Social Engagement & the Steps to Being Social E-Book

Kathleen Taylor

• Herausgeber: Future Horizons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 142

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Social Engagement & the Steps to Being Social is a unique, visual and easy to use model that was developed to guide assessment and intervention across severity levels and age groups for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This user friendly book defines social engagement in observable language and breaks down social skills into a series of clearly defined steps. Each step is further broken down into pivotal skills that can be taught directly, and matched with evidence based practices to support teaching and learning. Case studies help illuminate concepts discussed at each step and sample activities are provided to support immediate real-world application. Readers will have access to a practical model that supports the teaching of social skills, including:



• A structured framework for social development that shows how one skill builds on another

• Sub-skills to provide specific direction for skills to teach

• An assessment to determine where treatment should begin and for monitoring progress

• Links to specific evidence based practices connected to the skill sets of the model

• A Social Plan that can be used as a tool for bridging assessment to specific treatment goals

• Case studies of individuals of varying ages and abilities

• Sample activities for promoting social development



Co-authors Kathleen “Mo” Taylor and Marci Laurel have been working and teaching together for the past 25 years. Together they have developed this model based on their work with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families who have guided the process every step of the way. Mo and Marci have had the opportunity to present Social Engagement & the Steps to Being Social in New Mexico, nationally and internationally and have been excited and humbled by the many family members and professionals who have found the work of use in home, school, university and clinical settings.

Leseprobe

SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT & THE STEPS TO BEING SOCIAL:

A Practical Guide for Teaching Social Skills to Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

All marketing and publishing rights guaranteed to and reserved by:

721 W. Abram Street

Arlington, TX 76013

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E-mail: [email protected]

www.fhautism.com

© 2016 Kathleen Taylor, OTR/L & Marci Laurel, MA, CCC-SLP

Cover & interior design by John Yacio III

All rights reserved.

Printed in USA.

No part of this product may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of Future Horizons, Inc., except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews or unless noted within the book.

To acquire pages available for copying, access http:/fhautism.com/socialengagement.html.

eISBN: 9781941765418

Foreword

Social skills are essential to life success. In school, good social skills boost academic performance; increase students’ interest in learning; improves learner behavior; prevents and reduces bullying; and improves school climate (cf. Civic Enterprises et al, nd). At work, social skills are essential to employment success with recent trends revealing that requirements for social competence in the workplace have increased dramatically. Moreover, employment and wage growth is strongest in jobs that require high levels of both cognitive and social skills (cf., Deming, 2015).

Despite the recognition that social skills contribute heavily to life success, few curricula have focused on the skills that are foundational for social skills acquisition. Even fewer have addressed the needs of individuals across the spectrum—from a classic presentation to those with average-to-above average intelligence.

This wonderful book fills this void. It begins with instructional strategies for the most basic social skills; self-regulation, shared space with a skilled partner, shared pleasure, and shared focus. It then moves to strategies that address skills that range from proximity to growing connections. The book is (a) solid, (b) evidenced-based, (c) focused on the research in social engagement, (d) practical, and (e) easy to read and implement. Social Engagement & the Steps to Being Social is one of those rare books that can benefit the reader who is new to social skills instruction and the user who is a veteran instructor.

This book should be in every classroom and every job development site. It should be available to parents who foster the social development of their child and it should also be accessible to individuals on the spectrum so that they understand the complexity of engagement and social skills. I cannot recommend this book enough.

When asked to write the foreword for Social Engagement & the Steps to Being Social, I planned to read rapidly through it to gain an impression. However, I found the content so intriguing that I slowed my reading to ensure that I learned the information presented here and even read the book a second time. I know that you will do the same!

—Brenda Smith Myles, Ph.D.The Ziggurat Group

References

Agran, M., Hughes, C., Thoma, C. A., & Scott, L. A. (2014). Employment social skills: What skills are really valued? Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 39(2), 111-120.

Civic Enterprises, Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Bridgeland, J., Bruce, M., & Hariharan, A. (nd). The Missing Piece: A National Teacher Survey on How Social and Emotional Learning Can Empower Children and Transform Schools. A Report for CASEL. Washington, DC; Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning.

Deming, D. J. (2015). The growing importance of social skills in the labor market (No. w21473). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Introduction

We began working together in 1987, providing occupational and speech-language therapy co-treatments for children who had sensory processing and communication struggles, including those with autism. As young therapists, we worked very hard to address the needs of the many amazing children we worked with and learned from week to week. Over time, however, we understood that there was something we had not studied in school or even thought much about that was an important link to success for so many. We realized that we needed to learn how to teach children not only motor and communication skills, but also how to use those skills in relationships with other people.

Over the past 25 years, we have been on a journey to discover, describe, and teach “social skills.” The model presented in this book has had many incarnations, from checklists to diagrams; we even conceived it as a picture frame one especially creative year! As we began conceptualizing the steps, we learned that each step should be broken down into still others, allowing for the opportunity to analyze “being social” and support those for whom it does not come naturally. As you will see, the “steps” are more of an escalator, ever moving and influenced by much that happens within the day-to-day interactions of a real person’s life.

Before we begin, we offer a few comments to help navigate the content. First, words associated with the model and used to communicate the specific definitions provided therein are in boldface, italicized, and capitalized. These include FOUNDATION, ENGAGEMENT, READY, LOWER 4, MIDDLE 4, and UPPER 4. The book is divided into four areas representing the skill sets of the model: FOUNDATION, LOWER, MIDDLE, and UPPER 4. Within each area is a description of the skills encompassed there, along with vignettes describing the social world of one individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). At the end of each section, skills are broken down into smaller sub-steps. Evidence-based practices (EBPs) to support the skills in each area are then described, followed by a case study. After FOUNDATION, you will find a description of general strategies that support ENGAGEMENT. At the end of LOWER, MIDDLE, and UPPER 4, one sample intervention objective and activity to match each step is provided. Note that these are included as a framework for developing activities for intervention and meant to spark your own creativity as you support the development of social skills at each step across people and settings in a variety of ways.

It is our hope that people who have an interest in promoting social skills – family members, teachers, therapists, and the individuals they care about so deeply—will find Social Engagement & the Steps to Being Social to be a meaningful and practical guide. Our goal is to address both a growing understanding of the nature of what it means to be in social relationships with others and how to “step on” to the learning process on any given day and over time. Indeed, as we have learned from many extraordinary teachers, the process can be exhilarating!

Why Are Social Skills So Important?

Have you ever had time with a friend that you have not seen in years and been amazed by the experience of picking up just where you left off? Natural conversation highlights the magic of reciprocal social interaction that is both self-sustaining and mutually satisfying. The ease of these moments can mask the dynamic interplay of the subtle yet complex skills required.

Social skills are the skills we use to communicate our messages, thoughts, and feelings and to interact with each other (http://dictionary.reference.com/). These skills are the context for all learning, a prerequisite for positive adult outcomes and a deeply important part of being a person. Furthermore, impairments in social communication that are part of the diagnostic criteria for ASD include social-emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communication behaviors, and developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Those of us working with individuals with ASD must continue to develop our abilities to assess and teach these critical skills.

How did you learn the complex understanding we define as social skills? When you walk into a restaurant, office cubicle, movie theater, or public restroom, how do you know how close to be to another person, when you should or should not make eye contact, how much you can talk, or what is the appropriate tone of voice or topic of conversation? Indeed, it is a wonder that we ever know how to be! However, we act “intuitively,” based on years of observation and corrective feedback that might have been very direct, especially when we were children, or quite subtle as we note another person’s response to our own behavior. For individuals with ASD, and others who struggle to develop social skills, these skills need to be well assessed and taught directly. Think about something that is hard for you to do, maybe writing or spelling, packing the car, or reading a map. While others may find these tasks natural and proceed without thought, you have to understand your own area of weakness and develop strategies to compensate for a lack of skill. We all have areas in which we need to work harder than other people to succeed at something that is important to us. Remembering this can help us empathize with the incredibly hard work it is for many individuals with ASD to operate in a social world.

For all of us, and especially school-age children, learning happens through social experiences that are defined by unwritten rules and an expectation that certain ways of being together are inherently understood (Endow, 2012; Winner, 2007). For example, even very young students in a classroom are expected to stay together and make transitions as a group. They need to understand that they are “one of many”; that is, when a direction is given to the group they are expected to follow it and, conversely, they cannot interact with the teacher as if there is no one else in the room (Gray, 2000). In addition, key areas of academic development require social understanding. Consider, for example, that the ability to comprehend a story necessitates discernment of character relationships and motivations as well as the ability to infer and predict social behavior. Clearly, social skills, which allow us to share space and experience with other people, are not just for making friends. We need our social skills to function well in everyday life (Winner, 2005).

Social skills are also paramount in considering outcomes for adults with ASD. Difficulties with social communication have been cited as roadblocks for adults with ASD in both higher education and places of employment (Barnhill, 2007; Thierfeld Brown, Wolf, Kind, & Bork, 2012; Tincani & Bondy, 2015; Endow, Mayfield, & Myles, 2012). Clearly, the development of academic skills, while obviously important, does not ensure success for individuals with ASD in post-secondary school settings or in the workplace. Rather, social skills (such as the ability to maintain calm, exchange important pieces of information, understand a common goal, be flexible and collaborative, understand hierarchy, and consistently follow the myriad of social rules that govern behavior) are essential (Myles, 2016). Undoubtedly, any director of human resources, working with people with or without disabilities, would say the same.

Equally important to the development of appropriate school and workplace skills is the ability to develop satisfying personal relationships that enrich each person’s quality of life. In the past, we have sometimes made the mistake of misinterpreting a lack of social skill as a lack of interest when trying to understand the lives of individuals with ASD. What we now understand is that everyone, including those who struggle to learn social skills, desires connection with other people and seeks comfort, safety, and a sense of belonging as part of a social community.

A strong premise for this model is that social skills and related strategies must be taught directly and with deep respect to individuals with ASD. Consequently, the development of these skills will not be supported by simply having the person who is struggling with “being social” spend time with others who have well-developed social skills. The analogy of teaching reading to a person with dyslexia is instructive; one would not seat a struggling reader with a group of strong readers and expect significant or meaningful improvement in the struggling reader’s skills. Rather, assessment must inform instruction, and each pre-requisite skill must be taught in a structured manner before that skill can be integrated for use. The same holds true for teaching social skills to individuals with ASD.

As we plan for direct teaching of these essential skills, we consider who will provide this instruction as a social communication partner. Initially, we learn to be engaged with a skilled partner (SP), often a family member or professional who has high motivation for interaction and proficiency with the skills being learned. We see that as we move up the steps to being social, trained peers (TPs), who are a similar age to the learner and are taught skills to facilitate specific aspects of “being social,” are key. Like the skilled partner, the trained peer is also motivated to be a part of the social interaction and has already mastered the skills he or she is helping to teach. In addition, while trained peers understand their role as teacher, they are also a true participant in age-appropriate activities and need frequent encouragement to understand their role in the success of the learner. Over time, learners increase their competence and confidence to use skills with the people they encounter in their day-to-day lives.

Finally, it is crucial to understand that all communication is social. While children may learn to talk or use alternative forms of communication, these have little value if social skills are not developed to provide opportunities to use communication for meaningful interaction (Frea & Vittimberga, 1999; W.D. Frea, personal communication, December 3, 2015). In fact, in the most recent revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), social and communication impairments were combined into one domain reflecting that social skills are inextricably linked to the development of communication skills (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Schreibman et al., 2015). As you will see in the next chapter, ENGAGEMENT, which we define as that remarkable ability to be self-regulated and share space, focus, and pleasure with another person, is where we begin our journey to “being social.”

What does it mean to be “engaged” with another person? No matter what age or level of social development, certain key components define the moments that we are actively involved in connection with someone else. Consider an infant who uses her limited motor skills to signal that she is ready to begin or end a face-to-face interaction. Or the toddler who throws food off the high chair tray with delight at watching an adult pick it up, only to begin the game again. These are the early moments of ENGAGEMENT that become the foundation of a lifetime of “being social.” Current research is helping us understand that very young children who are later diagnosed with ASD show a marked lack of orientation to the faces of their important people, while at the same time a heightened orientation to objects. This difference creates a change in early relationships as caregivers find a little one who does not respond to them in the ways that they expect; in turn, this often results in fewer opportunities to engage in and practice social interaction (Rogers & Dawson, 2010; Fuhrmeister, Lozott, & Stapel-Wax, 2015; Klin, 2014).