1. SOCIAL SKILLS 2 BENJAMIN R. THOMAS DOUGLASS DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES CENTER RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY

2. People with Autism have a harder time than others when communicating and navigating social situations Difficulties in these areas often limit their ability to express themselves and develop meaningful relationships

3. COMPONENTS OF SOCIAL SKILLS Verbal interactions Joint attention Understanding idioms and slang expressions Telling and understanding jokes Understanding nonverbal communication Perspective taking skills Problem solving skills

4. INTERACTIONS Initiations Responses Social Comprehension

5. VERBAL INTERACTIONS Echoic (repeating what is heard) Mand (asking for something) Tact (labeling/commenting-what person senses) Intraverbal (responding to what is heard/ conversation)

6. MANDS IN SOCIAL CONTEXTS Pointing to a toy car that another child is playing with Asking a friend for the glue stick Asking a friend to open your pudding Asking a friend to do something funny (e.g. make a silly face or monster noise) again

7. SOCIAL INITIATIONS Greetings Asking Questions, Asking for toys, Asking for attention Joining Activities Commenting Joint attention

8. ONE EXAMPLE: JOINING AN ONGOING ACTIVITY May be taught best with an instructor first Must prepare child for the diversity of possibilities (e.g., refusal, variations in acceptance phrases/body language) Incorporation of peers can serve as good bridges in generalizing these skills to other peers

9. INITIATING BY ASKING ABOUT ANOTHER’S ACTIVITY What are you building? What are you playing? Usually get responses from peers May result in flattered feeling Can lead into a request to join a parallel or cooperative play/activity situation

10. COMMENTING – A FORM OF INITIATION Typically developing children notice things and events in the environment narrate what others do comment on what they see, hear, smell, feel

11. OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMENTING Art projects Sports/leisure activities Unexpected events or items Unusual things in the community/store A visitor to the home

12. SOCIAL RESPONSIVENESS Greetings and Farewells A key social skill Promotes social awareness Is indicative of social awareness Opens doors socially

13. OTHER ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL RESPONSIVENESS Answering social questions Responding to initiations/invitations to play Responding to Statements/Maintaining a conversation/conversational turns *Fluency (speed and accuracy) Automatic, Low response effort, Flowing, Functional, Expert

14. JOINT ATTENTION Joint attention is shared attention between two people and an object/event in the environment Social goal is to share information or an experience Involves initiation and response Shifting gaze towards bid, with other person

15. JOINT ATTENTION (CONT) Verbal bids: “Wow!” “Look!” “Uh oh!” “Oh no!” gasping Nonverbal bids: pointing, eyebrows raised, eyes bulging, shifting gaze Look at you Shift gaze with you (or to where you’re looking) Label what is seen/comment on your label Look back at you

16. SUSTAINING INTERACTIONS Build flexibility in conversation join a conversation ask questions Build reciprocity skills respond with similar information (repeat what is heard then add)

17. ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL COMPREHENSION Following social rules Understanding what is expected in a given social context Understanding social nuances Understanding complex social circumstances

18. TARGETING FAILURE TO COMPREHEND IN OTHER CONTEXTS Nonverbal communication Interested: looking, paying attention Not interested: looking away, fidgeting Nod/Shake head for Yes/No Expressions/Idioms/Slang (see handout) Teach content directly

19. JOKES Initiation, response, wait for response Components of joke situation/picture: What’s missing? Car without wheels, person without a shoe Misplaced items Person with hat on foot, Car with a sail Illogical items Eating with a pencil, wearing sunglasses at night Absurd items A dog riding a skateboard, baby driving a motorcycle

20. PERSPECTIVE TAKING Understanding an experience from another person’s point of view. Empathy Recognize that other people have thoughts and feelings Prerequisites: Rec/Exp Identification of emotions (self/others) I/You discrimination “Wh” questions including WHY/because Reciprocity Awareness of real vs. pretend

21. PERSPECTIVE TAKING Others perceive differently - I have/ You have - Field of Vision Talk Sit shoulder to shoulder facing opposite directions (or use puppets) Place objects in front of both you and child Ask questions about what you and s/he see I see the __. What do I see? What do you see? Can I see the __? (object in front of parent) Can I see the __? (object in front of child) Can you see the __? (for both) Who can see the __? (for both)

22. PROBLEM SOLVING Stages of Problem Solving Problem identification Generation of alternatives Anticipating consequences Making a choice Evaluating the decision

23. WHAT DOES PROBLEM SOLVING TRAINING DO? Assist child in targeting a social problem Help child perceive multiple possible responses Help child anticipate consequences for various responses inhibit impulsive responses

24. PROBLEM SOLVING EXAMPLE Lauren is on the playground. She is playing with a ball. Joey comes up to her and grabs the ball away. Lauren yells. The teacher comes over to see what is happening.

25. PROBLEM SOLVING CONTINUED: POTENTIAL OPTIONS 1. Problem: Joey takes ball without asking 2. Generating solutions: What can Lauren do? Give the ball to Joey Ask Joey to give it back Pull Joey’s hair Hit Joey Tell the teacher

26. ADVANTAGES TO PROBLEM SOLVING Suggests appropriate courses of action, substantiated by good outcomes Provides modeling of appropriate social language alternatives Focuses on deliberate actions Teach with rule cards, social story, *Role play

27. UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL RULES AND WHAT IS EXPECTED ……. What do people use to teach these skills? Social Stories Rule cards Video instruction ***Role plays Feedback on performance

28. SOCIAL STORIES Developed by Carol Gray Can be used with modifications such as pictures to assist with comprehension Can be used for multiple purposes multi-element tasks addressing fears addressing challenging behaviors

29. WRITING SOCIAL STORIES Carol Gray Recommends: A 1:2-5 ratio Descriptive Perspective Directive Control

30. BOB USES AN INSIDE VOICE

31. HI, MY NAME IS BOB. (Descriptive Statement)

32. I LIKE TO TALK (Descriptive statement)

33. BUT, PEOPLE CAN NOT HEAR ME WHEN I TALK (perspective statement)

34. MY FRIEND'S INSIDE VOICE IS NOT TOO SOFT AND NOT TOO LOUD (Descriptive Statement)

35. WHEN I TALK,I WILL: 1. PICK UP MY HEAD (Directive Statement)

36. WHEN I TALK I WILL: 2. LOOK AT WHO I AM TALKING TO

37. WHEN I TALK I WILL: 3. TALK LOUDER (Directive Statement)

38. THEN, EVERYONE WILL KNOW WHAT I AM SAYING!! (Perspective statement)

39. SOCIAL STORIES Multi-element situations lining up for recess cleaning up toys following appropriate hygiene routines sharing toys after show and tell group participation

40. SOCIAL STORIES Fear situations Visiting the dentist Getting a haircut Fear of dogs

41. SOCIAL STORIES Challenging behaviors Learning to ask for a turn vs. swiping materials from another child Asking for help vs. tearing up worksheet Not annoying friends vs. being intrusive

42. MORE ON SOCIAL STORIES Consequence statements may be very important Many aspects unclear in terms of impact Frequency of review Comprehension activities Access to story Often used as one component of an intervention package that includes more direct interventions Prompting Reinforcement

43. RULE CARDS Helpful in teaching child to follow social rules associated with a particular activity Clearly states the behavioral expectations for a specific activity Can be textual or picture-based, or both Can be presented to and apply to a whole group, or be individually tailored Should be brief enhances portability

44. RULES FOR THE LIBRARY 1. Speak only when necessary 2. Speak in a whisper 3. Choose one book to read for the entire period 4. Raise my hand if I need the librarian

45. RULES FOR READING GROUP 1. Read aloud only when it is my turn 2. Listen when my friends read 3. Raise my hand if I have something to say or when I want to answer a question 4. Wait to be called on to answer 5. Use a pencil for the worksheet 6. Read quietly once my worksheet is done

46. REHEARSING APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR In combination with rule cards Role Plays Video Instruction

47. ROLE PLAYS Can be used to target nuances of interaction Format can be individualized to maximize success Can be done with characters, puppets, or people

48. ROLE PLAYS child can be either an observer or a participant in a role play Observer role helps child to identify appropriate social skills **Participant role helps child to practice appropriate social skills

49. ITEMS TO FOCUS ON IN ROLE PLAYS Orientation to speaker Eye contact Self-stimulatory behavior vs. appropriate behavior Volume Contextually relevant vs. contextually irrelevant language Failure to respond vs. responding

50. SITUATIONS TO USE IN ROLE PLAYS Responding to common occurrences Sharing materials and toys Managing frustration appropriately Assertiveness Requesting Responding to requests by other

51. A FINAL THOUGHT………… Social skills should create changes that Are socially significant Are meaningful Occur in natural environments Occur in generalized contexts Occur spontaneously