Wednesday June 23, 2010 Social Skills / Peer Mediated Intervention

1. Wednesday June 23, 2010 Social Skills / Peer Mediated Intervention

2. START/NPDC Summer Institute June 2010 Social Skills / Peer Mediated Intervention

3. Evidence Based Practices: Social Skills and Peer Mediated Instruction and Intervention “Peer mediated instruction and intervention has been shown to have positive effects on academic, interpersonal and personal-social development and may be the largest and most empirically supported type of social intervention for learners with ASD” (Bass & Mulick, 2007; Maheady, Harper & Mailette, 2001; McConnell, 2002)

4. State of Michigan Approximately 170 Peer to Peer Support Programs

5. Steps for Implementation • Recruitment • Training • Maintaining • Case Conferences • Medium of Exchange

6. Recruitment • Select Grade at Elementary Level • Select Class at Secondary Level (Social Studies) • Present Overview and Purpose of Peer to Peer Support Program • Ask for Volunteers • Provide Brochures • Obtain Permission

8. Training Curriculum • Ongoing Training Elementary and Secondary Level • Information specific to students with ASD in building – Preferred Activities • Share communication system, visual supports, academic modifications, and behavioral supports…allow practice • Rules and responsibilities of peer to peer support program

9. Maintaining Peer to Peer Supports • Elementary • Monthly Incentives – Jelly Beans in a Jar • LINK of the Week • Field Trips • Banquets/T-Shirts • Secondary • LINK of the Week • Field Trips • Banquets/T-Shirts

10. Fill out the sheet on the peer to peer support student and post outside Classroom door Gift Certificate

11. Case Conferences • Weekly or Monthly Meetings • Problem Solving Focus • May Include the Person with ASD • Teaching Support Strategies in the Case Conference that will Generalize to General Education Environment

12. Case Conference Student Example

13. Jonathan’s Case Conference Strategies to Utilize • Review cafeteria schedule • Dietary considerations • Early dismissal, shorten time • Remove variables - money, selection process • Crisis person on-call • Secondary: Observe, Inservice, VIP seating • Idiosyncratic behavior

14. Medium of Exchange • The medium of exchange is any material, task, prop, interest area, etc. that connects a student with autism to a general education peer or staff person • Typically the medium of exchange is something that does not require language for the connection or interaction to occur

15. Medium of Exchange Material A.I. StudentLINK Student

16. Medium of ExchangeRain Man Example • Creating Connections • Medium of Exchange as an Avenue for Opportunity • Organizing the Student with Autism • Realization of Skills and Where they fit within the Community Available to the student with Autism

17. Scenario #1

18. Scenario #1 - Important Points • The color might be the most important attribute • Try to find pink in the puzzle • Try to find a game that has pink in it • If it is the nail polish and the dolls….then what? • How do you incorporate this into the life of the students with ASD and the general education students? • Create the mediums!

19. Evidence Based Practice: Social Skills Group and Peer Mediated Intervention • Review fidelity checklist (5 minutes) • Focus on how to use and why EBP topic Facilitator leads

20. Social Skills/Peer Mediated TrainingMatching EBP to IEP and GAS Goals • Chose IEP goal that separates the student from peers • Maxim: will approach peers inappropriately • Sophie: socially withdrawn, would not approach peers

21. Social Skills and Peer Mediated Social Skills and Peer-Mediated instruction were chosen because both students need training on conversation skills, friendship skills, and social competence as well as initiation, responding, and maintaining. Task analysis was used to teach some pre-requisite skills for initiating interactions.

22. Social Skills Groups/Peer-Mediated Step 1The Planning Process • Create groups • Determine which staff would lead groups • EBP checklists • Whiteboard meetings scheduled

23. Maxim • IEP goal: Maxim will learn 4 basic skills to engage other children in play.

24. GAS Goal Maxim

25. Sophie • IEP goal: Sophie will learn and practice 6 skills to engage in a peer conversation

26. GAS Goal Sophie

27. Social Skills Groups/Peer-MediatedStep 2Training the Staff Define Roles and Responsibilities of Team Members • Who will complete EBP checklists? • Who will collect data, make visuals Whiteboard Meetings • Schedule consistent whiteboards to address changes, needs and evaluation of plan throughout the year that include all members of the team. • Consistently use EBP checklist at meetings to focus the team and plan Data Collecting • Rethinking data collection

28. Step 3Implementation • Baseline data • Making all staff comfortable with process • Making sure groups occurred regularly • Finding peers

29. Matching the EBP to student: Maxim • 3rd Grade • Highly intelligent • Likes Computers and Science • Previous Interventions • Pre-teaching • Social Stories • What if book • Break time • Scripts

30. Matching the EBP to student: Sophie • 2nd Grade • Withdrawn from peers • Responds well to supports • Social Stories • Scripts • Visuals

31. EBP Activity

32. EBP Activity