2. Social Skills Groups with ASD Teen Boys Joel Shaul, LCSW The Watson Institute

3. Social Skills Groups: Teen Boys

4. Zeke

5. Edward

6. Frank

7. Mike

8. Bill

9. Kyle

10. Bill: Angry. Just wants to draw by himself. Forgets names, other details. Frank: Unconcerned about how others perceive him. Lost in fantasies. Mike: Tries to engage peers with Go Steelers. Speech is clumsy, repetitive. Edward: Smart and outgoing, but cant guess others thoughts. Stereotypic interests. Zeke: Odd speech. Has never had a friend visit his house. Kyle: Depression connected with social failures.

11. Teen group skills Conversation Cooperation Friendship Emotional Regulation Social Milestones

12. Conversation skills Starting a conversation Taking turns in conversation Maintaining conversation of interest to others Beyond content: tone, volume, gestures, distance, expression Edward BillMikeZeke Kyle Frank

13. PLEASE LOOK TOWARDS THE OTHER KIDS, NOT JUST THE GROUP LEADERS

14. How to Act Interested Step One: Use a friendly face and voice

15. Step Two: LOOK.

16. Step 3: Ask a QUESTION, or make a COMMENT about: *What the person is doing. *What the person is interested in. *How the person is feeling. – Derived from Coucouvanis, Superskills

17. Capture the teachable moment Dude, you are the most creative kid I have ever seen.

18. Coordinating With the Family Monologues Sharing, comparing, exchanging: *Emotions *Plans Interrogations Shared interests Shared experiences Lectures Opinions

19. Practicing through role plays Example: Your grandmother just walked into the room while your favorite show is on TV. She says, Excuse me, I have something interesting to tell you. What can you say to her?

20. How did the role play go? 1.Did the persons facial expression match the emotion he was supposed to be portraying? Yes/No/Sort of 2.Did the persons tone of voice match the emotion he was supposed to be portraying? Yes/No/Sort of 3.Volume of the persons voice: Loud/Medium/Soft 4.How much eye contact? OK/Too much/Too little 5. Did the persons body language fit the emotion he was portraying? Yes/No/Sort of 6.Did the person interrupt? Not much/some/a lot 7.Did the person go off topic? Not much/some/a lot 8. The person talked about his/her OWN interests… OK/too much/too little 9. Did the person start the conversation in a good way? Yes/no/sort of 10. Did the person end the conversation in a good way? Yes/no/sort of A compliment about this interview is:___________________

21. Keeping Conversation Connected

22. Cooperation How to ask someone to play How to join play with others Problem solving and compromising Edward BillMikeZekeKyleFrank

23. Combining teaching and a learning activity Useful cooperation phrases: *How about this idea? *Lets try his idea. *There might be more than one way. OUR WORLD A group activity Design a world Together

24. Friendship Exploration of what is a friend Ways to initiate and maintain friendships Using the group as place to find friends Edward BillMike Zeke KyleFrank

25. A friend provides emotional If your friend feels bad, support when you feel bad. you should try to offer emotional support. Tell about a time when a friend offered you emotional support

26. A friend provides comfort when his friend needs it. If your friend is sad because his dog died, what are some things to say and do to help?

27. A friend listens for two minutes while you talk about Yugio. Your friend loves Barbies. To balance, how long should you listen to her talk about Barbies? Reciprocity in Friendship

28. Tools to Cope With Rejection Negative self talk: They will probably reject me. I always get rejected. Whats the use of trying? Positive self talk: I might get rejected but maybe not this time. If I dont try, I will never succeed. from RDI

29. Approaching obstacles to social milestones

30. What are some reasons you might LIKE to go to a dance? *I like girls. *I want to try new things. *Other people go to dances; why shouldnt I? Other reasons: _________________________________

31. The Sleepover Put a check mark next to reasons you might like to sleep over at a friends house or have a friend sleep over at your house: Special treats Games with a friend Talking together

32. Job interviews

33. Emotional Regulation Building awareness of group members own unique experiences of anger and anxiety Teaching coping strategies uniquely suited for autistic spectrum children

34. The Emotion Thermomete r

35. Coordination With Parents and Others GROUP PARENTS: We are starting a unit on anger. Please take a few moments to give us some information on how your child deals with anger. Name:_________________________________ Parents name__________________________ Email address:__________________________ When and in what manner does your child get angry? What seems to help?_____________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________

36. Special Considerations Therapeutic impact affected by group composition. Coordination with parents and others mental health professionals essential. Social skills training field is in state of exciting growth.