Social Skills Training: Stacking the Deck Game (Foxx & McMorrow, 1983)

1. Social Skills Training: Stacking the Deck Game(Foxx & McMorrow, 1983) Lucinda Parramore, N.B.C.T. Melanie Wagner, M.S. Ed, BCABA Pinellas County Schools

2. Rationale for Project • Limited data-driven social skills curricula for adolescent students with ASD • Motivating for students • Highly structured and ready to implement • Highly adaptable and can be used in many settings • Evidence-based positive outcomes with other populations

3. Evidence-Base for Stacking the Deck Foxx, R.M., & McMorrow, M.J. (1983). Stacking the Deck: A Social Skills Game for Retarded Adults. Champaign, Ill: Research Press. • Field tested with: • Adults with mental retardation in a residential facility (1983) • Elderly adults with mental retardation in a community facility (1986) • Adolescents with psychiatric disorders in an inpatient hospital setting(1996)

4. Outcomes of Field Tests • Significant gains made in desired responding during game play in all curriculum areas • Generalization beyond the game-play environment required prompting and instruction in those environments

5. References Related toStacking the Deck Foxx, R.M., McMorrow, M.J., Bittle, R.G., & Ness, J. (1986). An analysis of social skills generalization in two natural settings. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 19 (3), 299-305. Foxx, R.M., McMorrow, M.J. & Mennemeier, M. (1983). Teaching social/vocational skills to retarded adults with a modified table game: An anaysis of generalization. Manuscript submitted for publication. Foxx, R.M., McMorrow, M.J. & Schloss, C. (1983). Stacking the Deck: Teaching social skills to retarded adults with a modified table game. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 16 (2), 157-70.

6. References Continued Foxx, R.M., McMorrow, M.J., Storey, K. & Rodgers, B.M. (1984) Teaching social/sexual skills to retarded female adults using a social skills game. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, in press. Wong, S.E., Morgan, C., Crowley, R., & Baker, J.N. (1993). Using a table game to teach social skills to adolescent psychiatric inpatients: Do the skills generalize? Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 18 (4), 1-17.

7. Overall Design ofStacking the Deck • Based on principles of ABA – evidence-based, data collection, positive reinforcement, self-monitoring • 3 Curricula: General Social Skills, Vocational Skills, Social/Sexual Skills • A deck of cards is ready-made for each curriculum • The social situations on each card are derived from 6 areas of social behavior

8. 6 Areas of Social Behavior • Compliments • Social Interaction • Politeness • Criticism • Social Confrontation • Questions/Answers

10. Description of the Stacking the Deck Program • Social skills game that can be applied to any board game (e.g. Sorry!® ) • Cards organized into a pre-stacked deck so that the question posed on each card is targeted to the abilities of each player • Each card describes a social situation requiring an action or a reaction from the player • Score cards and data sheets are provided

12. Our Implementation • Phase I = Baseline, posed questions as they were worded, identified the need to adapt questions to varied abilities of students • Phase 2 = Selected cards individually per student, reworded cards, limited number of cards per student to aim for success • Phase 3 = Implemented with few revisions, began social skills lessons to align with game play

13. Phase 1 Implementation • Baseline data collection and direct implementation • Posed questions as originally designed • Determined appropriate data collection forms • Incorporated instruction during game play

14. Phase 1 Results • Positive Outcomes • Student social skill needs identified • Students engaged in cooperative play • Lessons Learned • Pace was too slow to be meaningful • Original questions did not address the varied abilities of students • Communication devices needed to support active participation

15. Phase 2 Implementation • Streamlining Game play • Adapted questions to address characteristics of individuals with ASD • Targeted specific social skills based on baseline data • Limited number of cards per student to aim for success • Increased pace and flow by minimizing direct instruction and redirection during game play • Incorporated AAT devices to facilitate participation

18. Phase 2 Results • Positive Outcomes • Students increased number of desired responses • Students demonstrated mastery of self monitoring • Students increased social interaction & positive reinforcement • Lessons Learned • “Stacking the deck” was too time consuming • Pace of game still too slow • Data analysis/anecdotal evidence indicated need to: • Maintain integrity of game as assessment tool • Further adapt questions • Some questions too difficult or too easy • Too many questions for some students

19. Phase 3 Implementation • Student ownership and fluency of game • Students nicknamed game “Speed game” • Color coded cards for each student • Each student had their own deck of cards • Reduced mastered cards • Increased opportunity for correct response

20. Phase 3 Results • Positive Outcomes • Student ownership increased • Pace and flow of game lead to high rate of engagement • Correct responding increased • Spontaneous peer interactions evolved from phase 2 • Lessons Learned • Some questions remained too challenging • More direct instruction needed to support game performance • Game logistics needed fine tuning

21. Game Play with Our Adaptations • Implemented 1st Curriculum Only: General Social Skills • 48 Cards per Player – we lowered to 4-12 per player • Stack the deck so that each player draws his/her card – we had separate color-coded decks per student • Modified wording to make question more meaningful

22. Altered Cards Along 3 Dimensions • Setting in which behavior is to be exhibited • Person or persons with whom the player is to interact • Behavior exhibited by others within the situation

23. Final Data

24. Ordering Stacking the Deck Order from: HELP Services, Inc. 1222 Quail Hollow Rd, Hummelstown, PA 17036 Email: hserve@aol.com Phone: 717-583-0706 Cost = $35.00, Checks only

25. Closing Comments and Recommendations Thank you for your attention!