 |
|
Teaching autistic teens to make friends
April 08, 2009Unique UCLA class provides hands-on instruction in teen social etiquette
During the first week of class, the teens' eyes were downcast, their responses were mumbled and eye contact was almost nonexistent. By Week 12, though, these same kids were talkative, responsive and engaged.
That's the result of a special class designed at UCLA to help teens with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) learn to interact appropriately with their peers. ASD includes a range of pervasive developmental disorders characterized by problems with communication and socialization; it's estimated that one in 150 children born in the United States has some form of ASD.
In a study appearing in the April edition of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, UCLA clinical instructor of psychiatry Elizabeth Laugeson and colleagues report that in comparison with a control group, the treatment group taking the class significantly improved their overall social skills and interactions with their peers.
"Although, typically, developing teens often learn basic social rules through observation of peer behavior and specific instruction from parents," Laugeson said, "adolescents with autism spectrum disorders often require further instruction.
"It's hard enough to be a teenager," she said, "but it's harder still for adolescents with autism because they typically lack the ability to pick up on all the social cues most of us take for granted - things like body language, hand gestures and facial expressions, along with speech inflections like warmth, sarcasm or hostility.
"Lack of these basic social skills may lead to rejection, isolation or bullying from their peers. And sadly, that isolation can carry into their adult life."
Laugeson and her colleagues developed the class, called PEERS (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills), to give high-functioning teens with ASD a set of specific social skills.
"How do you have a successful get-together with someone? How do you go up to a group of teens and join their conversation? What do you say as a comeback when someone teases you? Without these core social skills, it becomes very difficult for teenagers to make and keep friends," Laugeson said.
In the study, 33 teens with ASD - 28 males and five females - attended the PEERS classes. All the participants had a previous diagnosis of high-functioning autism, Asperger's Disorder or Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). The teens met once a week for 12 weeks; each session lasted 90 minutes. Instruction was conducted in a small-group format, with seven to 10 teens, using established strategies for teaching social skills to adolescents with ASD.
Parents were also required to attend separate, concurrent sessions where they were provided direct instruction and guidance to support their child's development.
"Parental involvement was mandatory and important," said Laugeson, who is also associate director of the UCLA Parenting and Children's Friendship Program and director of the Help Group-UCLA Autism Research Alliance. "Other research has shown us that parent involvement can have significant positive effects upon children's friendships, both in terms of direct instruction and supervision, as well as supporting a child's development of an appropriate peer network."
The class focused on teaching rules of social etiquette to the teens, while their parents were given information about how to supervise the implementation of these newly learned skills. These included: how to comfortably join and exit a group of peers; how to pick the right peer group (such as jocks, nerds or gamers); learning good sportsmanship; learning good host behavior during get-togethers; changing bad reputations by changing one's "look" and owning up to a previously bad reputation; and handling teasing, bullying and arguments.
Each class included brief didactic instruction, role-playing exercises in which appropriate social skills were modeled, behavioral rehearsal for teens to practice newly learned skills, coaching with performance feedback, and weekly "homework" assignments supervised by parents, such as inviting a friend over to the home for a get-together.
"The class is very structured, and the skills are broken into small steps that give the teens specific actions they can take in response to a social situation," Laugeson said. "This method of instruction is very appealing to teens with autism because they tend to think concretely and often learn by rote. So if they are teased, for example, we teach them to give a short comeback - like saying 'whatever' or 'so what?' They learn not to take the bait."
Results of testing show that teens who have been through the PEERS program were having more peer interactions with their friends outside of school, and parents reported significant improvement in overall social skills, as measured by a standardized test of social functioning.
Results were encouraging, as improvement was demonstrated on a number of outcome measures. Teens in the treatment group demonstrated improved knowledge of rules of social etiquette relevant to making and keeping friends. They and their parents also reported a significant increase in the frequency of hosted get-togethers and a significantly better quality of friendships at the end of treatment, in comparison with the control group.
"For me, the most important outcome of this research is that we're able to have a direct impact on the quality of lives for teenagers with ASD," Laugeson said. "Helping them to develop meaningful relationships and feel more comfortable within their social world - these are essential ingredients to living a happy life, and what could be more important than that?"
University of California - Los Angeles
In a study appearing in the April edition of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, UCLA clinical instructor of psychiatry Elizabeth Laugeson and colleagues report that in comparison with a control group, the treatment group taking the class significantly improved their overall social skills and interactions with their peers.
"Although, typically, developing teens often learn basic social rules through observation of peer behavior and specific instruction from parents," Laugeson said, "adolescents with autism spectrum disorders often require further instruction.
"It's hard enough to be a teenager," she said, "but it's harder still for adolescents with autism because they typically lack the ability to pick up on all the social cues most of us take for granted - things like body language, hand gestures and facial expressions, along with speech inflections like warmth, sarcasm or hostility.
"Lack of these basic social skills may lead to rejection, isolation or bullying from their peers. And sadly, that isolation can carry into their adult life."
Laugeson and her colleagues developed the class, called PEERS (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills), to give high-functioning teens with ASD a set of specific social skills.
"How do you have a successful get-together with someone? How do you go up to a group of teens and join their conversation? What do you say as a comeback when someone teases you? Without these core social skills, it becomes very difficult for teenagers to make and keep friends," Laugeson said.
In the study, 33 teens with ASD - 28 males and five females - attended the PEERS classes. All the participants had a previous diagnosis of high-functioning autism, Asperger's Disorder or Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). The teens met once a week for 12 weeks; each session lasted 90 minutes. Instruction was conducted in a small-group format, with seven to 10 teens, using established strategies for teaching social skills to adolescents with ASD.
Parents were also required to attend separate, concurrent sessions where they were provided direct instruction and guidance to support their child's development.
"Parental involvement was mandatory and important," said Laugeson, who is also associate director of the UCLA Parenting and Children's Friendship Program and director of the Help Group-UCLA Autism Research Alliance. "Other research has shown us that parent involvement can have significant positive effects upon children's friendships, both in terms of direct instruction and supervision, as well as supporting a child's development of an appropriate peer network."
The class focused on teaching rules of social etiquette to the teens, while their parents were given information about how to supervise the implementation of these newly learned skills. These included: how to comfortably join and exit a group of peers; how to pick the right peer group (such as jocks, nerds or gamers); learning good sportsmanship; learning good host behavior during get-togethers; changing bad reputations by changing one's "look" and owning up to a previously bad reputation; and handling teasing, bullying and arguments.
Each class included brief didactic instruction, role-playing exercises in which appropriate social skills were modeled, behavioral rehearsal for teens to practice newly learned skills, coaching with performance feedback, and weekly "homework" assignments supervised by parents, such as inviting a friend over to the home for a get-together.
"The class is very structured, and the skills are broken into small steps that give the teens specific actions they can take in response to a social situation," Laugeson said. "This method of instruction is very appealing to teens with autism because they tend to think concretely and often learn by rote. So if they are teased, for example, we teach them to give a short comeback - like saying 'whatever' or 'so what?' They learn not to take the bait."
Results of testing show that teens who have been through the PEERS program were having more peer interactions with their friends outside of school, and parents reported significant improvement in overall social skills, as measured by a standardized test of social functioning.
Results were encouraging, as improvement was demonstrated on a number of outcome measures. Teens in the treatment group demonstrated improved knowledge of rules of social etiquette relevant to making and keeping friends. They and their parents also reported a significant increase in the frequency of hosted get-togethers and a significantly better quality of friendships at the end of treatment, in comparison with the control group.
"For me, the most important outcome of this research is that we're able to have a direct impact on the quality of lives for teenagers with ASD," Laugeson said. "Helping them to develop meaningful relationships and feel more comfortable within their social world - these are essential ingredients to living a happy life, and what could be more important than that?"
University of California - Los Angeles
Social Skills Current Events and Social Skills News RSSRemoving the barriers of autism
Autism can build a wall of poor communication between those struggling with the condition and their families.
Tweens sensitive to others' perceptions of them
Young adolescents care a lot about what others think about them. A new study confirms this using brain-mapping techniques that shed new light on this complex period of social development.
Study sheds light on social brain development
The capacity to figure out what others are thinking and what they mean is an ability unique to people that's central to our lives.
Who am I? Adolescents' replies depend on others
Ask middle-school students if they are popular or make friends easily, they likely will depend on social comparisons with their peers for an answer. Such reliance on the perceived opinions of others, or reflected self-appraisals, has long been assumed, but new evidence supporting this claim has now been found in the teen brain.
New Study Pinpoints Difference in the Way Children With Autism Learn New Behaviors
Researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have collaborated to uncover important new insights into the neurological basis of autism.
The neurobiology of musicality related to the intrinsic attachment behavior?
In the study of University of Helsinki and Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, the neurobiological basis of music in human evolution and communication was evaluated using candidate genes associated in the earlier studies with social bonding and cognitive functions.
Cognition already seriously impaired in first episode of schizophrenia
Significant and widespread cognitive problems appear to exist in schizophrenia in its earliest phase, making it very hard for people with the disorder to work, study or be social, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association.
First Neuroimaging Study Examining Motor Execution in Children With Autism Reveals Brain Activation Differences, Decreased Connectivity Between Brain Regions
In the first neuroimaging study to examine motor execution in children with autism, researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute have uncovered important new insight into the neurological basis of autism.
Violent Video Games Can Improve Vision
Video killed the radio star, the old song goes - but violent video games, a new Tel Aviv University study finds, can also improve the real-world vision of teens who play them.
Social skills, extracurricular activities in high school pay off later in life
It turns out that being voted "Most likely to succeed" in high school might actually be a good predictor of one's financial and educational success later in life.
More Social Skills Current Events and Social Skills News Articles
 |
Easy Activities for Building Social Skills: Dozens of Effective Classroom Strategies & Activities to Teach Cooperation and Communication, Manners and Respect, Positive Behavior & More! by Nancy Jolson Leber (Author) Dozens of Effective Classroom Strategies & Activities to Teach Cooperation and Communication, Manners and Respect, Positive Behavior & More! Includes ready-to-use reproducibles! Foster a positive classroom community and build essential social skills with dozens of kid-friendly activities. |
 |
How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leil Lowndes (Author) "You'll not only break the ice, you'll melt it away with your new skills."--Larry King "The lost art of verbal communication may be revitalized by Leil Lowndes."--Harvey McKay, author of Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Leil Lowndes' How to Talk to Anyone offers101 time-tested hints, tips, and techniques for confidently communicating with others. A bestselling author and renowned communications consultant, Lowndes focuses on ice-breaking skills and communication techniques that are proven successful when making a positive first impression, establishing instant rapport and credibility, and more. Packed with basic, no-nonsense advice and solid research evidence about which techniques work best in which areas, How to Talk to Anyone show readers how to: Make small talk... |
 |
Social Skills Training for Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Social-Communications Problems by Jed Baker (Author) Finally a social skills program that covers all the bases! Whether it's learning how long one can look at somebody without being accused of staring; how to shift topics, despite one's desire to stick with that all-consuming special interest; how to say no to peer pressure; or dealing with a sensitive topic - it's all here...and more. In this comprehensive and user-friendly book, the author translates years of experience working with students with Asperger Syndrome and social-communication difficulties. After brief introductory chapters on skills to target, instructional strategies, behavior management, promoting generalization, etc., as well as a special chapter by Brenda Smith Myles on relevant characteristics of autism spectrum disorders, the reader is presented with the... |
 |
Social Skills Picture Book for High School and Beyond by Jed Baker (Author) In 2001, Dr. Baker wrote The Social Skills Picture Book, designed for young children with social communication challenges. Now, in response to the deluge of requests from parents with children in their teens, here is Dr. Baker's long-awaited book, specifically geared toward older students. The Social Skills Picture Book for High School and Beyond offers a visual learning format. Photos of actual students engaging in a wide variety of social situations show, rather than tell, the right (and wrong) ways to interact in different circumstances. They visually illustrate the positive and negative consequences of both ways of interacting. The book also offers instructions for students & families to create their own Social Skills booklets. The social skills... |
 |
104 Activities That Build: Self-Esteem, Teamwork, Communication, Anger Management, Self-Discovery, Coping Skills by Alanna E. Jones (Author) |
 |
Blunders Game by Successful Kids Inc. Blunders is new, its unique, and it will revolutionize the way manners are taught forever! Players ages 5-10 will be captivated by the adorable characters of Becky, Bobby, Brenda, and Billy Blunder and will be eager to help the Blunders improve their manners by answering a variety of fun and interactive charade, multiple choice, scenario, and true/false questions. BlundersTM is the perfect board game to play at home, school, or with any social club or group. |
 |
MANNERS FOR THE REAL WORLD: Basic Social Skills Starring: Dan Coulter, Julie Coulter, Drew Coulter, Jessie Coulter Directed By: Dan Coulter This video shows students from upper elementary through high school how to act during some of the most common interactions between people. It features clear, straightforward demonstrations of appropriate and inappropriate behavior -- and we added a dash of fun to keep adolescent attention spans engaged. The program covers: personal hygiene, conversations, introductions, telephone and internet use, table manners, behavior for ladies and gentlemen, manners in public, serving as a host and being a guest. We devote a segment to each subject, so viewers can watch one subject at a time, or play the entire video. While any student will find it entertaining and helpful, the video should be especially effective for young people who don't easily pick up social skills by themselves, and need clear... |
 |
The Social Skills Picture Book Teaching play, emotion, and communication to children with autism by Jed Baker (Author) Seeing is learning. Dr. Jed Baker embraces this philosophy in this a dynamic teaching tool that engages the attention and motivation of students who need a little extra help learning appropriate social skills by using pictures of children mastering skills such as communication, play, emotion, and empathy. |
 |
Ready-to-Use Social Skills Lessons & Activities for Grades 4 - 6 (J-B Ed: Ready-to-Use Activities) by Ruth Weltmann Begun (Author) This unique Library gives teachers and specialists a stimulating, systematic way to develop positive social behaviors in students of all abilities, grades 4-12. Included are over 125 tested lessons and reproducible worksheets in two separately printed, self-contained volumes, each tailored to the developmental needs of students at a particular grade level, 4-6 or 7-12. For easy use, the lessons in each volume follow a uniform format, including titles, behavioral objective, and simple 8-step lesson plan. The lesson activities and worksheets are based on real-life situations and help build students' self-esteem, self-control, and respect for the rights of others. |
 |
The Social Work Skills Workbook by Barry R. Cournoyer (Author) Now you can get involved in actual hands-on social work practice! Cournoyer's comprehensive workbook/textbook lets you rehearse and practice core skills needed for contemporary social work practice. The author includes interesting case examples and situations that clearly illustrate the essential skills of social work practice. As you work your way through the book's summaries and skill-building exercises, you'll find yourself becoming a more confident, ethical, and effective helper. |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |