Social Skills with Autism

Play is fun!

I don’t think it’s always the case in my room. Some of my students seem to prfer playing sole. 😋 Social skills of autism is always one of the hot topics in education. Books, videos, curriculum guides… I have studied many resources to create an intervention model and teaching procedure. But it is also hard to find something that fully cover the wide range of the challenges and for everyone. After all, each one of us is unique.

Read Teaching interaction Procedures(TIP) for behavior teaching protocol for social skills. Another thing is to understand the scope and sequence of social play development.

1️⃣ Participants
2:1 or 3:1 is preferred.

2️⃣ Assessment & Set goals
I usually use ABLLS-R, VB-MAPP, or Socially Savvy to assess kids’ social skills. Each tool has pros and cons- Socially Savvy provides a list of activities/interventions based on the skill domains you want to focus on. autism social skills checklist

3️⃣ My toolbox: Toys/games/activities

3️⃣ Getting everyone on board: parents, peers, other teachers
Once communicating with teachers and school admin, I send out a permission slip to all parents. Some parents are very sensitive about their child being pulled out at any time of the day.

5️⃣ Scheduling
Normally once and twice a week with the same group of kids. I try to keep the same group for 2 weeks and switch students and games/activities. Each 20-30 minutes the most.

6️⃣ Data collection
Depending on the goals/skills you are targeting, data collection is critical to modify programming and evaluate the quality of the group.