Promoting social competence in adolescents with autism and other developmental disabilities: Overview of the "Girls

1. Promoting social competence in adolescents with autism and other developmental disabilities: Overview of the "Girls Night Out" program. T. Rene Jamison, Ph.D. Presented at the “Beyond the Diagnosis: Autism Across the Lifespan” Conference October 14, 2010

2. Your Visual Support • Discuss construct of social competence • Social skills training core components • Example program to promote social competence in girls with ASD / DD “Girls Night Out”

3. Social Competence What is it?

4. “Social, emotional, cognitive skills and behaviors that children need for successful social adaptation” -Welsh & Bieman “adequacy of a person’s social functioning” -Gresham, 1998- Improvements in social skills likely result in higher social competence. Social skills, awareness, self-confidence

5. Social Competence Who’s got it?

6. Those who other’s believe have it….. And Probably those who believe they have it…. (Perceived social competence)

7. Social Competence How do you know you’ve got it?

8. Awareness Social Status Friendships Perceived competence Social Adaptation Understanding of social skills Peer nominations Self Esteem

9. Changes in Social Competence In other words….someone has to notice!!!! • When social skills result in peer acceptance and positive judgments from important others • Change in target social behaviors should predict status on important social outcomes such as peer status

10. Well then how can I get it? Social Competence

11. Improved social skills Increased awareness Targeted self esteem and emotional wellness Change perceptions of others Build self confidence!

12. An empirical consensus states that physical appearance contributes most to self-esteem during adolescence compared with other domains of perceived competence (Harter, 1990). The second domain is social acceptance. According to Renick and Harter (1989), 84% of adolescents in specialized classes want to compare themselves to typically developing peers because they want to be considered “normal”

13. Modeling Coaching / Feedback Reinforcement Cognitive – Behavioral Strategies Assessment Peer Mediated Generalization component / plan!!!! Individual goals Evaluation of outcomes General Components in Effective Social Skills Programs Gresham, Sugai, & Horner, 2001

14. Girls Night Out! A social skills and self care program……………

15. Intervention Components in GNO Visual Supports • Social Narratives • Scrapbook • Conversation Key rings Targeted specific social conversational skills • Live coaching/specific feedback • role play / modeling Reinforcement of specific behaviors / skills • GNO Bucks • GNO Store • Specific praise Peer Mediated (trained peers) Support / Motivation • Age appropriate activities in community settings • Personal goals and challenges • Homework • “Buddy” system • Self monitoring through ‘What I Did This Week’ sheets

16. Visual Supports • Visual Schedule • Scrapbooking • Social Narratives • Conversation Key Rings • Task Analysis

17. Social Narrative • Remember….. • 1. Get my body ready • . Find out: where they go, what they do, and things in common • . Take turns: Listen and Talk

18. Salon VisitTask Analysis and Social Narrative

19. Scrapbooks….Visual Supports!

20. Conversation Key Rings • What are you going to have the stylist do to your hair? “What kind of jewelry are you going to make?” “What is your favorite TV show?” “What do you like to do after school?” “I like their hair or that it “looks cute” today.” Whatcolors do you think you look best in?” “What do you like to do on the weekends?”

21. Targeted Conversation Skills • Examples: • Personal Information • Activity Related Information • Emotional Support / Compliments • Appropriate transitions

22. Reinforcement of specific behaviors / skills • GNO Bucks • GNO Store • Specific Praise

23. “Token Reinforcement”..paired w/ specific praise GNO BUCKS $$$

24. Peers / Support / Motivation • Peer Mediated • Age appropriate activities in community settings • Personal goals and challenges • Homework • “Buddy” system • Self monitoring through ‘What I Did This Week’ sheets

25. Activities in community

26. Take home data/ generalization form – PEER EXP

27. Take home data/ generalization form-Girl w/ DD Exp

28. Girls Night Out: Take 3

29. Overview Participants and Peers • 4 girls, ages 14 to 17 with a diagnosis of AS • 3rd grade reading level or above • 4 typically developing peers, ages 15-18 Sessions • Two baseline (no intervention) sessions • Nine intervention sessions across 7 weeks • One wrap up data collection session

30. Session OutlineSkills taught/practiced w/in leisure or self care activities

31. Primary Research Questions • Is there a relationship between involvement in GNO and improvement in specific conversational social skill? • Do the adolescents involved in GNO show an increase in general social skills according to the Social Responsiveness Scale upon completion of the GNO program?

32. Outcome Measures Primary Measures • Girls Night Out Social Conversation Coding System (GNO SCCS) based on the Social Conversation Coding System (SCCS; Thiemann, 2009) • Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS)-Parent Report Form (Constantino & Gruber, 2005) Anecdotal Measures • Satisfaction Surveys – Parent, Participant, and Peer Forms • Fun-O-Meters

33. GNO-SCCS Data Collection • Videotaped 10-minute social interactions for each participant per session • No intervention strategies were used with the target participant during this time • GNO SCCS was used to code the social interactions • Observers achieved 80% inter-rater agreement on practice tapes • % of intervals skills were used were graphed for each of the target conversational skills

34. Multiple Baseline Design • Looking at three specific social conversational skills • initiations and responses related to personal information and activity related topics (ARI/PRI) • encouragement, compliments or emotional support statements (EMOT) • transitioning to a new and/or related topic (TRAN)

36. Satisfaction Survey – Parent Form • For the following questions, please circle the number you feel best represents your answer. • Have you noticed positive changes in your daughter’s conversational or social skills, as a result of her participation in the Girls Night Out program? • 1 2 3 4 5 • Have you noticed positive changes in your daughter’s self-care skills (e.g., hygiene, clothes, make-up, etc.), as a result of her participation in the Girls Night Out program? • 1 2 3 4 5 Notice NO positive changes Noticed barely any positive changes Noticed a FEW positive changes Noticed SOME positive changes Noticed LOTS of positive changes Notice NO positive changes Noticed barely any positive changes Noticed a FEW positive changes Noticed SOME positive changes Noticed LOTS of positive changes

37. Fun-O-Meter 1 2 3 4 5 Boring OK Not fun, but Fun REALLY Fun not boring

38. Baseline Sessions • Info Night • One data point collected • Coffee Shop • Two data points collected • Fun-o-meter: 4.43/5

39. Personal Information and Activity Related Topics (ARI/PRI)

40. Encouragement, Compliments, or Emotional Support (EMOT)

41. Transitioning to a New and/or Related Topic (TRAN)

42. Girls Night Out! Highlights

43. Participant Data

47. Average Fun-O-Meter Scores 1 2 3 4 5 Boring OK Not fun, but Fun REALLY Fun not boring 4.48 / 5.0

48. Parent Satisfaction Survey • Have you noticed positive changes in your daughter’s conversational or social skills, as a result of her participation in the Girls Night Out program? • 4.33/5 • How satisfied were you with your daughter’s overall experience with Girls Night Out? • 5/5

49. Participant Satisfaction Survey • Have you noticed any positive changes in your conversational or social skills, as a result of the Girls Night Out program? • 3.66/5 • How satisfied were you with your overall experience with the Girls Night Out program? • 4.66/5

50. Peer Satisfaction Survey • How satisfied were you with the training and information you received on individuals with developmental disabilities throughout the program? • 4.5/5 • How satisfied were you with your overall experience with the Girls Night Out program? • 5/5