Module 4PRESENTATION

Michele Dunleavy August 2012

When do we use social skills?

25/09/2013 Michele Dunleavy

Social Skills Definition

“Social skills are defined as

specific strategies used by an individual to perform social tasks

effectively and thus be judged

socially competent”

Dr. Jed Baker 2003

Personal experiences of social

difficulties 1

“It was ages before I realised that people speaking might be demanding my attention”. Therese Jolliffe (1992)

“I have great difficulty with new social situations if I cannot recall a similar situation to use as a guide. After many years I have learned by rote how to act in a number

of different situations and still I sometimes get them wrong” Grandin, 1999

“It was years before I realised that other people are guided by their emotions during most social interactions. For me the proper behaviour during social interactions had to be learned by intellect. I became more skilled at social interaction as I became more experienced. Throughout my life I have been

helped by understanding teachers and mentors”. Grandin, 1995

Personal experiences of social difficulties 2

Life is like a video,

I watch but cannot partake.

My uneven skills are but an echo,

Of the frustrations which I hate!

School was a nightmare!

I was so easily caught

away with life's interruptions.

It might have been

a child coughing, a bus passing by on the road outside,

a bird singing, or simply my own thinking trying

to work out words from a previous conversation.

I couldn't organise either myself, or my time.

I knew that I didn't 'fit' anywhere. Wendy Lawson 1999

Social skills informal assessments

�Unstructured observations

�Structured observations

�Checklists

�Talk with parents

�Talk with pupil with ASD

�Talk with staff (SNA)

Some Social Skills Packages

Relationships and Sex Education

Examples of Social Communication

checklist

Social Communication Secure Not secure

Emerging

Can comfortably use language toindicate feelings

Use problem solving skills in relation to communication

Can remain relaxed whencommunicating in face-to-face interactions

Can control anger when there is a difference of opinion

Being comfortable about making mistakes in social exchanges

Example of Social Interaction Checklist

Social Interaction Secure Not secure

Emerging

Can attend to speaker

Can greet people appropriately

Understands personal space – stand or sit appropriate distance from communication partner

Show an interest in their communication partner

Use appropriate facial expressions

Are aware of body language – own and communication partner

Ask appropriate questions for clarification

Engage in ‘small talk’

Social imagination and flexibility of thought and behaviour

Secure

Not secure

Emerging

Has interests in a number of areas

Responds appropriately to other people’s interests

Can adapt behaviour to suit different situations

Can engage in pretend play using imagination while playing with others

Can accept changes in daily routines and procedures

Indicates an awareness that other people may have their own point of view and may not agree with everything you say.

Indicate an awareness that rules may change according to context and be able to change your behaviour according to situation

Pupils with ASD within the learning environment

� Powell and Jordan (2002:12) suggest that the experience of a pupil with ASD and average cognitive ability within the mainstream as being one of “puzzlement” if the pre-requisite social skills are not taught prior to his/her joining the class. If children cannot read the social cues and understand that demands are conveyed through social interaction then they run the risk of being labelled with ‘behavioural’ difficulties when they do not adhere to the class rules.

What has to be taught?

Understanding others

• Accidents distinguishing between something that is done deliberately and accidently

• Bullying – how to recognise if you are being bullied or if it is friendly banter

• Persuasion – negotiation skills to persuade someone to agree with your point of view

• Lies/white lies – differentiate

between white lies and lies to designed to deceive

• Jokes – understand ‘punch line’ and learn how to share

jokes with friends

Social Interaction

• Emotional understandings -understanding /her own emotions

and those of others

• Making friends – how to make and

maintain friendships• Empathy - how to indicate that

they are aware and react appropriately to others’ feelings

• Interactive play - the give and take of play and how to interact with others f=during play activities such as 1.Taking turns

2. Sharing toys3. Negotiation

Social context

• Social cues –understanding body

language and other social cues

• Appropriate behaviour-

how to interact appropriately with others

• Home/school relationship

teaching the importance of sharing with parents what has gone on in school

Conversation skills

Verbal skills

� Timing – listening and responding

� Turn-taking – not dominating the interaction

� Listener knowledge – how much detail is necessary

� Topic maintenance – responding appropriately to topic

� Initiating conversations how to start a conversation

� Developing conversations – what are suitable topics

� Interrupting – how to interrupt politely

� How to end conversations – suitable endings

Non-verbal skills� Conversation cues – understanding

when a response is expected

� Gesture – e.g. nodding of head to indicate agreement or that you understand what is being said

� Body language – e.g. turning towards the door may indicate a desire to leave

� Proximity – standing close (but not too close) may indicate interest in what the person is saying

� Intonation – to convey correct message, using the right words is not enough

� Eye contact – what is the correct amount

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Circle of intimacy

Circle of

friendship

Circle of

participation

Circle of exchange

Social Skills ‘Circle of Friends’

Social settings

�Family

�School

�Work

Social Skills Development

� Important for teachers to realise that all pupils with ASD regardless of IQ will require social skills development as this quote from Temple Grandinindicates.

“The higher-functioning Asperger kids, because of their language and often high IQ, are having the most problems. Their challenges are invisible, so teachers are less apt to provide the kind of assistance they need, and peers see them as odd or geeky, not as unaware and uninformed. They don’t receive the social skills training they need, so they fall through the cracks”. Grandin and Barron (2005:22)

The Ten Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships

1. Rules are not absolute. They are situation-based and people-based

2. Not everything is equally important in the grand scheme of things

3. Everyone in the world makes mistakes. It doesn’t have to ruin your day

4. Honesty is different than diplomacy

5. Being polite is appropriate in any situation

6. Not everyone who is nice to me is my friend

7. People act differently in public than they do in private

8. Know when you’re turning people off

9. “Fitting in” is often tied to looking and sounding like you fit in

10. People are responsible for their own behaviour

Grandin and Barron

(2005:119)