A Social Skills Unit for Teaching Social Skills
To A 5 Year Old Student With Autism
Author: Karissa Sharlow
Overview of the Student
I assessed a 5-year-old boy with autism named Jim. He displays fleeting eye contact with both peers and adults. Jim presents with global delays including language and social skills deficits. His expressive language is limited to four word utterances. Jim inconsistently indicates his wants and needs to familiar adults. His receptive language is also delayed, but Jim is able to follow simple two-step directions.
Also important to note, Jim presents with difficulties interacting with peers. He currently doesn’t initiate interactions with his classmates. He seems to be aware that there are other students around but shows minimal interest in interacting with them. When prompted by the instructor, Jim will look in the general direction of the peer but doesn’t engage in any meaningful interactions with them. Jim also demonstrates delays in age appropriate play skills. He often engages in ritualistic behaviors such as lining up objects and playing with toys inappropriately. Jim has acquired some independent play skills such as putting a puzzle together and playing with cause and effect toys. However, if the instructor doesn’t present these items, Jim will seek out another toy and play with it inappropriately.
To facilitate Jim’s social and emotional development, it is important that he acquires age appropriate peer interaction and play skills. As is characteristic of children with pervasive developmental disorders, Jim requires highly structured and systematic teaching procedures. He also responds well to a simple token economy where he earns pennies for desired behaviors. These pennies can be exchanged for back-up reinforcers such as edibles or breaks from task demands
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Overview of Approach/Unit
The lessons of this socials skills unit focus on teaching Jim to engage in appropriate interactions with his peers. In addition, to facilitate meaningful interactions, Jim will be taught how to play with specific toys and take turns with his peers. All lessons in the unit follow systematic teaching procedures and are leveled according to Jim’s skill level. To achieve faster acquisition of the skills, the four lessons are taught simultaneously.
Depending on the goal and procedure indicated in the lesson, all activities are presented either individually to Jim or with a typically developing peer. In some cases, the teacher will model for the peer how to interact with Jim. Reinforcement is provided for correct responding by Jim and his peer. If either of them does not engage in the target response, physical or verbal prompts will be provided. These prompts will be faded until they are engaging in the behavior independently. All mastered steps will be maintained.
Findings of the Evaluation
Jim moved much quicker through lessons one and two than he did through lessons three and four. In lesson one, Jim mastered playing with blocks, building Lego structures, and making patterns with parquetry blocks in the play area of the classroom. Currently, it is taking him longer to learn how to appropriately play with the dollhouse. He tends to engage in ritualistic behaviors with the dolls and lines up the furniture.
For lesson two, Jim mastered the first two steps very quickly. We are currently targeting making eye contact with his peer while seated in various locations. He tends to find the first person around and make eye contact with them rather than seeking out the person he was asked to make eye contact with.
Jim is presenting with major difficulties in lesson three. He is still on step one of this lesson. Although he has mastered playing with blocks appropriately in the play area, he is having a hard time ending his turn and telling his peer to “Go.” The instructors are currently using physical guidance by prompting his hands down on his lap after he has put a block on the structure. A verbal model is also provided to prompt Jim to say, “Go” when it is his peer’s turn.
Lesson four is also proving to be difficult for Jim. Jim will interact with the peer for the first initiation made, but looses interest very quickly. The instructors are currently shaping Jim’s interaction behavior so that he plays with the peer for a longer period of time. The current goal is that he plays for at least 3 minutes before terminating the interaction.
Jim has made tremendous progress in developing his play and social skills. The four lessons in this unit will continue to be taught until Jim had met mastery criterion for all steps. The skills will be maintained daily and Jim will be provided with multiple opportunities to interact with classmates.
Lesson 1: Playing with Toys
Goal: The student will be able to play appropriately in the play area of the classroom.
Procedure: The student will first learn how to play with toys at his desk, and then he will generalize these play skills to the play area. Target steps will provide instruction on how to play with specific steps appropriately. These play skills will be taught by imitation or picture cues. Depending on the target step, the instructor will demonstrate the appropriate playing, or present a picture cue, and then the student will imitate. Upon mastery of imitation, the student will independently play with the toy at his desk, and then independently in the play area. Steps will be maintained upon mastery.
Skills for Each Step:
a. Imitate play at his desk (therapist or picture cues)
b. Independently play at his desk
c. Independently play in the play area
Steps:
1. Blocks
2. Lego Structure
3. Parquetry Blocks
4. Farm
5. Dollhouse
Criterion for Mastery: The student must score 90% correct responding across two sessions, or 80% correct responding across three sessions.
Lesson 2: Looks at Peer
Goal: The student will be able to establish eye contact with a peer.
Procedure: The instructor positions themselves behind the student and a peer is positioned next to him.
Steps:
1. Therapist SD: “Look at (peers name).”
Response: Looks in direction of peer while seated across from peer.
The instructor will use tracking with an edible to prompt the student to look in the direction of his peer. This prompt will be systematically faded as needed.
2. Therapist SD: “Look at (peers name).”
Response: Looks in direction of peer while seated in various locations.
3. Therapist SD: “Look at (peers name).”
Response: Makes eye contact with peer.
A. While seated across from each other
B. While seated in various locations
C. While engaged in a variety of activities
4. Therapist SD: “Look at (peers name) and say hi.”
Response: Makes eye contact with peer and says “hi.”
A. While seated across from each other
B. While seated in various locations
C. While engaged in a variety of activities
5. Therapist SD: “Look at (peers name).”
Response: Looks in direction of peer with peer engaged in a variety of activities.
6. Therapist SD: “Look at (peers name).”
Response: Makes eye contact with peer and says “hi” in all three locations.
Criterion for Mastery: The student must score 90% correct responding across two sessions, or 80% correct responding across three sessions.
Lesson 3: Turn Taking
Goal: The student will be able to take turns when playing a game with a peer. Additionally, he will learn to play the games and use appropriate language such as “Go” when it is the other person’s turn.
Procedure: The instructor positions themselves behind the student and a peer is positioned next to him.
Steps:
1. A bin of blocks are placed in front of the student and a peer and one block is placed on the floor or table as a starting point for the structure.
Therapist SD: “Build” (Just to begin activity)
Response: The student takes a block from the bin and places it on top of the other block(s). He then says, “Go” to his peer to indicate it’s their turn. Each turn will end with the peer or the student saying, “Go.”
2. The student and his peer are positioned about 3-5 feet across from each other, facing one another. A ball is placed in the student’s hands.
Therapist SD: “Throw” (Just to begin activity)
Response: The student throws the ball to his peer and extends his arms to show he is ready to catch the ball again.
3. An age appropriate game (Memory, Candyland, Hi-Ho Cherrio) is placed on the table in front of the student and his peer.
Therapist SD: “Play the game” (Just to begin activity)
Response: The student takes his turn following the rules of the game. He then says, “Go” to his peer to indicate it’s their turn. Each turn will end with the peer or the student saying, “Go.”
Criterion for Mastery: The student must score 90% correct responding across two sessions, or 80% correct responding across three sessions.
Lesson 4: Follows Play Initiations by a Peer
Goal: The student will be able to follow play instructions from a peer.
Procedure: Set up around the room a number of preferred play activities (e.g. cars, puzzles, blocks, trains). Seat the student in a chair and prompt the peer (e.g. model for the peer or provide the peer with instructions) to approach the student and state a play initiation statement (e.g. “Let’s play with blocks”). Prompt the activity. Following several minutes of play, prompt the peer to present another play initiation to the student (e.g. “Let’s go play with the dinosaurs). Prompt the student to respond affirmatively (e.g. “okay”) and go to the activity. Reinforce the response. Fade prompts over trials and differentially reinforce responses demonstrated with the lowest level of prompting until only independent responding is reinforced.
Prompting Suggestions: Have the peer prompt the student by taking his hand and leading him to the activity. Provide a verbal model for the affirmative statement.
Instructions for Peer: Tell the peer that you want him or her to help the student learn to play with a variety of toys. Role-play the program with the peer before introducing it together with the student. Teach the peer to be persistent in prompting the student to go with him or her to the play activity. Provide social praise when the student follows and play with the peer. Allow the peer to choose the play activities.
Instruction: Peer presents play initiation statement. The student states an affirmative response and engages in activity with peer.
Steps:
1. Simple initiations (E.g. “Let’s jump”, “Let’s race”, “Catch the ball”)
2. More complex initiations (e.g. “Come play with the blocks”)
3. Initiations involving roles (e.g. “Let’s play house”)
Criterion for Mastery: The student must score 90% correct responding across two sessions, or 80% correct responding across three sessions.
The instructional unit found above was developed by Karissa Sharlow while a graduate student in the Behavior Disorders program in the Department of Special Education at Hunter College of the City University of New York. It is used with her permission.
Thanks Karissa!
6/21/06