the friendship skills checklist

Teaching Social Skills to
Individuals with Autism
Presenters:
Melissa Hinkle, LCSW
Jennifer Halloran B.S.
IV
Pervasive Developmental
Disorder
• Under the DSM-IV, a person
qualified for an ASD (PDD)
diagnosis by exhibiting at
least six of twelve deficits in:
• Social interaction,
• Communication
• or Repetitive behaviors
vs.
5
Autism Spectrum
Disorder
Under the DSM-5, diagnosis will
require a person to exhibit
• 3 deficits in social
communication (ALL)
• 2 symptoms in the category
of restricted range of
activities/repetitive
behaviors (out of 4)
• #4 New symptom hyperor hypo-reactivity to sensory
input or unusual interests in
sensory aspects of the
environment.
DSM 5 Changes
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Symptoms can currently be present, or
reported in past history.
“ examples are illustrative not
exhaustive ”
(APA, 2013)
Autism Society
• No individual losses their previous
diagnosis of an ASD.
• The DSM-5 text states “ Individuals with a
well-established DSM-IV diagnoses of
autistic disorder, Asperger Disorder, or
pervasive developmental disorder not
otherwise specified should be given the
diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder”.
Myths
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Individuals with ASD:
always have poor eye contact
do not want to be touched
do not want friends
are not capable of learning social skills.
Things to be aware of
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Think about an O.T. Evaluation
Many individuals with ASD, have Sensory Processing Disorders
What you might see:
constantly moving
defiant, angry, unreasonable
rigid, inflexible
“ tired” (overwhelmed)
like to be under a lot of blankets, pillows
turn the lights off,
difficulty in lines
fingers in their ears
specific cup, specific game piece etc…
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Are you providing a sensory soothing environment?
Think Basics: Sleep, Diet, Illnesses
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It is estimated that as many as 1/3 of individuals with autism spectrum
disorder also have epilepsy. ( www.AutismSpeaks.org).
Could be seen as
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OCD
Mood Disorder
Bipolar D/O
ADHD
ODD
Conduct D/O
‘challenging’ behaviors as based in a skill
deficit NOT ‘intentional acting out’
6 Most Common Social Skill
Deficits
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Non Verbal Communication
Social Initiation
Reciprocity and Terminating Interactions
Social Cognition
Behaviors Associated With Perspective
Taking and Self Awareness
• Social Anxiety and Social Withdrawal
• (Scott Belini)
Young Child
• Teach Feelings First
• Sharing
• Taking Turns
• Greetings/Closings
Strategies to use:
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Visuals
Social Narratives
Stories
PRACTICE
Tell them what TO do.
Feelings Identification
HAPPY SAD and MAD
When I feel happy, I smile and laugh. I like to be happy. I am happy when I get hugs, play with my friends and eat my favorite food.
When I feel sad I frown and cry. I do not like to be sad. I am sad when I lose a toy, or miss a friend.
When I feel Mad I make a mad face and squish my nose. Being mad is no fun. I get mad when Mom or Dad say no.
SHARING IS GIVING
I like to share toys.
When I share a toy I give it to a friend to
play with for a little time.
If I do not share, other children will not want to
play with me, and I will be sad.
SHARING IS GIVING
Sharing with other children is
FUN
Elementary Aged
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Conversation skills- finish the circle
Empathy-charades
Compromising- Scale
Patience- self talk
Personal Space hula hoop, arms length
Sportsmanship check your breath, check your heart
Self Regulation Big Woops Little Oops, fidgets
Social Narratives, modeling, role playing, anger
management skills, relaxation training, point it out when
you see it.
Benton et al.
Tools for Handling Emotions
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Guided meditation You tube videos
“Walking down the stairs” to…favorite place
Exercise
Push Pull Dangle
Isometrics
Silent Scream
Dry Spaghetti Wet Spaghetti
Square Breathing, Cathy Moonshine, PhD
“Oxygen”, ”Walkie Talkie”, “Antenna”, “Rubber
Band” ?
A 5 is
too Loud!
5 point Scale
Middle School Aged
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Hidden Rules of Friendship
– Defining what is a friend
– Cheat sheet
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Conversation Skills
– Initiating, responding, endings
- Conversations are getting longer and more detailed
− Modeling
– Practice
– “Antenna”
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Flexibility of Thought
– “Rubber band”
– Straight lined Vs. Curved line thinking
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Perspective Taking
– Super flex
– Social Behavior Mapping
Benton et al.
Superflex
• Superflex-Our Hero!! Flexible, tries to
figure out people’s wants and needs to
keep people calm.
• Great problem solver!
(Madrigal & Winner, 2008)
Rock Brain
•He gets the person to do only what
he wants to do and will not
negotiate with other
people. He will try the
same solution over and
over again even if it is not
working. He is very rule
bound and rigid.
(Madrigal & Winner, 2008)
Brain Eater
Brain Eater-He makes it hard for the
person to focus on what he is doing
or focus on others during interactions
(roll his brain away). The person
might get easily distracted with his
own thoughts or things around him.
(Madrigal & Winner, 2008)
Space Invader
Space Invader-This character makes the person’s body move into
other people’s space when others are not expecting it or do not
want this. He does not realize how uncomfortable this makes
others feel.
(Madrigal & Winner, 2008)
Glass Man
Let’s a person be flexible to some extent, but then
all of a sudden he just breaks. He doesn’t melt
down slowly; he quickly starts getting very upset over
“tiny” problems. Glass man usually thinks things are
not “fair”.
(Madrigal & Winner, 2008)
One-Sided Sid
This character get the person to talk about his own
set of topics or his own plan. Even when someone
else brings up their interests, he just talks about his
own interests. He may interrupt to talk about what
is on his mind, not seeing that someone may have
another plan.
(Madrigal & Winner, 2008)
Energy Hare-y
This character gives the person so much energy
so that he is constantly fidgeting or moving around,
and he doesn’t think about what the people around him
need, or how others are feeling around him.
(Madrigal & Winner, 2008)
Worry Wall
He makes the person worry or feel nervous
so much about the people around him or the
social situations that he or she “hits a wall” and stops
being able to talk at all to the people nearby.
(Madrigal & Winner, 2008)
Social Thinking Teaching Strategies: Expected vs.
Unexpected Behaviors
Expected Behaviors
Unexpected behaviors
(Leads to good thoughts by others)
(Leads to uncomfortable or negative
thoughts in others)
Initiating greetings to friends
Ignoring friends
Facing the group/sitting up
Head on desk
Asking follow up questions
during conversation
Asking no questions during
conversation
Compromising
Inflexibility
High School and Beyond
• Dating and sex
• Movement away from teaching specific
rules and towards thinking about each and
every social situation as being unique.
• Figuring out the “hidden rules” in each
environment.
Michelle Garcia Winner’s
Social Thinking
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A school of thought initially developed in the 1990s by speech –language
pathologist, Michelle Garcia Winner http://www.socialthinking.com/
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“The idea that using discrete social skills is not based on memorizing specific
social rules (as often taught in most social skills groups), but instead are based
on a social decision-making tree of thought that involves dynamic processing”.
- Michelle Garcia Winner
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Involves the ability to identify and think about private events in others (their
beliefs, intentions, expectations, etc) and understand that we can influence their
thoughts about us by changing or maintaining our own behavior.
Examples:
•Look happy versus serious
•Standing casually versus formally
•Speaking informally versus speaking politely
Social Thinking Involves
Involves :
A.
B.
Awareness of environmental cues/others’ behavior
Perspective Taking
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C.
D.
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Overall understanding that others’ perspectives can be
different from our own (TOM)
Ability perceive others’ likes, dislikes, beliefs,
expectations, etc
Ability to interpret body language
Ability to interpret inferential language
Awareness of our own behavior
Predicting others’ thoughts about our own behavior (what impression is
our behavior giving?)
Figuring out how to adjust our behavior to change others’ thoughts
Social Thinking TEACHING
STRATEGIES
• Incidental teaching (in the moment problem
solving & support to and think about others’
thoughts)
• Role Playing and Pre-teaching
• Video Self Modeling and Evaluation
• Charting Goals
• Coaching in naturally occurring social
situations
SOCIAL THINKING
CURRICULA
Bibliography
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http://www.autism-society.org/
www.5pointscale.com
www.autismspeaks.com
Bellini, S. (2006), Building social relationships, Shawnee Mission,
KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Co.
Boardmaker© from Mayer-Johnson Company
www.handsinautism.org
www.autismteachingstrategies.com
Ryuu – The Game®: Social Skills Activities for Children with Autism
and Asperger Syndrome
Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel-5, (APA, 2013)
Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel-IV (APA, 2000)
Destination Friendship, Benton, Hollis, Mahler, Womer, 2012
Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Volume 1 - The Clinician's Guidebook
1st (first) Edition by Cathy Moonshine Ph.D. Premier Publishing &
Media, 2008
Madrigal, S., Winner, M.G. (2008) Superflex…A superhero social thinking curriculum, San Jose,
CA: Think Social Publishing Co.
Bibliography
• Madrigal, S., Winner, M.G. (2008) Superflex…A superhero soci
thinking curriculum, San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing Co.