UofL_Stripe Laura Ferguson, M.Ed., BCBA . Starting a Social Skills Group •Impairment in nonverbal communication (gestures, eye gaze, etc.) •Failure in developing peer relationships •Lack of spontaneous sharing of enjoyment, interests, etc. •Lack of social or emotional reciprocity Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside “Qualitative impairment in SOCIAL INTERACTION, as manifested by at least two of the following”: Today we will…. Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Look at why focusing on social skills instruction is important What a social skills group should include Some examples of strategies Focusing on social skills •If we do not focus on developing social skills Individuals with autism may…. *have difficulty developing friendships *feel alone or isolated *demonstrate trouble in school Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside •By outlining social skills instruction we insure that all students have explicit instruction on the skill deficits •Individuals with autism can focus on deficits in one on one settings then generalize skills to the natural environment. Focusing on social skills Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Developing social skills groups for individuals on the autism spectrum. Today we are going to focus on Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside •Individuals with autism display difficulties with engaging with same age peers. »This includes: •Reciprocal exchanges •Imitation Teaching social skills UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Kentucky Autism Training Center • Social skills groups are used to teach individuals with autism ways to appropriately interact with typically developing peers. •Typically involve: »Small groups of 2 to 8 individuals with an adult facilitator http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/content/social-skills-groups Social skills groups UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Kentucky Autism Training Center Most social skill group meetings include: Instruction – role-playing or practice – feedback to help learners http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/content/social-skills-groups Social skills groups UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Kentucky Autism Training Center Social skills groups should target: perspective-taking emotional regulation conversation skills theory of mind friendship skills problem solving skills problem-solving social competence http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/content/social-skills-groups What do we target? Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Specific skills taught should include: initiation giving/accepting compliments Responding turn taking Maintaining sharing greeting asking for help http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/content/social-skills-groups Specific skills to teach Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside •Select individuals that need specific social skills instruction •Make sure the individuals have similar deficits in similar areas of social interaction, so the areas of focus match their needs. Specific skills Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Use assessment strategies that both teachers and parents can fill out to identify the individuals largest deficit areas. Where do we start? Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside How do we start initiation? Pair peers with reinforcement Set up peers as the “giver of all things good” Have peers hand out reinforcers for “free.” Peers are then paired with reinforcement. Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Next step: Develop a plan •Now that you understand what skills all the individuals involved need to focus on. •DEVELOP A PLAN!!!! Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Developing a plan •Now that we know the deficit areas we need to develop a plan of how to teach certain skills. •Decide –How are you going to focus on certain skills? –What activities can help increase these skills? –What is the plan for generalizing these skills? Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Time of day Target skill Standard addressed Progress Monitoring Level of support Comment Study Skills Engage in appropriate conversation Standard 1 Speaking and listening Behavior observation across settings 1:1 setting with generalization Let’s take a look at instruction •Look at these specific activities. •Decide what area they are focusing on •How this could be taught •How to generalize these skills Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Now that we have practiced •The previous slides demonstrate areas that need specific training and ways to work focus on these specific areas. •Once we have focused on these specific areas we then need to role play to make sure these skills can be generalized. Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside •This involves ‘acting out’ scenarios that focus on specific skills. •Demonstrate •Several different scenarios •With several different peers and adults •In several different settings Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Role Play Video Modeling A form of observational learning in which desired behaviors are learned by watching a video demonstration and then imitating the behavior of the model. Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Individuals observe themselves performing a behavior successfully on video, then imitate the targeted behavior. Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Video self-modeling Individuals observe someone else, preferably same gender and age as themselves, performing a behavior successfully on video, then imitate the targeted behavior. Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Other-as-model Video Modeling Generalization •Now that the skills have been taught and focused on in small structured settings, make sure to generalize these skills to the natural environment. •Focus on these skills that they would have to demonstrate these skills with peers and adults. Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside References Bellini, Scott (2006) Building Social Relationships. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Company. Goldstein, Arnold (1980) Skill Streaming the Adolescent. Champaign, Ill: Research Press. Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Kentucky Autism Training Center UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Thank you so much for coming!! Questions?? Questions? Contact info: Laura Ferguson Laura.ferguson@louisville.edu C:\Documents and Settings\djvitt01\Desktop\Space Camp.jpg Center contact info: Telephone: (502) 852-4631 Fax: (502) 852-7148 E-mail: katc @ louisville.edu https://louisville.edu/education/kyautismtraining UofL_Logo_Curtain_Inside Kentucky Autism Training Center