Social and Communication Interventions

April 10, 2013

Rules

• Respect the speaker (limit sidebar conversations)

• Participate• What is said here, stays here• What is learned here, leaves here

The chime will be our attention signal.

Learning Goal

Teachers will understand how identifying a child’s strengths and needs in social and

communication skills will help them target goals for intervention and select appropriate

activities to build those skills.

Scale4 I know how to use the assessment to pinpoint specific

social and communication goals AND how to use it to identify activities that build the skills the children are lacking.

3 I know how to use the assessment to pinpoint specific social and communication goals.

2 I have heard of the assessment but do not know how to use it to pinpoint specific social and communication goals.

1 I have never heard of the Assessment of Social and Communication Skills for Children with Autism.

Chapter 1 Discusses developmental characteristics of Autism including the typical profile of a child with ASD and what sets it apart from other disabilities.•Cognitive Traits p. 3 •Core Skills -nonverbal interaction and imitation skills p. 7 •Social Play p.11 •Rituals (stereotypic behaviors) p. 19

Chapter 2 Presents the “child’s perspective”- to understand ASD, you first have to understand how children with ASD think and learn. Illustrates some learning, social and communication experiences of children with Autism.•Selective attending•Learning Styles •Echolalia p. 33•Driven to sameness p.35

Chapter 3Presents the actual tool developed by the author to assess social and communication skills. •Common Assessments starts p. 40•Typical Developmental Milestones p. 43-44 •Communication Temptations p.49•Actual assessment instrument p. 53•Glossary of terms p. 71

Chapter 4Designing appropriate interventions using what you know about how children with ASD learn best AND using what you learned about your child after completing the assessment.•DO WATCH LISTEN SAY model p. 83•Play starts p. 86•Selecting Means of Communication p. 99•Good explanation of Ritualistic Behavior p.107•Sample goals and behavioral objectives p. 109

DO WATCH LISTEN SAY-TYPICAL

DO WATCH LISTEN SAY-ASD

Chapter 5 Discusses and concludes that a flexible, combined intervention approach is best (behavioral and developmental). Presents “social bridges” that must be addressed in designing an intervention. •Organizational Supports starts p. 123•Social Supports starts p. 140•Visually Cued Instruction starts p.153•Augmentative and Alternative Communication starts p. 162•Examples of Graphic Displays p.181

• Help child attend to communicative interactions

• Clarifies meaning of spoken language• Expands the range of communicative

functions• Provides a retrieval cue about what to say• Decreases reliance on verbal prompts• Increases spontaneity

NOT just

for

nonverbal

children!

NOT just

for

nonverbal

children!

Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Chapter 6, 7, 8Chapter 6: CORE SKILLS•Non-verbal Social Interaction, Imitation, OrganizationChapter 7: SOCIAL SKILLS CURRICULUM•Play skills, Group Skills, Social Skills•Play Interest Survey p. 297•Social Play Task Analysis p. 301Chapter 8: COMMUNICATION SKILLS CURRICULUM

•Basic Communicative Functions, Socioemotional Skills, Basic Conversation skills

Do Watch Listen Say and BCCT

Assessment and BCCT• Both refer to scaffolding– Discusses how repetitive acts can be scaffolded

into elaborate play routines

• Closed-ended play = Structured play

• Open-ended play = Fluid/Messy Play

PlayPlay is the fabric of childhood. It is a learning process, a social process, and an emotional process.

(Piaget, 1962; Vygotsky, 1964)

Assessment of Social and Communication Skills for Children with Autism

Purpose• Develop a detailed profile of a child’s specific

social and communicative behavior• Determine how a child functions in his natural

environment• Organize goals and objectives• Monitor a child’s progress