Social Skills Intervention: Guidelines, Evidence & Options

Social Skills Intervention: Guidelines, Evidence & Options
Presented by Emily Iland, M.A. & Lisa Iland, M.S. (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Today’s Agenda Examine the social/communication difficulty inherent in ASD Guidelines & considerations in intervention Evidence from the research Options: Evidence-based practices that support generalization Bonus resources (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Your Expertise New ideas and perspectives
Be a careful consumer of information Apply information relevant to your work or role as a social skills interventionist (including as a parent interventionist!) (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Social Skills Relationships

Asperger’s and Girls Tony Attwood, Temple Grandin, Lisa Iland

Social Skills: A Definition
“Socially acceptable learned behaviors that enable a person to interact with others in ways that elicit positive responses and assist the person in avoiding negative responses.” (Elliott, Racine, & Busse, 1995, p.1009) S. Bellini ©2008 AAPC

Social behaviors are learned
Typical children learn and use them spontaneously and easily (C) 2011 E & L ILAND 7

In ASD Learning to relate is not automatic
Development is different People with autism can learn how to relate We have to be wise enough to teach in the way they learn and understand

The Importance of Teaching Social Skills
People with strong social interaction skills typically experience … • More meaningful relationships • Greater happiness and self-esteem • Greater social acceptance • Greater desire to participate in social situations • Less anxiety, stress, depression S. Bellini ©2008 AAPC

The Importance of Teaching Social Skills
People with social interaction skills deficits typically experience the opposite … • Few to no meaningful relationships • Greater anxiety, stress, depression • Less happiness and self-esteem • Less social acceptance • Less desire to participate in social situations (withdrawal, avoidance) S. Bellini ©2008 AAPC

A: The social-communication difficulty inherent in ASD

Developmental Differences Uneven Development
Don’t do things they should do Do things they should not do

Check your list

Autism and Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Criteria
Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of four features 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

(b) Failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level

(c) a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing or pointing out objects of interest)

(d) lack of social or emotional reciprocity

Qualitative impairments in communication at least one of these four:
(a) Delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language (not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through alternative mode of communication such as gesture or mime) (b) In individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others 18

Qualitative impairments in communication
(c) stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language Conversing or Downloading?

Qualitative impairments in communication
(d) Lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level

Limited play skils Limits socialization
Less practice: The Matthew effect Lack of flexibility and “shifting” can cause problems with peers Restrictive interests or repetitive play limits things to share Less in common with others- Less to do and talk about

Another effect of the lack of imagination: Theory of Mind (T.o.M)
It is like Mind Blindness-affects the ability to: Imagine the internal states of others Imagine the thoughts of others Guess the thoughts of others

Theory of Mind They think we know what they know and think
They can’t imagine that we don’t know what they are thinking or what they know

All this explains why socialization is so hard and not automatic
We know people with ASD want to have relationships and friendships with parents, siblings, relatives, peers and even boyfriends and girlfriends.

Outcomes: Many students with ASD are not prepared for adult life
“People with ASD leave school programs ill-equipped with the social and communication skills needed for life success” Muller, Schuler, Burton & Yates, p.271 (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

How do we help and teach? 1. Explicit instruction
To develop social-communication skills, children and adolescents with ASD typically require: 1. Explicit instruction 2. Effective social skills programming

The logical conclusion
Understand how a particular person is affected by their autism Address every feature, identify and develop needed skills Include socialization and communication deficits Do not overlook PLAY skills, at any age

The Social Continuum Withdrawn/aloof (avoids/ not responsive)
1 2 3 4 Withdrawn/aloof (avoids/ not responsive) Passive (needs prompts, to get what he wants) Active but odd (limited, scripted) Wants friends, significantly immature (underdeveloped) probs w ToM, mini-adult style

Guidelines & Considerations for social skills goals
B. Intervention Guidelines & Considerations for social skills goals

#1 Prioritize social skills & social relationships
The central feature of autism Predictor of diagnostic status (and outcomes) The distinguishing feature between ASD and other D’s “An area of great vulnerability even for the most cognitively able” (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

How to help learners with ASD
Recognize the relevance of actively promoting social and communication development through the IEP Quality of life now Future outcomes Start with a very complete understanding of the developmental & neurological differences in ASD

I.D.E.A. Revision 2004 Development, review, and revision of IEP.
(a) Sec Development of IEP. (1) General. In developing each child's IEP, the IEP Team must consider-- (i) The strengths of the child; (ii) The concerns of the parents for enhancing the education of their child; (iii) The results of the initial or most recent evaluation of the child; and (iv) The academic, developmental, and functional needs of the child. Regulations: Part 300 / D /

Create specific IEP goals
In every IEP For all ages and levels To help support friendship and relationships Note: Don’t be satisfied with superficial social skills aka “appropriate classroom behavior!” (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Prioritize by integrating social goals & lessons into…
Classroom routines (examples) Recess and lunch Playground activities Therapy sessions (speech and language, recreational, and occupational therapy, sessions with the psychologist, etc.) Community activities Home life (siblings, respite) (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

#2 PEER Validity Find out what social skills are valued by the peer group Teach the person with ASD skills to fit in Examples from informal research 28 teachers each interviewed 5 students 140 respondents from preschool to college age (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Age 4-7 1. Plays 2. Shares 3. Cares 4. Plays Dress-Up 5. Hugs Me

Age 8-10 1. Being Nice 2. Trustworthy 3. Likes to Play
4. Likes to help others 5. Sharing

Age 11-15 1. Respectful 2. Trustworthy 3. Funny 4. Cool 5. Nice

Age 16-18 and College Students
1. Trustworthy 2. Similar Interests 3. Listens 4. Dependable/Reliable/Fun 5. Kind/Supportive

Peer Validity Some peer values transcend all ages
Consult with peers for input on goals, priorities and how to teach Ask peers to privately report social mistakes (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Address Three Social Skill Components
Social actions (performance skills) Social thinking (understand what is appropriate and why, social values) Social feeling “Positive” feelings like empathy and motivation Overcoming “negative” feelings that shut down interactions, like social anxiety and fear (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

ASK Key Questions What is it that this person does not know that everyone else knows? What does this person need to learn to do to be successful in the situation? What feelings or emotions need to be addressed?  Use the answers to target specific skills to teach (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

#3 Individualize There is no single intervention that will help all children and adolescents with ASD strengthen their social skills What works well for one child or adolescent may not work well for another (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Individualize and be wise!
Use a combination of strategies that prove most effective for a given child’s or adolescent’s needs Choose: Explore options & be selective Find the right fit Take advantage of strengths and interests (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

# 4 Match strategies with the type of skill deficit
Skill acquisition: does not have the skill Generalization deficit: has the skills but does not perform it across contexts Generalization occurs when a skill targeted in treatment is used or applied outside of controlled teaching conditions, thereby demonstrating learning (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Knowing and doing are two different things
Driving a stick shift car Knowing Doing When a social/behavioral mistake occurs Knowing what should be done Being able to do it Reference: Bellini, 2008 (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Beware of our faulty assumptions! Can’t vs. Won’t
When a person has a social difficulty don’t assume it is lack of motivation or refusal It is often a skill acquisition deficit OR A problem with generalization OR Confounding factors in the environment that prevent the person from using a skill they have at that time (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Skill mismatch? We can set people up for failure when we put them in situations where they need to perform a skill they have not acquired A meltdown or shutdown is often the result Be aware when the demands of a situation are beyond the skill set of the person Fill the gap between the demands and the skill set while the person is still learning (anticipate, prepare, scaffold) (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Learn from difficulties & problem situations
Interpret a problem moment as a sign Use the example to personalize explicit instruction using a proven method! “2/3 rule” regarding demands… (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Other factors that affect social performance/generalization
Motivation Sensory Sensitivities Anxiety Attention and Impulsivity Memory Self-efficacy (view of their own ability) Movement Differences (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Social “Movement Difficulties” Donnellan & Leary, 1995
Starting Stopping Switching/Shifting Combining (give and say) (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

# 5 PLAN for Generalization…
to equip students with the social and communication skills needed for life success (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Generalization Using a skill or behavior learned in one environment and/or with one person in other environments and with other persons Doing what you have been taught and applying what you have learned in new and different situations (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Why is Generalization A core problem in autism?
The child or adult “misses the big picture” They don’t pick up on the cues to make the connection: I need to use that skill here and now The situations where the skill should be used seem too different from the learning situation STIMULUS → RESPONSE (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Plan generalization into social skills intervention
Once a skill is consistent in one context continue working on it! Change the context bit by bit so that the person practices with different “stimulus” The place The people The prompts The words The materials (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

A last consideration #6 Social Assimilation vs. Social Accommodation
(C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Assimilation Emphasizes changing the behavior of the child or adolescent with ASD Facilitates skill development and allows the child to be more successful in social interactions Enhances skill acquisition Also known as “Direct treatment” (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Accommodation Modify the physical or social environment to promote positive social interactions For example: training peer mentors, conducting autism awareness training Emphasizes changing the environment Enhances social performance Also known as “Indirect treatment” (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Social Accommodation vs. Social Assimilation
Important to consider prior to selecting intervention strategies Usually the key is to address both Teach skills and modify the environment Balance based on the child’s or adolescent’s developmental skills (what is appropriate for him and his areas of strength and challenge) (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

What Does Research Tell Us About Social Skills Intervention?
DATA Social skills goals ASD (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Bonus Handout: Become a Discerning Consumer of Research Lisa Iland, M
Bonus Handout: Become a Discerning Consumer of Research Lisa Iland, M.S. Can you believe everything you read? (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Looking at the research Reichow & Volkmar (2010) A best evidence synthesis
Social Skills Interventions for Individuals with Autism: Evaluation for Evidence-Based Practices within a Best Evidence Synthesis Framework Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 2010, Volume 40, pp (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

66 studies: Criteria for inclusion
Majority of participants have ASD Intervention is designed to remediate 1 or more social skills At least one social outcome is evaluated Valid research study design Published Acceptable or strong methodological rigor (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Organize 66 studies by age, some overlap
Preschool, less than age 5 = 35 studies, 186 participants School aged, usually age 6 to 12; this review ages 4 to 17 28 studies, 291 participants Adolescent and Adult, at least age 13 = 3 studies, 36 participants (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

8 categories of interventions
ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) Naturalistic interventions Parent training Peer training Visual (cues, scripts, social stories), Video modeling Social skills group lessons Specific skills General competence Other (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

R & V Recommendations “Can’t say one is superior over others,” but
ABA, including to augment other interventions: “There is much support for the use of interventions based on ABA, and the use of these techniques should continue to be used in practice.” Naturalistic: There is much evidence supporting the recommendation of naturalistic techniques for young children with autism, the evidence for older individuals is insufficient to make recommendations (only 3 studies total) (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

R & V Recommendations Parent training: Evidence permits the recommendation of parent training as an effective method for young children… but the scarcity of research for older participants does not permit the same. Peer Training: “Interventions that train peers to deliver treatment has much support and should be considered a recommended practice for all individuals with autism.” (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

R & V Recommendations Social Skills Groups: Confirm tentative support of social skills groups. The effects of social skills groups in isolation remain widely unknown and warrant future study. Visual: “Overall, the studies using visual supports had positive findings, suggesting they can be an effective method for enhancing social understanding and structuring social interactions or communication for pre-school age children with autism…more research on the use of visual techniques for older individuals with autism is needed.” (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

R & V Recommendations Video modeling: “Video modeling appears to typically be an effective intervention for teaching social skills to individuals with autism …much remains to be learned about the boundaries of the intervention’s effectiveness …video modeling by itself might not be a powerful enough intervention to elicit the desired changes in behavior.” (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Results could be more expansive if…
If an exhaustive study was done (vs. review) If studies were more similar in design so they could be compared more easily If they did not leave out some good studies due to a quality criterion being missed If participants were better described If sample sizes were not so small (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Remember Generalization?
Generalization occurs when a skill targeted in treatment is used or applied outside of controlled teaching conditions, thereby demonstrating learning. Doing what you have been taught and applying what you have learned in new and different situations (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Generalization Gradient
L. Iland (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Generalization Outcomes
Further analysis of the school-age studies with generalization as the measure of success! Which studies focused on promoting generalization of social skills to environments with dynamic and novel social demands? (14) Which intervention methods resulted in generalization with variables quite different from the teaching setting? (4) (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

4 Noteworthy Studies: Resulted in significant generalization, quite different from the teaching setting Owens et al., 2008 Scattone, 2008 Morrison et al., 2001 Thiemann & Goldstein, 2001 (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Owens et al., 2008 LEGO therapy and the social use of language programme: An evaluation of two social skills interventions for children with high functioning autism and Asperger syndrome. Owens, G., Granader, Y., Humphrey, A., & Baron-Cohen, S. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 1944–1957.

A randomized, controlled study
Social Skills Group (Play-based) 21 children with ASD age 6-11 were randomly assigned to either LEGO® Therapy, or Social Use of Language Programme (SULP) groups. Treatment was 1hr/week, for 18 weeks. Advantage: Therapy was inherently rewarding; no external rewards needed.

Children mastered all 3 roles.
Owens et. al.,LEGO® therapy program Social Skills Group (Play-based, naturalistic) Targeted skills: collaboration skill along, joint attention, verbal and nonverbal communication. Teams of 3 students with ASD were supported to build LEGO models in defined roles: engineer, supplier, and builder. Children mastered all 3 roles.

Freestyle Once proficient, they were allowed to engage in “Freestyle” LEGO, build and design their own LEGO models. The supervising adult confirmed the existence of any problem and guided the students to a solution.

Outcomes & Generalization
On school playground LEGO® group participants had a longer duration of social engagement with peers. VABS measure showed significant decrease in maladaptive behaviors, (i.e. avoiding eye contact, not showing imitative play, and using toys inappropriately)

Try this at home (or school!) Creationary from LEGO® Games
Roll the LEGO® Dice to select one of four exciting building categories: vehicles, buildings, nature or things. Show off your building skills, while the others guess what you are creating. An interactive game for 3 – 8 players, mins.

Scattone, 2008 Enhancing the Conversation Skills of a Boy with Asperger's Disorder through Social Stories and Video Modeling. Journal: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38: Based on the results for a single 9 year old boy 24 sessions over a period of 15 weeks

Social Stories with Video Modeling
Three Social Stories were created to improve eye contact, smiling, and initiations. The three stories were put together in a booklet format. Then, the booklet material was video-recorded using two mature individuals who modeled the specific skills cited above and an adult who told the stories.

Social Stories with Video Modeling
The student watched each video in the clinic environment and responded to prepared Story Questions. Once every evening he watched the video at home, overseen by an adult. Twice a week the intervention was monitored using 5-min social interaction sessions” which were videotaped. Prior to gathering the final “intervention data”, the student watched the video again in the clinic environment and responded to the questions.

Outcomes Matthew's ability to engage in conversations and eye contact improved, including in other school settings. Matthew had difficulties mastering the smiling skill and was inconsistent during therapy. He did not make noticeable progress on initiation skills

Morrison et al., 2001 Peer Training
Peer Mediation and Monitoring Strategies to Improve Initiations and Social Skills for Students with Autism Morrison, L., Kamps, D., Garcia, J., & Parker, D. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions 3(4),

Intervention Four groups, each with one child with ASD age 10-13, and three typical peers. Students played games in a therapy room. Teachers primed nondisabled peers, who modeled, prompted, and reinforced social interactions, responses, and use of social skills during play. Target Social Skills: requesting, commenting, and sharing Peers were taught to monitor and count the target peer’s use of the 3 skills.

Timeline Sessions were conducted once per day, three times a week, for minutes each. The treatment intervention ended for each child w ASD when a noticeable increase in skill was observed and maintained for at least three sessions

Data collection Data was collected from both live and videotaped sessions while the students played a game. Behaviors were measured from randomly chosen five minute samples of behavior from an observation period of minutes during play time each session.

Outcomes All four ASD children’s social skills increased during intervention conditions. The percentage of time the children w ASD were engaged in social interaction with their peers increased from baseline to intervention. The four children w ASD demonstrated a decrease in inappropriate behavior during intervention.

Generalization Outcomes
Generalization: in naturalistic settings (i.e., recess, lunch) Generalization settings were significantly different compared to treatment settings (i.e. conference rooms, classrooms, open areas between classrooms). For some children specific social skills may not transfer to settings that are not familiar.

Thiemann & Goldstein, 2001 Effects of Peer Training and Written Text Cueing on Social Communication of School-Age Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder Kathy S. Thiemann & Howard Goldstein Journal: Journal of Speech, Language, And Hearing Research

Thiemann & Goldstein, 2001 5 boys with PDD ages 6 to 9
10 peers without disabilities ages 7 to 9 years old. Each triad (child with autism and two peers without disabilities) met 3-4 times per week Control group was the 5 students with PDD and comparison group was the 10 students without disabilities.

Thiemann & Goldstein, 2001 Targeted skills: look, wait, and listen, answer talking, keep talking, say something nice and keep talking. Peer training included discussion of four steps per skill, generating examples of skills in topic bubbles beside cartoons of children talking, adult-student and student-student role play, adult feedback, and review of behavioral steps.

Intervention 10 minutes of baseline social activities
25 minutes for written text treatment (instruction using written text cues) 10 minutes of engagement in a social activity 5 minutes of adult feedback.

Outcomes & Generalization
Four out of the five children improved their number of initiations. The generalization was measured by how many times the students initiated on their own before and after intervention.

A Closer Look at an Evidence-Based Intervention: Peer Training

Interaction is a two-way street The role of Others: Peer Training
Develop & implement peer intervention strategies Key to positive, socially valid peer interactions Reduce negative interactions (and the emotional effects of them). (C) 2011 E & L ILAND 97

Peer-Mediated Instruction Intervention (PMII)
PMII: Methods to structure and formalize social skill development AND play opportunities with peers Fits well with anti-bullying education Excellent FREE how-to online course with video demonstration at

PMII Children and youth with ASD are taught to respond to and interact with typically developing peers. Typically developing peers are taught to interact with children with ASD. Activities are implemented across the age range in a variety of contexts to support generalization and social validity. (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Social Thinking + Reinforcing positive behaviors = PMII
Typically developing peers almost always are taught to implement procedures such as initiating interactions and organizing play. Typical peers learn to provide prompts and reinforcement to students with ASD during peer-mediated activities. Advantages: More naturalistic, less teacher/adult involvement (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Who can do it? PMII can be used by a variety of professionals including teachers, special educators, therapists, and classroom assistants in different educational and community-based environments. (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Who can benefit? PMII is useful for children and youth with ASD across the spectrum, including those With limited communication skills, Who rarely initiate or respond to social interactions with peers, and Who do not appear to be benefiting from group instruction. (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Three types of PMII Peer Initiation Training Peer Buddy Approaches
Social Networking

#1 Peer initiation training
Peers are taught persistent social initiations, and to respond to the child with ASD. Mutual skills include: Orientation Parallel/proximity play Common focus (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Common focus Engaging in activities directly involving one or more peers including informal turn-taking, active sharing of materials, giving and requesting items to and from someone else, asking someone to play (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

No matter the age… Go from Solitary to Social!
Focus on KEY SKILLS to increase social responding, initiations, and engagement Especially good for young, low verbal individuals Wonderful, specific how-to info in the module (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

2. Peer buddy approaches Social skills training groups that involve
children with ASD & peers (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Peer Buddy Approaches Talk to your buddy. Peers are taught to
talk to their buddy about what they are playing with, play pretend games, and talk to each other while engaging in pretend play activities. (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Stay & Play Stay with your buddy. Peers learn to stay with their buddy in the same area, playing and taking turns. However, they do not need to continually play with the same toys. Play with your buddy. Peers stay in the same area with their buddy and play with the same materials by joining in their buddy's activity, offering toys, and asking their buddy if he/she would like to play.

3. Social networking any age, including middle & high school Especially important for the marginalized! Decrease the widening social gap between students with ASD and peers; Support the potential development of relationships with peers Focus on specific target skills such as responding to peers, maintaining conversations and interactions, and initiating interactions with peers; (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

From the Yes I Can Program Facilitator Training Abery, 2005
#3 Social Networking: Provide a Network of Support Support Functions of Social Networks Social-Emotional Companionship Instrumental Informational From the Yes I Can Program Facilitator Training Abery, 2005 (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Focus on shared interests, accepting differences
Dispel the notion that “He’s weird” or “I have nothing in common with her.” Equality & mutual benefit (contribution) Refer to Thiemann & Goldstein, PMII module for how-to’s (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Peer networks Start with one to two peers in peer social network activities for a minimum of three to four months to promote acquisition of skills. After this time, include additional peers to promote generalization of skills (and a wider network). Be selective Get permission Use cues across people and environments (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

OPTIONS for PMII Class-wide Small group Dedicated CLASS for credit
Service Learning Social CLUB Lunch & Recess Part of anti-bullying campaigns (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Yes I Can Program for Social Inclusion
Peer mentors: Social validity Social and Communication Skills Shared interests Self-advocacy and self-awareness Leadership and advocacy (less than $75)

Peers, Friendship and Inclusion
Peer Play and the Autism Spectrum by Pamela Wolfberg Friend2Friend Model “Fostering Peer Play and Friendships: Creating a Culture of Inclusion” by Pamela Wolfberg, Heather McCracken and Tara Tuchel in Learners on the Autism Spectrum: Preparing High Quality Educators Eds. Buron & Wolfberg

Changing the School Culture
Don’t Laugh at Me from Operation Respect (FREE) Purpose: “To assure each child and youth a respectful, safe and compassionate climate of learning where their academic, social and emotional development can take place free of bullying, ridicule and violence.” Log on to and click on the educator tab to get free downloadable curriculum and videos K-5 and 6 thru 8, or order the hard copies by mail.

Bonus Material Check out these options and ideas
Some are commercial programs with research backing (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Resources Hanen method from Canada Floortime- Dr. Stanley Greenspan
Pivotal Response Training- Drs. Lynn y Robert Koegel, University of Santa Barbara California RDI- Relationship Development Intervention Dr. Steve Gutstein Integrated Playgroups- Dr. Pamela Wolfberg

Flexible Social Thinking
Superflex... A Superhero Social Thinking Curriculum by Stephanie Madrigal, Michelle Garcia Winner & Kelly Knopp A flexible-thinking superhero helps children learn to solve social problems Includes his enemies that get in the way of flexible thinking, like Rock Head and DoF- Destroyer of Fun (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Superflex, continued Creates a vocabulary for thinking and talking about problems and obstacles to flexible problem solving Lessons include matching reactions and emotions to the situation, sportsmanship, personal space, impulse control… (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Mind-Reading Computer Programs
Mind Reading: An Interactive Guide to Emotions (Baron-Cohen, 2004) Emotions library: Video clips of actors displaying emotions Learning center: Pictorial and video examples of emotions, lessons and quizzes Games zone: Five emotions-related games, including one with Daniel Radcliff (Harry Potter) S. Bellini ©2008 AAPC (C) 2011 E & L ILAND 124

Mind Reading Worksheets
Resource: Teaching Children with Autism How to Mind-Read (Howlin, Baron-Cohen, & Hadwin, 1998) Provide practice inferring emotions and interests and taking others’ perspectives Can expressively or receptively identify these S. Bellini ©2008 AAPC (C) 2011 E & L ILAND 125

Social Stories™ Gray, 2000 A brief story that presents social concepts and rules Research to support its effectiveness with children with ASD: two studiesMay be used to teach a number of social and behavioral concepts (C) 2011 E & L ILAND 126

Reference Bellini 2008 AAPC
Social Stories™ Gray, 2000 Research to support its effectiveness with children with ASD: two studies A brief story that presents social concepts and rules May be used to teach a number of social and behavioral concepts Reference Bellini 2008 AAPC (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Reference: Bellini 2008 AAPC
Gray’s Guidelines (1995, 2000) The story should be written in response to the child’s personal need. The story should be something the child wants to read on her own (depending on ability level). The story should be commensurate with the child’s ability and comprehension level. Reference: Bellini 2008 AAPC (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Reference: Bellini2008 AAPC
Gray’s Guidelines (1995, 2000) The story should use less directive terms such as “can” or “could,” instead of “will” or “must.” An important aspect for children and adolescents who tend to be oppositional or defiant Reference: Bellini2008 AAPC (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Reference: Bellini 2008 AAPC
Social Stories™ May be used with pictures May be placed on a computer Builds from strength in visual learning and interest in computers May be used in combination with other strategies such as relaxation techniques and role-playing Reference: Bellini 2008 AAPC (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

Sample social story Sometimes I talk to the other children in my class. The other children don't like when I stand very close to them. When I stand too closely, it makes my friends feel crowded. If I stand too close, other children sometimes get mad at me. I can back up and stand three feet away from my friends when we talk. It makes my friends happy when I stand three feet away when we talk. From

Skills to teach Using Social Stories (Bellini, 2008)
Reading nonverbal cues Taking another person’s perspective Inferring the interests of others Initiating interactions Reciprocal interactions Making eye contact Social rules and concepts

http://www.storymovies.com/ Video version of social stories
Make your own “story movies” Also available from other providers as smart phone apps (C) 2011 E & L ILAND

On my bookshelf Asperger’s and Girls
Tony Attwood, Temple Grandin, Lisa Iland Navigating the Social World Jeanette McAfee Peer Play and the Autism Spectrum Pamela Wolfberg

On my bookshelf Relationship Developmental Intervention for Children, Adolescents and Adults\ Steven E Gutstein & Rachel K. Sheely Thinking About YOU Thinking About ME Michelle Garcia Winner Taking Care of Myself Mary Wrobel

My University Course Uses…
Building Social Relationships: A Systematic Approach to Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Social Difficulties By Scott Bellini, Ph. D. Autism Asperger Publishing Co., 2008

26893 Bouquet Canyon Road Suite C-333
To contact Emily Emily D. Iland, M. A. 26893 Bouquet Canyon Road Suite C-333 Saugus CA 91350 telephone FAX Web:

To contact Lisa www.lisailand.com Lisa Iland, M. S.
Telephone FAX On the internet:

Social Skills Intervention: Guidelines, Evidence & Options

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