Regional Autism Advisory Council of

Southwest Ohio (RAAC-SWO)

RAAC Training Committee 2011

The Basics of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Training Series

Training Series ModulesModule One: Autism Defined, Autism

Prevalence and Primary Characteristics

Module Two: Physical Characteristics of Autism

Module Three: Cognition and Learning in Autism

Module Four: Getting the Student Ready to Learn

Module Five: Structuring the Classroom Environment

Module Six: Using Reinforcement in the Classroom

Training Series Modules

Module Seven: Autism and Sensory Differences

Module Eight: Sensory in the Classroom

Module Nine: Communication and Autism

Module Ten: Communication in the Classroom

Module Eleven: Behavior Challenges and Autism

Module Twelve: Understanding Behavior in Students with Autism

Training Series ModulesModule Thirteen: Social Skills in the

School Environment

Module Fourteen: Functional Behavior Assessment

Module Fifteen: Working Together as a Team

Module Sixteen: Autism and Leisure Skills to Teach

Module Seventeen: Special Issues of Adolescence

Module Eighteen: Safety and Autism

Module Nineteen: Special Issues: High School, Transition, and Job Readiness

Training Series ModulesModule Twenty: Asperger Syndrome: Managing

and Organizing the Environment

Module Twenty-One: Asperger Syndrome: Addressing Social Skills

Social SkillsTypical students learn social skills through natural

development and observation of their peers.

Students with Autism, however, must be taught social skills for every environment they will be participating in.

We can not assume that students with Autism know what the social “rules” are in an environment. For example, students with Autism have to be taught that when walking up and down the steps at school, stay on the right side and try not to crowd the person in front of you.

Social Skills

For students with Autism that are considered “lower functioning” social skills instruction can include teaching : 1. taking turns during a game, 2. waiting their turn, and 3. standing in line.

For students with Autism that are considered “higher functioning” social skills instruction can include teaching: 1. bathroom rules, 2. rules in the hallway and lockers, 3. rules in the lunchroom, 4. conversational rules, and 5. recess rules.

Big Idea

When a student with Autism is demonstrating inappropriate social

behavior (i.e. yelling out in class), one must not assume that they are doing it “on purpose”. We should assume that the

student with Autism does not know that the social rule for talking in class is to raise

your hand quietly and wait for the teacher to call on you.

StrategiesStrategies for teaching social skills to students with autism

include:

1. Social Scripts

2. Social Stories

3. Video Modeling

4. Power Cards

These strategies should be utilized on a daily basis prior to the student entering into the social situation the strategy is targeting. For example if the social skill being targeted is teaching a student how to walk in the hallway, and the team is utilizing a social script to do this, the social script should be read every time before the student goes out into the hallway.

Social Scripts Provide support and

instruction by describing social cues and appropriate responses to social behavior and teaching new skills.

These are written by an educator.

Social Scripts match the reading level of the student that will be utilizing it.

Social scripts often contain pictures and/or photographs.

Example of Social Story

Example of Social Story

Video ModelingStudents learn how to do something by

observing a video of others doing the desired task, activity, or behavior.

Video modeling is proactive. The student watches the video before the specific activity, task, or behavior occurs.

Video modeling can be used to teach a student expected behaviors in various situations.

Power CardThe Power Card is a visual aid that uses the student’s

interest to help him/her understand social situations, routines, and expected behaviors.

The Power Card is the size of a business card or trading card, contains a picture of the special interest and a summary of the behavior the student should exhibit in a specific situation or how to handle a stressful situation.

The Power Card Strategy consists of a script and a Power Card.

The Power Card should be portable, used across multiple environments, and portable.

Example of Power CardScenario:

Ben is a 9 year old boy. His special interest is the Cincinnati Bengals. If Ben does not understand what he is expected to do, he becomes frustrated, quickly pacing around the room, becoming verbally aggressive and refusing to listen to what people are trying to explain.

Using a hero based on his interest (Carson Palmer, the Bengal’s quarterback), Ben’s Power Card gives him 4 options or appropriate choices to help him calm down.

Power CardExample

Carson Palmer wants you to remember to choose one of

the following to help you calm down.

1. Take 5 deep breaths

2. Close your eyes and count to 20

3. Listen to your favorite CD with headphones on.

4. Go to quiet place and look at football magazines.

Script: Being a quarter back is fun. It is exciting to play football. Sometimes though, Carson gets frustrated, especially when he does not understand a play or what the coach is saying to him. He used to get upset and yell, but he realized this was not the best way to handle his frustrations.

Instead he has learned several ways to calm down. He wants to share these ideas with you. If you get upset, just try one of the following.

If you are still upset, try a different one.

1. Take 5 deep breaths.

2. Close your eyes and count from 1-20.

3. Listen to your favorite CD with your headphones on.

4. Go to a quiet place and look at football magazines.

Big Idea

Use the student’s special interests as a way of motivating him and teaching him social skills. These skills must be practiced several

times a day, with different people, and in different places when they

are first being learned.