Strategies For Teaching Students

With Autism

School Support Program-Autism

Spectrum Disorders

Strategy # 1

Help Students Become Savvy Social Thinkers

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Social Thinking is a social learning concept

that involves the consideration of the

components of perspective taking

Emotions

Prior Knowledge

Points of View

Intentions

Thoughts & Beliefs

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Mirror, mirror on the wall…

I don’t know an angry face at all

Internal

External Social Skills

Social Thinking

Social Thinking

Social Skills

Expected Behaviours

Unexpected Behaviours

Normal okay neutral good thoughts

about you

Uncomfortable weird thoughts

about you

Social Memory

Social Memory

Social Memory

Social Memory

People remember the types of thoughts that they have about other people. People have thoughts all the time but they REACT to their feelings.

Social Thinking / Cognition Skills

Essential For Academic Success

Literacy

Comprehension

Difficulty determining

main idea

They get lost in the details and cannot choose the most important.

From Details to Main Ideas: The Plan

Direct Instruction

Details are key to figuring out main ideas

Determining relevant /irrelevant details

+Smart guess

based on past

experience

=Main Idea

Main Idea Formula

Step # 1

• Emotions of the characters

Step # 2

• The setting

Step # 3

• Details that help define what the characters are doing in the setting

The most critical detail to be considered is what people are feeling

in the settingConsider:

Tears

Joy Sadness

Fiction

Lack of social cognition results in difficulty making connections with fictional text

Making Inferences

Difficulty Understanding Character Development

Especially if the dimensions of the characters are revealed through subtle details of gesture, tone or behaviour rather than spelled out clearly in the narration

People Files

Group Work

AB C

Delivering Social Thinking / Social Skills Programming in

Schools

Social Thinking

Michelle Garcia Winner

Advantages:

Spans all ages

Able to use existing materials with small modifications to “commonize” the language

Program can be modified to school environment

A Social Thinking guidebook written for teens and young adults

Social Thinking Group

Your skin is all blotchy…how come?

Your hair looks funny like that

Why did you wear that today?

Note to self: AVOID her

Uh…gotta go…

away from you!

It’s not always about telling people exactly what you see or think about them. You have to be aware of their thoughts and feelings because this is what drives their reaction to you.

Only an ignoramus

wouldn’t know that

That zit is almost as big as your

nose

Boy, are you stupid

Your hair looks funny that way

FACT: It is important to “care” about the thoughts others have about you AND to monitor and possibly modify your behaviour based on others’ thoughts

4 Steps of Perspective Taking:

Step # 1: Think about people near you

You notice people around you and other people notice

you

Determine the other person’s

motive for being near you

Step # 2: Think about why the person is near you

Getting books for next class

Getting ready to go home at the end of classes

Skipping classes

Someone bumps into

you

Should you get mad?

Figure out the motive by using social thinking skill called “reading others’ plans”

Accidental / immediately apologized

Deliberate / friend

saying “Hi”

Deliberate / act of bully

Step # 3: Think about what other people are thinking about you

Walking down the hallway, staying below the radar because of expected behaviours

Moving with the flow

Watching to avoid collisions

Step # 4: Monitor and modify your behaviour

Unexpected behaviour

Unexpected behaviour results in a reputation of the “dude” who hides behind and hugs pillars going down

the hallway

Step # 4 Allows For Repair

Took too long at locker

Moving quickly to next class

Bump into person

Person reacts angrily

Realize did something unexpected

Repair.. “Sorry, I didn’t see you”

Anger replaced by normal thought

Person’s social memory positive

Change

Tiny

Middle

Huge

Change-O-Meter

Ripple

Wave

Tsunami

Core Principles of Social Behaviour Mapping

Student’s behaviour

Emotions of others

Consequences

Emoti

ons

of s

tude

nt

Expected

UnexpectedOr

Michelle Garcia Winner

Expected

&

Unexpected Behaviours

Computer Time At School

Behaviours That Are Expected

Computer Time At School

Behaviours That Are Unexpected

Expected

Behaviours

Unexpected

Behaviours

How They Make Others Feel

How They Make Others Feel

Consequences You Experience

Consequences You Experience

How You Feel About Yourself

How You Feel About Yourself

Follow classroom rules; if you are unclear about the rules, ASK the teacher or other students

Some teachers allow you to play computer games until class starts. If this is the rule in your class, play but as soon as class starts (bell rings, teacher looks ready to work) then STOP playing computer games and switch your attention to the lesson

You only search on allowable Internet sites

Be Respectful of computer equipment

Calm

Happy

Focused

Ready to work

You can continue to work on computer lessons

You will get to play a little and learn the computer lessons the teacher is teaching

You will get better and faster at using the computer

The computer equipment will stay in good working order and you will have a computer next time to use

Focused

Happy

Proud

Calm

Not learning the rules for the class. NOT following the rules

Playing computer games when you are supposed toe working on a lesson

Doing random searches without specific permission to do so

Distracting others OR allowing other so distract you

Being rough with the computer equipment

Confused

Disappointed

Frustrated

Irritated

Angry

Stressed

You may be asked to leave the lab

Teacher may scold you or nag you

If you look at inappropriate sites, you will be banned from the computer lab and might even have to serve a detention

If you are distracting others, you may be asked to leave

You might break the computer

Might not be able to use the computer next time

Nervous

Embarrassed

Frustrated

Sad

Upset

Stressed

Never Assume

Expected Behaviours For Change Room

Serious Legal Consequences of

Unexpected Behaviours

1

2

3

4

5

Very informal social behaviour

Reasonable social behaviour

Odd behaviour

Scary behaviour Maybe

Physically hurtful/ threatening

When does a 2 become a 3 or a 4

become a 5?

In elementary school, Fred liked to touch and smell other students’ hair. Fred was a little boy and everyone thought it was a bit odd (3) but no one was afraid of him.

This behaviour continued into intermediate school levels. One day, he put his face really close to a girl’s hair and she screamed! She told the principal and her parents that Fred was harassing her by scaring her. The principal agreed that Fred’s behaviour once considered a 3

was now a 4 – truly scary and possibly against the law

Black or White Thinkers

Behaviour Observed By ASD Person

The Gray Areas

5

1

2

3

4

5

Just looking at the girl you like briefly and smiling. You can say, “Hi.”

Talking to a safe person about the girl you like. Eating lunch at the same table as the girl you like.

Staring at a girl that you like without ever talking to her. This can look strange. If her face looks upset, stop looking.

Going out of your way to follow a girl in the hallway. May be too close to stalking.

Making comments about a girl’s body. This can scare the girl and make her think you are dangerous. Never kiss or touch a girl unless she says it is O.K.