wanted to help other teachers What I created… -a resource binder to help teachers get started with social skills teaching -a desire to learn more about different kinds of social skills and various teaching techniques for students with Autism and Aspergers

What are Good Social Skills? Having good social skills simply means people share their space with other effectively. Good social skills means following unwritten social rules of the environment, even outside of the active social interaction within that environment.(p.1) Having good social skills simply means people share their space with other effectively. Good social skills means following unwritten social rules of the environment, even outside of the active social interaction within that environment.(p.1) Michelle Garcia Winner, 2008 Think Social! A Social Thinking Curriculum for School Age Students

Research: The WHY and the HOW Why -why are social skills so important for students with Autism and Asperger’s? -why should all teachers teach social skills to their students? How -how do we get started? -how do we know which type of social skills should be taught?

Why should we teach social skills? “The development of social skills is one of the most important outcomes of the schooling process. Children with social skills deficit are at risk for socio-emotional difficulties and poor academic performances.” ( p.64). “The development of social skills is one of the most important outcomes of the schooling process. Children with social skills deficit are at risk for socio-emotional difficulties and poor academic performances.” ( p.64). Elliot and Busse, (1991)

Why continued… “Socially thinking should be taught to kids with social learning challenges not as an additional school subject, but as a core instructional element that impacts each moment of the school day” Michelle Garcia Winner (2007) Thinking About You, Thinking about Me

Connections to Health Curriculum Social skill lessons can easily be incorporated into the health curriculum, so students can learn the skills they need with their peers. Grade Five Health Curriculum Outcomes Grade Five Health Curriculum Outcomes D1.2 -identify and practice strategies for strengthening self-esteem D1.2 -identify and practice strategies for strengthening self-esteem B5.1- demonstrate strategies for managing anger in oneself and others B5.1- demonstrate strategies for managing anger in oneself and others D1.4. recognize and respond to symptoms of stress D1.4. recognize and respond to symptoms of stress

Overall Message… Social Skill lessons are not only for students with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome! They could and should be taught to all students!!!

Keep in Mind… If you’ve met one person with Autism, you’ve met one person with Autism!! Winner, Crooke and Madrigal (2011) ** All students with Autism and Asperger’s are different. I have tried to included as many different types of social skills as possible in my binder, but there are still other skills that I did not include. In my (very brief) teaching experience, these are the skills that I found to be most helpful**

Different Types of Social Skills Perspective Taking Perspective Taking Friendship Skills Friendship Skills Communication/Conversation Skills Communication/Conversation Skills Figures of Speech/Non Verbal Communication Figures of Speech/Non Verbal Communication Various Topics Various Topics

Perspective-taking skills -discussed in almost every resource and article I have read “ The term ‘perspective taking’ describes the ability of one person to consider the point of view and motives of others.” (p.1). Winner (2007) “Persons with social cognitive deficits, such as those on the autism spectrum, all have some degree of weakness in their ability to decode others’ intentions: they have a perspective taking deficit.”(p3). Winner (2007)

Temple Grandin In her book The Way I See It (2011) Grandin explains her collaboration with another author (Sean Barron) regarding perspective-taking skills: we emphatically agree that perspective-taking, being able to look beyond oneself and into the mind of another person, is the single most important we emphatically agree that perspective-taking, being able to look beyond oneself and into the mind of another person, is the single most important aspect of functioning that determines the level of social success to be achieved by a child or adult with ASD.” (p. 190). aspect of functioning that determines the level of social success to be achieved by a child or adult with ASD.” (p. 190).

Friendship Skills Jill Kuzma (jillkuzma.wordpress.com) states that friendships “are formed through conversations, seeking things in common with peers (requires perspective taking), showing interest in peer’s experiences and thoughts, and creating shared experiences and memories with a peer.” “are formed through conversations, seeking things in common with peers (requires perspective taking), showing interest in peer’s experiences and thoughts, and creating shared experiences and memories with a peer.”

Friendship skills was the one thing that almost all of my students struggled with this year. Finding activities and lessons was really challenging for me at first. This was one of the many reasons why I wanted to create this binder.

Communication and Conversation Skills According to Temple Grandin (2011) “to be diagnosed with autism the child must have delayed or no speech coupled with other impairments” (p 8.).

Communication cont’d All of the students with Autism that I have worked with struggle with communication skills at some level. Therefore in this section I have also decided to include the following:  Receptive Language Skills  Expressive Language Skills

Figures of Speech and Non-verbal Communication Like many other teachers, I tend to use figures of speech and non- verbal communication skills without even realizing it. However I soon realized that several of my students would take this literally and become quite confused. Jill Kuzma stated: “students with social language deficits often interprets information in a very literal, concrete manner. It either is, or it isn’t. This translates into emotional understanding and expression as well.”

Various Topics Section Stress/Anxiety Stress/Anxiety Organization Organization School Routines School Routines Behaviour Behaviour

How to Teach Social Skills? Social Stories-Carol Gray A Social Story describes a situation, skill, or concept in terms of relevant social cues, perspectives, and common responses in a specifically defined style and format. The goal of a Social Story is to share accurate social information in a patient and reassuring manner that is easily understood by its audience. thegraycenter.org

Personal Example This is an example of a basic social story I wrote to help one of my students understand why sometimes changes occur in our schedules and he had to miss his learning centre time. I know that I go to the Learning Centre every Tuesday at 1:35. It is written on my desk. This is the schedule that Ms. F and my classroom teacher agreed on. Sometimes my teacher wants me to stay in the classroom so I do not miss something that is really important or really fun. Sometimes Ms. F might have to work with another student, or go to a meeting. This makes me sad because I like my Learning Centre time. I know that Ms. F and my teacher will let me make up my time on another day. If I am still upset, I can talk to Ms. F then about my feelings instead of getting upset and refusing to go back to class.

Resources that help teach Social Skills Think Social! A Social Thinking Curriculum for School-Age Students Michelle Garcia Winner (2008) Think Social! A Social Thinking Curriculum for School-Age Students Michelle Garcia Winner (2008) Thinking About YOU Thinking About ME-Michelle Garcia Winner (2007) Thinking About YOU Thinking About ME-Michelle Garcia Winner (2007) Power Cards-Elisa Gagnon Power Cards-Elisa Gagnon The Incredible 5-Point Scale- Kari Dunn Buron and Mitzi Curtis The Incredible 5-Point Scale- Kari Dunn Buron and Mitzi Curtis Jill Kuzma’s website Jill Kuzma’s website Michelle Garcia Winner’s website Michelle Garcia Winner’s website SuperFlex: A Superhero Social Thinking Curriculum – Stephanie Madrigal and Michelle Garcia Winner (2008) SuperFlex: A Superhero Social Thinking Curriculum – Stephanie Madrigal and Michelle Garcia Winner (2008)

Videos In my experience, using videos to help students understand a concept is very helpful no matter what subject I am teaching. (they often get tired of listening to me!). Here is a you tube video (linked from Jill Kuzma’s website), created by students to demonstrate proper social skills.

What I have learned…  there are so many different types of social skills and different ways to teach them!  social skills can be easily adapted to any age level  how to create my own social skill lessons and social stories  there are no easy answers-cannot simply follow a curriculum  before teaching social skills it is important to really understand your student’s individual needs  how to group students according to needs  social skills should be taught by all teachers-not just the learning centre

What I’ve learned cont’d  how I am going to start teaching social skills this year  a deeper understanding of Autism & Asperger’s Syndrome  interesting people-Temple Grandin  the impact social skills have on a student  social skills lessons are a lot of fun to teach! AND most importantly….

What I want to do with my life! By choosing this topic, I have learned so much about Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. I still have quite a lot to learn, but I am looking forward to putting what I have learned thus far into action.

Thank you to everyone for making these past two years such a wonderful learning experience! The End!!

References Elliot, S., & Busse, R.T. (1991). Social Skills Assessment and Intervention with Children and Adolescents. Guidelines for Assessment and Training Procedures. School Psychology International, 12, Retrieved from Assessment%20and%20 Intervention%20with.pdf Grandin, T. (2011). The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism & Asperger’s. (Revised & Expanded 2nd Edition). Arlington, TX: Future Horizons. Gray, C. (n.d). What Are Social Stories? Last retrieved July 16th, 2011 fromhttp://thegraycenter.org/social- stories/what-are-social-stories stories/what-are-social-storieshttp://thegraycenter.org/social- stories/what-are-social-stories Gray, C. (2010), The New Social Story Book. (Revised and Expanded 10th Anniversary Edition). Arlington, TX: Future Horizons. Kuzma J.D (2008). Jill Kuzma’s Social Thinking Weblog. Last retrieved July 16th, 2011 from Kuzma, J.(2008). Emotions Awareness and Management. Last retrieved July 16th, 2011 from Kuzma, J. (2008).Friendship and Interaction Skills. Last Retrieved July 16th, from Madrigal, S., & Winner, M.G. (2008). Superflex…A Superhero Social Thinking Curriculum San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing, Inc Nova Scotia Grade Five Health Curriculum (n.d.) Last retrieved July 16th, 2011, from Winner, M. G. (2007). Thinking About You, Thinking About Me. San Jose,CA: Think Social Publishing Inc. Winner, M.G. (2008), Social Thinking. Last retrieved July 16th, from Winner, M. G. (2008). Think Social! A Social Thinking Curriculum for School-Age Students. San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing, Inc. Winner, M.G., Crooke, P.,& Madrigal, S. (2011). Social Communication Learning Styles as a Guide to Treatment and Prognosis: The Social Thinking-Social Communication Profile. Retrieved from