Resources

Reflection Questions

The Reflection Questions document can be downloaded at any time and used in a variety of ways. You can view it before starting your work so that you know which questions will be asked in the videos and/or on the webpages. You can also access it at the end of your work so that you can see all your responses to the questions. This tool can be helpful for documenting your learning and referring to later or for sharing it with others in group discussions or as demonstration of your online progress.

Discussion Questions

The Discussion Questions provided below can supplement and extend your individual learning and be used by facilitators or coaches to prompt meaningful discussions.

1. Describe common social skill deficits in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

   A correct response would include: 
   
   
   Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text):
   
   
   • Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.
   • Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.
   • Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understand relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers. (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fifth Edition, American Psychiatric Association, 2013.)    

2. Why is it important to teach social skills to individuals with ASD?

   A correct response would include:

   Effective social skills allow children to elicit positive reactions and evaluations from peers as they perform socially approved behaviors (Ladd & Mize, 1983).    

3. How are social skills and social competence evaluated?    

   A correct response would include:

   Evaluations of social competence are typically conducted through the use of interviews or rating scales. Interviews are a valuable method for obtaining information regarding social functioning in a relatively short time by allowing us to collect and synthesize information from a variety of respondents, representing a wide range of settings.Rating scales are indirect assessment tools that provide information across a variety of functioning areas. These measures range from informal checklists to standardized rating scales and may be administered to parents, teachers, and the child. Rating scales can measure social functioning, anxiety, self-concept and self-esteem, and behavioral functioning.

4. Distinguish between a skill acquisition deficit and performance deficits. How is this dichotomy important to intervention?    

   A correct response would include some of the following information:

   A skill acquisition deficit refers to the absence of a skill or behavior. For example, a young child may not know how to effectively join in activities with peers. If we want this child to join in activities with peers, we need to teach her the skills to do so.
   A performance deficit refers to a skill or behavior that is present but not demonstrated or performed. To use the earlier example, a child may have the skill (or ability) to join in an activity but for some reason fails to do so. In this case, if we want the child to participate, we would not need to teach her to do so (since she already has the skill). Instead, we would need to address the factor that is impeding performance of the skill, such as lack of motivation, anxiety, or sensory sensitivities.
   A skill acquisition/performance deficit model guides the selection of intervention strategies. Most intervention strategies are better suited for either skill acquisition or performance deficits. The selected intervention should match the type of deficit present (Gresham, Sugai, & Horner, 2001).    

5. What social skills training strategies are available to teach social skills to individuals with ASD?    

   A correct response would include:

   Social Stories™, Video modeling, Social problem-solving, Pivotal Response training, social scripting and script fading, priming, prompting, self monitoring, behavioral rehearsal, and Peer Mediated Instruction. See the module for details on these strategies.

Activities on this page are provided at both the introductory and advanced level and can be copied and used within existing professional development or university coursework.

Introductory Activities

1. Objectives

   Write three social objectives for a child or adolescent with autism spectrum disorder. Evaluate the goals by the following criteria: (a) Does the objective define a short-term, immediate behavior? (b) Can the objective be connected directly to the intervention strategies (i.e., can it be taught)? (c) Does the objective describe specific levels of performance?

2. Acquisition or Performance?

   Choose an individual with autism to observe. What social competence skills does the individual need to learn (acquisition deficits) and what social competence skills does the individual know but is not using (performance deficits)? Choose one of each type of deficit skill and then decide what intervention best suits the student and the skill. Develop the interventions, keep data, and teach the skills. Continue to keep data and monitor progress. Update the interventions and reteach if needed.

Advanced Activities

1. Observation

   Conduct an observation on individuals of various ages (preschool, elementary, secondary). What do you notice about the types of social skills that these children/adolescents use? How do those having the most successful interactions differ from other individuals? How do social interactions differ across age groups? How important is language or conversational skills to the individuals at each age level? As you reflect on this consider similarities and differences between the social interactions.

2. Strategies

   Use the Internet, journal articles, books, other Autism Internet Modules, and other resources to find five examples of social skill training strategies. Use the following criteria to evaluate the strategies: (a) Does the strategy enhance performance? (b) Does the strategy promote skill acquisition? (c) Does the strategy facilitate generalization? (d) Is there research to support the use of the strategy? (e) What developmental level is this strategy most appropriate for?