This article reviews the research on techniques for improving social skills in children with autism, and concludes with several recommendations: 1) assess social skills in natural, everyday settings; 2) create environments that support social interaction; 3) teach social skills to children with autism as well as their peers; 4) fade out direct instruction over time; 5) extend treatment through the day and across activities; and 6) keep track of the effectiveness of interventions over time.
This is an article commissioned by the Committee on Educational Interventions for Children with Autism of the National Research Council. The author begins by describing the social difficulties of children with autism, which include: spending little time close to other children or focusing on other children; rarely speaking to other children; engaging in disturbing behaviors; and interacting less often with adults than other children do. Five different types of educational and/or behavioral interventions designed to improve social skills are reviewed: 1) ecological variations; 2) collateral skills interventions; 3) child-specific interventions; 4) peer-mediated techniques; and 5) comprehensive interventions. Although each of these interventions has been shown to successfully improve social interactions in children with autism, the author states that there is little research comparing them in order to determine which methods are most effective, and studies of the long-term effects of each intervention type are also lacking.
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An open mind
May 18, 2009 by AnonymousLuckily, county health authorities decided that the swine flu was not nearly as serious as had originally been feared, and Thomas only missed school on Monday and Tuesday as a result of it. Not the whole week as they had originally closed the school, so thank goodness! Still we had the added trouble of explaining to Thomas that he would not have school that one week and then had to un-explain the whole thing, springing on him at 7:30 p.m. the night before he thought he did not have school that yes, contrary-wise, he DID have school. Hilarity ensued, I assure you. Not.
I’m sure that all of my readers are tired of hearing about this Disney Trip we’re planning in August, but I have more to say about it. In preparation for not just the rides but the shows, we’ve taken Thomas to Hayley’s little graduation ceremony and her dance recital as I mentioned in a previous blog. We were very concerned during Hayley’s graduation ceremony because Thomas would NOT sit still, was very squirmy and didn’t understand the concept of being quiet so as not to disturb others. This is somewhat frightening. Of course, I’m banking on the fact that Disney World will be overrun with small children who don’t understand the same thing and Thomas will merely fade into the background. He did a little better at Hayley’s dance recital the following evening (last week was a logistical nightmare...I don't think we ate dinner as a family all week) but I think that was only because he had Jonathan’s PSP with him. He actually used it for about the second half of the show, after Hayley performed. These little park district dance recitals are so adorable…the costumes are so sweet and the little girls look enchanting. Among the under-6 age set, not much actual “dancing” takes place, but the audience is so enraptured by the adorable tutus and hairdos that executing a perfect plie isn’t all that important.
There was actually one boy who performed in a fifties number! We pointed him out to Thomas who was engrossed in Lego Star Wars on the PSP by that point and didn’t take much notice, but I certainly did! So perhaps if we enroll Thomas in dance for next year, he would not be the only boy in the whole thing. My father, upon hearing that Thomas was interested in dance, did all he could to quash the idea. Being a rather traditional man, he piped up with some clap-trap about “boys should play ball” and such. Jonathan and I would be thrilled if Thomas could be in a dance class and actually do well! We totally don’t care about any negative stereotypes, especially if they are coming primarily from my father. He should be thrilled that Thomas has expressed an interest in doing something extracurricular and also social! (Are you listening, Dad? Drop the stereotype and get with the times! Even Mom listens to Flo-Rida!) I don’t know who Flo-Rida is, but she has them singing on her cell phone’s ringtone. She is apparently way-cool.
So all-in-all, Thomas’ performances at the graduation, the recital and a recent trip to Kiddieland all enforce the idea that yes, we should request a Guest Assistance Card at Disney and use it. We were on the fence, thinking that Thomas has improved so much that we might not need to use any special card. Truthfully, Thomas has improved, but not so much that he won’t annoy the hell out of other innocent families waiting in line to see Pirates of the Caribbean or something like that. That’s really the reason we’re going to use the card…people don’t want to wait in line next to this kid, trust me.
No matter what, we’re going to have to bring the PSP with at all times. Hopefully, we won’t have to use it very much, but we’ll have it just in case. One amazing thing happened with the whole Disney restaurant reservation odyssey: we got into Cinderella’s Royal Table for a character breakfast! We’ve heard, read and otherwise been bombarded with admonishments that start out like, “Okay, to get a reservation at Cinderella’s Royal Table, count to exactly 180 days before you want to go and then synchronize your watch to the Atomic Clock the night before you call. At exactly 6:58 a.m. Eastern time, dial the first five digits of the phone number…” Ugh. We figured that since we booked this whole trip closer than 180 days out, there was no way we could get in. So Jonathan called the other night to make some other reservations and just asked the person on the phone to just check for any day during our stay at Cinderella’s and we got in! Hayley was so excited, and so was Jonathan. He felt like Mr. Big-Man…yeah, he got a reservation, no problem…just called at his leisure and it was, "Yes, Mr. Jackson! You're booked, Mr. Jackson! We're so excited to see you, Mr. Jackson! Have a wonderful trip, Mr. Jackson!"
We’ve got a couple of other reservations lined up and we’re planning our touring around them while still keeping the open mind that all of this could go flying out the window when we get there, but that’s okay. I think that keeping an open mind would be good for all of us as we approach the longest, biggest and most expensive vacation we’ve ever been on. I’m just a little worried about Jonathan. He’s expecting a lot out of the kids and I hope that they either deliver, or he loosens up a bit. I really hope I’m not going to be huddled in a corner of the hotel pool with a bottle of cheap booze while Jonathan cries in a lounge chair about how we spent thousands and flew all the way to Disney World and all the kids want to do is play in the pool. I don’t know where my mother-in-law figures into this nightmare, but she’ll be in there somewhere.