Somebody’s knocking, should I let them in?

1. Somebody’s knocking, should I let them in? Sue Palko M.Ed. VDOE T/TAC at VCU

2. Socialization and Students with ASD • Wired to connect to others • Observe • Imitate

3. DSM IV Definition Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following: • Marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction • Failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level • Markedly impaired expression of pleasure in other people’s happiness

4. The chicken or the egg?

6. The focus of the IEP is….”meeting the child’s needs that result from the child’s disability to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum…. (34 CFR’300.347 (a)(2)

7. Educators recognize deficits as an opportunity to teach. Direct, specific and on-going instruction is needed to create, maintain, and generalize necessary social skills for students with ASD. If a person is not learning, the trainer has failed to teach.”

8. The purpose of social skills instruction is to provide students with ASD the means to acquire skills to function socially when they CHOOSE to do so, or NEED to do so. McAfee, J. (2002). Navigating the social world: A curriculum for individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome, high functioning autism and related disorders. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons.

9. The Hidden Curriculum • “…the do’s and don’ts are not spelled out for everyday behavior, but somehow everyone knows about them.” (Bieber, 1994)

10. Teaching Social Skills

11. _ _ _ergro_ _ _

12. Underground

14. How do other people interact with one another? • How do other people get their needs met? • Who are the most competent people in the environment? • How do we identify them? • What skills are required? • What modifications are necessary?

15. Socialization Toolbox • Social Stories™, Gray, Carol • Comic Strip Conversations, Gray, Carol • Video Modeling • Power Cards, E. Gagnon • Role Playing • Peer partners • Clubs • Drama • The Incredible Five Point Scale, Dunn Buron, K., Curtis,M. • Incidental Teaching

16. Social Stories™ and Comic Strip Conversations by Carol Gray

17. Benefits of using social stories™ are that they: • provide very specific information about a situation • consider the perspective of the student with ASD • teach UNDERSTANDING over rote compliance

18. Social Story™Ratio 0 – 1 directive sentences 2-5 descriptive, perspective or affirmative sentence

21. (Gray, Carol. 1994)

22. Video Self-Modeling • Student is videotaped performing a sequence of tasks toward a goal. • Tape is edited to remove prompts and any mistakes made. • Student watches the video

23. http://www.modelmekids.com/autism-video-samples.html • http://www.modelmekids.com/autism-teaching-tools.html

24. Power Cards • State the problem behavior clearly • Make use of the person’s interests • Determine the reason/trigger for the behavior

25. Friends don’t always agree. When Buster says, “No, I don’t want to!” Arthur says," Okay, I’m going to play by myself,” Or “What did you want to do?” Arthur does not yell or hit. I can say “Okay,” and play by myself or ask what my friends want to do too. (Gagnon, E. 2001)

26. Five Point Scale (Dunn, Buron K., Curtis, M. 2004)

27. Peer Partners

28. Clubs

29. Drama

30. Affect education

31. Role-plays

32. Incidental Teaching

33. Thanks for coming!

34. References • Baker, J. (2003) Social skills training for children and adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and social-communication problems. Shawnee Mission, Kansas: Autism Asperger Publishing Company • Buron, K and Curtis, M. (2004) The incredible 5-point scale– assisting students with Autism spectrum disorders in understanding social interactions and controlling their emotional responses. Shawnee Mission, Kansas: Autism Asperger Publishing Company • Bieber, J. (1994). Learning disabilities and social skills with Richard Lavoie: last one picked. first one picked on. Washington D. C: Public Broadcasting Service • Gagnon, E. (2001) Power cards: using special interests to motivate children and youth with Asperger Syndrome and Autism. Shawnee Mission, Kansas: Autism Asperger Publishing Company • Gray, C. (1994a) Comic strip conversations. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons • Gray, C. (1994b) The new social story book. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons • Gray, C. (1998) Social stories and comic strip conversations with students with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism. In. Schopler E.,. Mesibov G.B., & Kunce L.J. (Eds). Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism? (pp. 167-198) New York: Plenum Press • McAfee, J. (2002) Navigating the Social World, a curriculum for individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome, high functioning Autism and related disorders. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons • Sturmey, P. (2003) Video technology and persons with autism and other developmental disabilities: an emerging technology of positive behavioral support. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, vol.5, 1, 34 • http://www.modelmekids.com/autism-video-samples.html