ASD/ social communication difficulties Introduction Students with social communication difficulties may/or may not have a formal diagnosis of ASD (autistic spectrum disorder). Students with ASD are individuals and have their own pattern of strengths and weaknesses, but typically a student with ASD may have difficulties with: Social Interaction: Be withdrawn and solitary Have inappropriate eye contact Interact only on their own terms Find it difficult working in a group Be passive or aggressive with others Have difficulty following the rules of interaction Find it difficult to empathise Find it difficult to see another person s point of view Language skills: Find it difficult to understand non-literal language including sarcasm, hints, metaphors and idioms Find it difficult to understand verbal jokes and puns Focus on the detail, but miss the whole picture Find it difficult to make predictions Find it difficult to make inferences Find it difficult to do verbal reasoning tasks Social use of language: Frequently interrupt conversations Use overly formal language or a different accent Talk too much and go off on tangents Have difficulty with using appropriate facial expression and gestures Be too direct and come across as rude Find it difficult to start conversations Talk extensively about favourite topics Imagination/rigid behaviours: Like routines and find it difficult to cope with change Need to know what is happening next Find it difficult to write creative stories & use imagination
Sensory issues: May be hyper-sensitive (overly sensitive) to sensory issues e.g. Light, noise, touch, smell May be hypo-sensitive (under sensitive) to sensory issues e.g. Light, noise, touch, smell Adapted from Language Builders for Verbal ASD Elklan Schools will need to seek advice about sensory issues from the Occupational Therapy service Schools can also seek advice about supporting students with ASD from The Inclusion Team or the Educational Psychology service Schools should first seek support from the above teams if the main concern is around behaviour Strategies to help a student with ASD/social communication difficulties in the classroom Use all of the strategies for supporting students with difficulties understanding spoken language in the classroom contained in the earlier section in this pack Use all of the strategies for supporting students with difficulties with expressive language in the classroom contained in the earlier section in this pack Remember that students with ASD are individuals and are very different to each other what might be a problem for one student, might not be a problem for another student Use visual time-tables in lessons; try to have a written outline plan for the tasks/activities that are going to happen that lesson if needed include a reward at the end or even 2 or 3 rewards throughout the lesson (see visual time-table section contained in the pack) Be aware that students may find it difficult to interpret social situations and may find friendships difficult you can use Comic Strip Conversations as a way of going back over situations or you could use Social Stories to explain things explicitly (see Comic Strip Conversations and Social Stories sections contained in this pack)
Be aware that students may take some language literally explain any nonliteral language as it comes up and give instructions using direct language Use the student s name to get their attention before speaking to them. Some students with ASD may not realise that instructions addressed to the whole class, also include them Be aware that students may find it difficult to read non-verbal cues and facial expressions.say directly how you are feeling and the reason why e.g. I am feeling cross because you did.. Ensure that the student is paired up/put in a group by the teacher with supportive peers ie peers are not left to sort out their own pairs/groups Be aware that students may become overly anxious about relatively small things try to have a scheduled catch up slot with a mentor/form tutor etc. to discuss how the student is feeling each week and ensure that any issues are nipped in the bud Be aware that students can be overly sensitive to things like noise, touch, light try to keep the environment quiet and calm and if necessary have a quiet area the student can be taken to Talk to the student about where they prefer sitting in the classroom often near the front or near the door and at the end of a row are the most comfortable places. Some students prefer to sit on their own as they need additional personal space Be aware that students can find it difficult to control their emotions try using a rating scale of 1-5 where 1 is feeling calm and happy and 5 is feeling angry and out of control. Ask the student to show you on the scale how they are feeling. Consider having a time-out card for when the student reaches 4 on the scale and is feeling angry but is still in control. Find out what helps the student to calm down and feel more relaxed and add this information to the rating scale Be aware that students can find unstructured times such as break and lunch times particularly difficult - try to offer students a safe place where they can go during break and lunch times and something to do during this time e.g. Board games, films, library monitor
Be aware that students like to know what is happening and can get anxious about change try to record any known changes to the day in the students planner in advance Be aware that students can be overly interested in rules being followed try to use this to your advantage and make up some personalised written rules for the student which you can then give feedback to the student on in each lesson Try to find out what the individual student likes and use this as a motivation/reward to encourage them to do the things that you want them to do e.g. On the visual time-table include rewards for completing tasks Give the student direct feedback when they break a conversational rule e.g. you interrupted me you need to wait egg. you have been talking for too long now, you need to stop and give me a turn Interventions for use with individuals or small groups Please ask the speech and language therapist if you would like them to model some sessions for you Conversation skills group see plans and resources in this pack Comic Strip Conversations can be used following incidents or to address issues that the individual student finds difficult see information in this pack see www.autism.org.uk Social stories can be written and gone through with the student outside of lessons, but need to be referred back to and used in lessons see information in this pack see www.autism.org.uk Useful resources: ELKLAN Language Builders for Verbal ASD book of strategies and advice on how to support students with ASD although not specific to secondary, the majority of the strategies are still appropriate www.elklan.co.uk - 22 Talkabout for Teenagers - Alex Kelly book of resources that can be used to run intervention sessions with a range of students Amazon approx. 25 Talkabout Activities: Developing Social Communication Skills Alex Kelly book of resources that can be used to run intervention sessions with a range of students Amazon
The National Autistic Society www.autism.org.uk information for families, young people, schools and other professionals on ASD. This includes information on visual time-tables, Comic Strip Conversations and Social Stories and lots of other strategies and resources.