"Few are my friends Tried and true But one by one I lose my few"

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1 SOCIALISATION Social Interaction "Few are my friends Tried and true But one by one I lose my few" Impaired social awareness ar~d skills are perhaps the most distinguishing features of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The student displays diff iculties relating to people, objects, and events. They have problems forming relationships, may not make eye contact and may invade others personal space. They may have difficulty empathising with others, so they cannot predict what others will do. The capacity to use objects in an age appropriate or functional manner may be delayed or even absent. This causes confusion and often real fear. Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder simply do not follow or comprehend the rules of social interaction. They tend to be self-centred with virtually no understanding of the reciprocal nature of social interaction. These students are unable to recognise the social and environmental cues relating to body language. They want to be part of the social world but their inability to understand the social cues and how to respond to them greatly inhibits this. Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder usually have sound visual and spatial competence and as such have the ability to learn and use rules and operations of social interaction. However this must be presented in a precise structured manner. They will have diff ficulty generalising these skills from one situation to another. Intervention should focus on the students existing skills and interests gradually extending these through a series of rewards. These can be social rewards such as praise or a hug or being allowed to do a preferred activity. Socialisation - A two way process Students with Autism have unusual perceptions of their social environment that frequently result in behaviours that parents teachers and peers find difficult to understand. Wing (1988) describes this impairment as the inability to understand and interpret social cues accurately. Leo Knnner (1943) was the first person to differentiate this syndrome. He saw the extreme withdrawal of these individuals as a major aspect of the condition and coined the term Autistic which literally means "withdrawn into one self" To these students the gestures and expressions that are the integral port of human communications are confusing and have little meaning refer s

2 "No one told me that they expected to see feelings on my face... they simply assumed that if they could not see my feelings, I could not feel them I think this shows a serious lack of perspective taking! "Sinclair (1992 ; 297) The challenge in teaching social skills to students with Autism is to recognise that you are each working from a different perspective Interaction with these students shows they do have both the skills and the desire for social interactions.. Despite this I am constantly observing students particularly in adolescence that are failing in their attempts at social relationships Research suggests that during early adolescence these students realise the dif ferences between themselves and others and develop disturbed emotions and depression. As a visiting teacher I visited a young boy was preoccupied with the concept of friendship, constantly asking people if they were a friend and one day in apparent desperation asked if their was a FRIENDS R Us shop. There is sufficient research evidence to show that it is this reciprocal affect in early social interchange such as facial expression, vocal and gestures that presents the major problem for these students. This together with the lack of understanding of the theory of mind That is students with autism has an inability to understand the mental states of other and predict behaviour of others. The importance of teachers taking responsibility to help students interact with and relate to others cannot be overstated. For many years the researchers have focused on the notion that students with Autism could not have friends because they lacked social skills. Further there is the emphasis on changing the child with a disability without taking into account the importance of the relationship of his peers. We now know that the regular students' positive behaviour lends to corresponding positive behaviour of the student with Autism. That is in addition to the student with developmental disabilities required to learn specific skills ns the typically developing student must also learn skills That is social relationships are important to all individuals and the absence of meaningful relationships is detrimental to the students quality of life as well as cognitive development. The teaching of social skills must not be the end product. The emphasis must be on social relationships and based on child's value systems. Responsibility is a joint one with typically developing students modifying their values and attitudes We need to teach a cognitive understanding and practical expression of friendship to these students the focus of a social interaction should be on structured teaching activities including role play and friendship games. 2g

3 The main teaching strategy is in essence coaching. The introduction of verbal and visual scripts which they then practice with peers Social activities should include coaching and modeling which encourages cognitive concepts and facilitates generalization skills. The teaching emphasis is on changing on whole class understanding and way of thinking not just changing behaviour. This is possible for students with Autism to put into practice these skills. ~onnn Williams describe how she began to understand social interaction when she learned that the function of language was "putting them together to share back and forth of how people grow together She learned to enjoy conversation and how friendship grows. Research is beginning to question placing primary emphasis on academic skills with little emphasis on the development of social relationships. I suggest that participating in meaningful relationships is nn n integral part of the student's development and well being Those of us that are working with these students need strategies that will help us understand the students perspective of the situation and nt the same time the student needs help in identifying the who why what of social situations. That is they need help in "reading the social situation" through visually presented materials ~"he first step is to ensure the student learns to recognise when some one is talking to them and the series of behaviours required in social situations. That is to stop what he is doing, looks nt the person and responds appropriately. The student must learn to reply or actually do the tasks directed. These directions should be carried out with respect and also with the belief the student will be able to respond and be given the message that he/she is a valued and likeable human being. Always follow with socially rewarding situations. Try to avoid physically moving the student's face and saying, 'look nt me. Modeling behaviour and giving student time to respond is most effective.,.

4 Teaching strategies " Protect the student from bullying or tensing. " Promote tolerance among his peers. Show the class how they can help. Always obtain parents consent and with the older students always ask their permission. Begin by comparing the similarities among the class and then acknowledge individual difference. Stress the positive aspects of these differences, i.e. Tom is very good at writing stories. Dnn (the student with Aspergers) is fantastic at maths tables, John doesn't like sport, and Mary (the student with Autism) doesn't like change. Set up situations where students with special skills and talents can be seen ns making n contribution to the class. situations. " These students may want friends but frequently have no idea how to go about it. They must be taught how to approach and respond to peers. It may help to provide a list of appropriate responses to use in social " "The Circle of Friends "concept is useful to establish the rules and structure of social relationships. " In effect they need to learn social rules. The Theory of Mind is used to describe the difficulty these students have with assuming the perspective of the other person. The student when asked to show work to the Principal may show him the back of the work. They appear to have little idea that everyone is not seeing the world as they are. " This is addressed by the technique developed by Carol Gray known as "Social Stories." The student "reads" and understands social situations. It seeks to include answers that the Autism spectrum Disorder students may need to know to interact appropriately with others. (The answers to who, what, when, where and why in social situations.) These stories are individualised to incorporate the specifis needs of the person 3p

5 for whom for the story is written. AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS " Buddy system. Enlist the help of mature and willing members of the class and encourage them to choose the student as a partner, to watch out for him in the school grounds or on the bus. Allow students to sit near the student with Autism Spectrum Disorder and prompt in the class, i.e. turn to page 41 or it's your turn to hand out the fruit. This has n positive effect for the whole class. " Encourage active socialisation ; limit the time he spends pursuing his special interests. Set up structural socialisation for older students ; board games and computer games are appropriate. " Teach appropriate social conduct such as salutations, greetings, interrupting others and safety sentences such as "Can you help me? "And " What do I now?" The student with Autism Spectrum Disorder has needs in the area of : 1. Concept Development 2. Conversational skills 3. Reasoning and problem solving 4. Perspective taking skills Includes : " Listening to and greeting others. " Waiting - waiting for the bus, waiting for something to eat, waiting f or someone to answer, waiting for activities to happen and waiting for help. " Turn taking turns in line, turns for news, turns for games. " Transition - completion of a page of work, computer activity, clearing away materials. " Negotiating - choice making - what to wear, what to do, what colour. " Changing topics of conversation - Instead of talking endlessly about favourite topics, making outrageous statements, repeating self-derogatory statements. 3t

6 " Completing tasks, finishing dressing, homework. " Initiating and expanding conversation, social interaction, removing themselves from a difficult situation. " Being flexible - the teacher is sick, swimming is cancelled for today. " Times to be quiet - in school, in the movies, when others are talking. " Appropriate situation behaviour - quiet in church, shout at sports day. " Expressing and managing anger. Centre Ior Inclusive Schooling 92