SCRIPTING AND SOCIAL STORIES Holly Ricker, MA, CSW, CSP School Social Worker, School Psychologist Presenting

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1 SCRIPTING AND SOCIAL STORIES Holly Ricker, MA, CSW, CSP School Social Worker, School Psychologist Presenting

2 DEFINITIONS Social Learning We learn Social Skills, starting very early in life through observation (Bandura) Observations of social behavior include watching facial expressions, body language, attitudes, mirroring Techniques of learning social behavior include imitation, mimicry, habituation, scripting, internal self-talk These are also related to techniques of Cognitive Therapy

3 DEFINITIONS Automization: A process of making an action of a higher animal reflexive. Learning: A process that depends on experience and leads to long-term changes in behavior. Task Analysis: The process of breaking down complex tasks into smaller chunks. It can be used in the special education classroom to help students learn tasks and in Autism research to teach social skills. Generalization: Taking a skill that is learned in one environment or context and using it effectively in another environment or context.

4 DEFINITIONS Social Scripts Social Scripts provide pre-taught language for specific situations They can involve conversation starters, responses and ideas to connect conversations or change the topic. Social Scripts can reduce the stress associated with social interactions and assist the child with understanding the perspective of others. Including informal language, slang or child-specific terms in the Social Script may help the conversational exchange appear more natural (Kamps et al., 2002).

5 DEFINITIONS Social Stories TM Social Stories TM, created by Carol Gray, is a text or story describing a specific social situation. It provides a visual cue for the child to reflect upon and is individualized for the child. Included in the story is who is involved, what happens, when the event takes place, why it happens and how it happens (Gray, 2000; Swaggart et al., 1995).

6 DEFINITIONS The Power Card Strategy The Power Card Strategy is a visual aid that incorporates the child s special interest to teach appropriate social interactions, including routines, behavioral expectations and the hidden curriculum. It consists of two parts a short scenario describing how the hero solves the problem and a small card with a picture of the hero to recap the strategy. Because children with AS often have well-defined special interests, the hero associated with their interest serves as a motivator. The strategy capitalizes on the relationship between child and hero. Following the initial reading of the scenario, the child is given the Power Card to keep with them. This card serves as a way to generalize the skill to new settings (Gagnon, 2001).

7 Jeb Baker, Ph. D. Social Scripts

8 Social Scripts Michelle Garcia Winner

9 Social Scripts Social Skills Deficits There are three general areas of social skills deficits: Social avoidance - child is hypersensitive and seeks to avoid social situations i.e. objects to loud noises or crowded areas Social indifference - child does not actively seek out social interaction i.e., is content to play alone without the need for friends Social awkwardness - child is typically higher functioning, but has difficulty with reciprocal interaction in conversation or interests. Speech may be very stilted & adult, not in content but in expression.

10 Social Scripts The task is presented step by step in a sequence. Language is very specific. One meaning per word. Words are paired with pictures or short videos demonstrating each step. Rules are explained by right way or wrong way

11 Social Scripts Using Task Analysis we break down and explain social interactions Then, step by step, stroke by stroke, we rebuild the social skill. We control the Rules We control the Sequence Memorization leads to Scripting Scripting leads to Automization Automization may lead to Generalization

12 Carol Gray Social Stories

13 Social Stories

14 Social Stories Stories are written in very simple language. Each concept is reinforced three times. Pictures are added to increase motivation to read and respond to the story. First person is often used to augment future self-talk and automization. Can be personalized to any situation or family.

15 Social Stories **Write a social story from the perspective of the focus person. Create a word picture - what they would see and experience i.e., use clip art or photographs **Use a combination of different types of sentences, following the recommended ratio: Descriptive, Perspective, Directive **May be supplemented with additional, optional types of sentences: Affirmative, Control, Cooperative **The language must be at an appropriate level to match the understanding.

16 Social Stories Used to introduce new social skills - Greeting, Asking to play, Interrupting Used to reduce anxiety about social situations - First day of school, Vacations, Substitute Teachers

17 Elisa Gagnon Power Cards

18 Power Cards Like a Note Card or Cheat Sheet Two sided using Picture/ Script Used to make a social script portable Older student who can read takes their lesson with them Also improves social connectivity Also improves self esteem Super Heroes, Animals or other favored interests improve connection and motivation to the cards

19 Advantages Improves Speech Pragmatics Quantifies and Explains Speech Pragmatics and Social Interactions Step by Step - easy to learn Provides something to say and do prevents shutdowns or freezing Increases two to four stroke conversation Supported by research (Cattell, Bandura, et. Al.)

20 Counter-Indications Not always Generalizable Promotes robotic or scripted-sounding speech Difficult to increase number of strokes chaining to conversational proficiency over time Research does not indicate increase in ability for observational learning Brain Plasticity decreases with age small window of time for increased speech production and proficiency

21 Resources AUTISM SERVICES SPEECH PRAGMATICS atics.htm

22 Resources Call Me! Holly Ricker, School Psychologist , ext

AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER SERIES. Strategies for Social Skills for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER SERIES Strategies for Social Skills for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder Introduction One of the most important areas for intervention for children with autism will be in