Building Social Relationships

Parents and professionals often ask how to teach social skills and how to design social skills programs for children with ASD. Often they are seeking answers to basic questions such as ¿where do we start¿ and ¿what strategies do we use?¿ This book addresses the need for social programming for children and adolescents with ASD by providing a comprehensive five-step model. The model incorporates the following five steps: assess social functioning, distinguish between skill acquisition and performance deficits, select intervention strategies, implement intervention, and evaluate and monitor progress. This model will also show you how to organize and make sense of the myriad of social skills strategies and resources currently available to parents and professionals ¿ it is not meant to replace other resources or strategies, but synthesize them into one comprehensive program.

Dr. Scott Bellini is the assistant director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism (IRCA) at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community

Introduction	p. 1
What Are Social Interaction Skills?	p. 3
Why Teach Social Interaction Skills?	p. 5
The Need for EFFECTIVE Social Skills Programming	p. 6
Five Basic Tenets of Social Skills Programming	p. 11
Individuals With ASD Want to Establish Meaningful Social Relationships	p. 12
If We Want Children and Adolescents With ASD to Be Successful Socially, We Must Teach Them the Skills to Be Successful	p. 13
Successful Social Behaviors Are Not Always "Appropriate" Social Behaviors	p. 14
Social Success Is Dependent Upon Our Ability to Adapt to Our Environment	p. 14
Social Interaction Skills Are Not the Equivalent of Academic Skills	p. 15
Chapter Summary	p. 16
The Essence of Social Interaction Skills: Three Integrated Components	p. 17
Thinking	p. 19
Knowledge	p. 19
Perspective Taking and Theory of Mind	p. 21
Self-Awareness	p. 23
Feeling	p. 25
Anxiety	p. 26
Doing	p. 28
Chapter Summary	p. 31
Common Social Skill Difficulties Associated With ASD	p. 33
Difficulties With Nonverbal Communication	p. 35
Difficulties With Social Initiation	p. 37
Difficulties With Social Reciprocity and Terminating Interactions	p. 39
Difficulties With Social Cognition	p. 41
Difficulties Associated With Perspective Taking and Self-Awareness	p. 45
Social Anxiety and Avoidance	p. 48
Chapter Summary	p. 50
Five-Step Model for Social Skills Programming	p. 51
Assessing Social Functioning	p. 53
Social Skills Assessment	p. 55
General Interviews of Social Functioning	p. 56
Problem Identification and Analysis Interview	p. 63
Rating Scales	p. 68
Observation	p. 82
Setting Goals and Objectives	p. 88
Distinguishing Between Goals and Objectives	p. 88
Establishing Criteria for Social Objectives	p. 90
Reframing Problems Into Teachable Skills	p. 91
How Many Social Objectives Should Be Selected?	p. 93
Final Thoughts on Educational and Treatment Objectives	p. 96
Chapter Summary	p. 97
Distinguishing Between Skill Acquisition Deficits and Performance Deficits	p. 99
A Bridge to Intervention Strategies	p. 101
Skill Acquisition: From Novice to Mastery	p. 103
Factors Affecting Performance	p. 107
Motivation	p. 108
Sensory Sensitivities	p. 109
Anxiety	p. 110
Attention and Impulsivity	p. 110
Memory	p. 111
Self-Efficacy	p. 112
Movement Differences	p. 114
Distinguishing Between a Skill Acquisition Deficit and a Performance Deficit	p. 115
Performance Across Settings and People	p. 115
Independent Performance	p. 116
Fluency	p. 116
Reinforcement	p. 117
Environmental Modifications	p. 117
Chapter Summary	p. 118
Selecting Intervention Strategies	p. 119
Matching Intervention Strategies With Type of Skill Deficit	p. 120
Social Accommodation vs. Social Assimilation	p. 122
Strategies That Promote Skill Acquisition	p. 125
Thoughts, Feelings, and Interests	p. 126
Use of Pictures and Videos to Read Emotions	p. 128
Thought Bubble Activity	p. 130
If-Then Statements	p. 130
Interest Inventory	p. 131
Mind Reading Worksheets	p. 131
Mind Reading Computer Programs	p. 133
Reciprocal Interaction Activities	p. 134
Conversation Game	p. 135
Newspaper Reporter	p. 136
Improvisational Activities	p. 137
Social Stories	p. 139
Role-Playing/Behavioral Rehearsal	p. 141
Video Modeling and Video Self-Modeling	p. 143
Why Video Modeling and VSM Are Effective for Children With ASD	p. 145
Two Types of VSM	p. 146
Guidelines for Implementing Video Modeling Interventions	p. 147
Sample VSM Applications	p. 151
Social Problem Solving and Social Rules	p. 153
A Step-by-Step Process for Analyzing Social Situations	p. 154
Strategies That Promote Cognitive Flexibility and Consideration of Multiple Viewpoints	p. 157
Teaching Social Rules	p. 160
Coaching	p. 162
Self-Monitoring	p. 163
Self-Monitoring Strategy	p. 164
Relaxation Techniques/Emotional Regulation	p. 169
Tension Release and Breathing	p. 169
Biofeedback	p. 172
Self-Awareness Training	p. 172
Prompting	p. 174
Types of Prompts	p. 175
Guidelines for Using Prompts	p. 176
Interaction/Conversation Planning	p. 178
Conversation Map	p. 179
Chapter Summary	p. 182
Strategies That Enhance Performance	p. 183
Reinforcement/Contingency Strategies	p. 184
Basic Principles of Reinforcement	p. 184
Group Contingency Systems	p. 187
Behavior Contracts	p. 188
Gaming Skills	p. 191
Suggestions for Incorporating Gaming Skills Into a Social Skills Program	p. 192
Environmental Modifications	p. 193
Peer-Mediated Interventions	p. 195
Guidelines for Selecting Peer Mentors for PMI Programs	p. 196
Implementing a PMI Program	p. 197
Increased Social Opportunities/Live Practice	p. 198
Considerations When Selecting Activities	p. 199
Disability Awaeness and Peer Support Strategies	p. 200
Disability Awareness	p. 201
Peer Mentors and Peer Buddies	p. 205
Priming Social Behavior	p. 207
Chapter Summary	p. 210
Implementing Intervention Strategies	p. 211
Planning the Program: Before You Start	p. 212
Selecting the Target Child	p. 212
Determining the Format of the Program	p. 213
Selecting Peer Models	p. 216
Assembling the Team	p. 217
Gathering Materials and Resources	p. 218
Determining Where the Sessions Will Take Place	p. 220
Determining the Schedule	p. 220
Structuring and Implementing the Program	p. 222
Using Play Materials	p. 223
Connecting Treatment Objectives and Targeted Skills	p. 223
Introducing the Skill	p. 224
Teaching the Skill	p. 225
Providing Parent/Teacher Training and Feedback	p. 225
Special Considerations for Conducting Group Training	p. 227
Using Prompts to Facilitate Social Interactions	p. 227
Using Reinforcement	p. 228
Using Play Items and Play Themes	p. 228
Collecting Data	p. 228
Structure of Sessions	p. 229
Facilitating Generalization of Skills	p. 235
Generalization Strategies From a Behavioral Perspective	p. 235
Generalization Strategies From a Cognitive Perspective	p. 236
Chapter Summary	p. 238
Evaluating and Monitoring Progress	p. 239
Observation	p. 242
Types of Recording Systems	p. 242
Interviews	p. 248
Rating Scales	p. 248
Social Validity and Treatment Fidelity	p. 249
Social Validity	p. 250
Treatment Fidelity	p. 251
Chapter Summary	p. 253
Final Words on Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children and Adolescents With ASD	p. 255
References	p. 259
Index	p. 265
Appendix	p. 268
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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