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Participation Model vs. Helping Model 11-16-2022

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Checklist - Inclusion Bill of Rights- Elementary.docx

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Checklist - Inclusion Bill of Rights- Elementary.docx

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"Below is a listing of some examples of curriculum and programs that can be used to teach social skills to individuals on the autism spectrum. In addition to these programs, please be aware that there are many other supplemental programs, books, strategies, and resources that are not included but are available."

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Variety of ideas and resources to support the development of social skills/ compentencies

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25 Social Skills ideas in 2021 | social skills, social skills activities, teaching social skills

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Mar 5, 2021 - Explore Nicci Mcgrath’s board “Social Skills”, followed by 110 people on Pinterest. See more ideas about social skills, social skills activities, teaching social skills.

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Social Narratives & Tools Pinterest Board

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Social Narratives & Tools Pinterest Board

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Variety of exmaples and options for pre-made social narratives or similar strategies for explicit support.

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14 Social Stories ideas | social stories, social emotional learning, social skills

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May 4, 2020 - Explore Nicci Mcgrath’s board “Social Stories”, followed by 110 people on Pinterest. See more ideas about social stories, social emotional learning, social skills.

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This article explains the shift from 'raising awareness' to increasing acceptance, and includes a list of suggestions, and books and resources for a variety of ages.

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Beginning in the 1970s, Autism Awareness week was a way to raise awareness about autism at a time when the known prevalence of autism was 1 in 2,500 and it was considered an uncommon childhood disorder. Eventually, Autism Awareness month and World Autism Day were established to continue the effort to increase awareness. Fast forward to 2021, and so much has changed about our understanding of autism.

We now see autism as a spectrum and a form of neurodiversity with a prevalence of 1 in 54, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rather than being a little-known disability where few people knew someone with autism, nearly everyone knows a family member, friend, or someone in their community with autism. For the most part, we have achieved a solid level of awareness. What's next?

If you read autism websites or social media, you will see a shift in thinking from awareness to a next level that encompasses acceptance, understanding, and advocacy. We see this shift in individual blogs and large autism organizations, and even in a Michigan Senate resolution (38) to declare the month of April Autism Acceptance month.

Acceptance can mean many things but we view it as inclusiveness, being welcomed into the group, belonging, authentic relationships, dignity, and respect. A shift in language to acceptance is an important move forward, but perhaps it isn't far-reaching enough. An active, collaborative approach that involves listening, understanding, and taking action will help us grow into a truly diverse, equitable community where all perspectives and people are heard and valued.

We can raise awareness and promote acceptance in April but more importantly, we need to consider our actions throughout the rest of the year. This is why we, at START, have initiated a conversation and launched a campaign called ASD 365: Equity and Inclusion Every Day to consider how our project is actively promoting inclusiveness throughout the year. This involves exploring the messages we convey in the language and symbols we use, and ensuring we are genuinely understanding and respecting the voices of people with autism from a young age through adulthood. For example, in the disability community, person-first language was considered the most sensitive way to address people with a disability, including autism. However, if you explore the current thinking of many people in the autism community, there is a trend toward identify-first language. For example, "I am an autistic person." So, what to do? As in many situations, the best course of action is to ask and respect the wishes of that individual.

As part of our campaign, we are committed to gathering authentic input from the many stakeholders who interact with START to integrate progressive views and actions into our project that align with the values of promoting inclusiveness and belonging. Watch for more information about this campaign and consider how you can get involved.
What actions can you take to promote inclusiveness and understanding?

Talk to people who have autism to understand their perspective

Talk to others about the goal of inclusion, belonging, and acceptance

Consider the language you use when talking about autism

Get involved in an autism organization

Recruit a person with autism to be a speaker at an event, large or small

Read a book about autism (knowing it provides one perspective)

Set up a book study or discussion group

Read a book about autism to kids

Promote universal strategies that help everyone, such as visual supports

Get involved in Peer to Peer Support

Get involved with Unified Champion Schools

Make friends with a person with autism

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Beginning in the 1970s, Autism Awareness week was a way to raise awareness about autism at a time when the known prevalence of autism was 1 in 2,500 and it was considered an uncommon childhood disorder. Eventually, Autism Awareness month and World Autism Day were established to continue the effort to increase awareness.

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Supporting Independence + Social Opportunities

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Supporting Independence + Social Opportunities

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What goal is most important for your child to have a quality life? We have asked this of numerous parents and school professionals during our trainings over the past 20 years. The top two answers are invariably - "I want my child to be independent and I want my child to have meaningful social relationships." If you ask kids this same question, you will get a similar answer - "I want to do things my way and I want friends." Although we could list other important goals such as getting a job and being happy, it is hard to imagine achieving most goals without some level of independence and social connection.

What allows someone to be independent? There are so many skills involved in being independent and many are not directly taught to students with autism. Too often, we lower expectations and go into helper mode without presuming competence and offering the dignity of risk. What does that mean? First, presuming competence means to assume a person has the capacity to understand and learn-regardless of whether you see tangible evidence that this is the case. It's assuming the person is capable; they just need the right teaching and support to help them succeed. This starts with high expectations along with opportunities to do what other students of the same age are doing. Second, the dignity of risk is the right to take risks when engaging in life experiences, and the right to fail in those activities the same way everyone else does. Would any of us have learned how to choose our own outfits, shop at the grocery store, ride a bike, go on a date, or interview for a job if we were not given the opportunity to at least try it, more than once? The goal was not to do these things perfectly. It was to have the satisfaction of saying, "I did it" whether it worked well or not.

Working toward independence cuts across all ages and all abilities. A three-year-old needs to move toward independence (why do you think they say "no" so much?) just as a sixteen-year-old does. This applies to every person, regardless of the way they are impacted by their disability or life circumstances. The primary way we offer opportunities for independence is to allow students to be in the same setting as their peers and interact in a meaningful way. That is also how we build social connections. Students should not be separated to practice the skills they will need in life, they need to have lived experiences every day.

How do we develop meaningful independence in a social world?

1. Give opportunities that are similar to same age peers both at home and in school. School staff and families can use the START Passport to work collaboratively on goals that are typical of same-age peers. Start with a goal, complete a task analysis, and identify times to teach. Peers can be excellent models and provide a reality check to ensure that the goals are socially valid (i.e. do they make sense and are they "cool").

2. Identify the routines where independence is needed and teach and support these skills. This means breaking down routines and tasks and teaching the steps. You only know if you are making progress if you take data. You can get started teaching independence by selecting a routine and using the START Independence data form to make decisions.

3. Place students in typical settings in school and the community and connect them with peers. Kids learn typical independence behaviors and social interactions when interacting with peers. Being involved in a Peer to Peer program is the best way to do this. Teach peers how to model as friends, not helpers.

4. Teach students to self-advocate. This reduces the need for helpers and gives students a sense of their own ability to be independent and access what they need and want. START has several Self-Advocacy resources to help school staff and parents teach and promote self-advocacy. Also check out the START Connecting article on self-advocacy.

5. Look at other resources that support independence for students with autism:

Written by: Amy Matthews, Ph.D., BCBA - Project Director
START Connecting Homepage

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What goal is most important for your child to have a quality life? We have asked this of numerous parents and school professionals during our trainings over the past 20 years. The top two answers are invariably - "I want my child to be independent and I want my child to have meaningful social relationships."

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Social Competency Webinars and Resources

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Social Competency Webinars and Resources

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Data Collection and Fidelity Checklists

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Considerations for Secondary P2P Playbook WEB

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Considerations for Elementary P2P Playbook WEB

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Our Kit for Kids program is designed to teach elementary and middle school students about their peers with autism. The kit is centered around an illustrated booklet entitled “What’s Up with Nick?”. This colorful, kid-friendly booklet tells the story about a new student, a boy with autism named Nick, through the eyes of a typical peer. The story teaches children that students with autism may think differently or need some accommodations, but all students are of equal worth and should be treated as such.

You can use this program to increase awareness of autism among students from grades K-8. With greater knowledge of autism, our youth will learn to see the person first rather than focus on a classmate’s disability. By increasing students’ acceptance of differences, the Kit for Kids creates a more inclusive classroom and overall sense of community.

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P2P and Social Competency Research & Articles

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P2P and Social Competency Research & Articles

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FAQ's

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In this free webinar, Michelle Garcia Winner, the founder of Social Thinking, provides insider tips for using products published by Social Thinking to nurture social emotional learning in ages 4-7. The materials are helpful for students with solid to strong language and academic learning skills in mainstream and special education

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How to Use Social Thinking Materials to Teach Ages 4–7

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In this free webinar, Michelle Garcia Winner, the founder of Social Thinking, provides insider tips for using products published by Social Thinking to nurture social emotional learning in ages 4-7. The materials are helpful for students with solid to strong language and academic learning skills in m…

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People frequently ask how our products can be used together for a specific age group to teach and motivate kids to improve their social competencies in a fun and engaging manner. ...Michelle Garcia Winner will discuss the products Social Thinking has created for students ages 8-11 as well as share teaching tips and strategies related to the use of the following materials: You are a Social Detective!, the Superflex™ Curriculum, Social Thinking and Me, and the game Should I or Shouldn’t I?.

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People frequently ask how our products can be used together for a specific age group to teach and motivate kids to improve their social competencies in a fun and engaging manner. In Social Thinking's first ever webinar, Michelle Garcia Winner will discuss the products Social Thinking has created for students ages 8-11 as well as share teaching tips and strategies related to the use of the following materials: You are a Social Detective!, the Superflex™ Curriculum, Social Thinking and Me, and the game Should I or Shouldn't I?. Michelle will present for the first 30 minutes, and in the last 30 minutes she will answer the questions you submit live. Learn information you won't get at a conference!

After you have watched the webinar, you may download the Certificate of Attendance for your records. Unfortunately, our webinars are not pre-approved for continuing education units.

Make It a Team Learning Experience
Find a webinar that speaks to you? Make it a team learning experience by sharing it with your professional team, coworkers, client families, and friends so that everyone is on the same page.

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Free Webinar: How to Use Social Thinking Materials to Teach Ages 8-11

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People frequently ask how our products can be used together for a specific age group to teach and motivate kids to improve their social competencies in a fun and engaging manner.

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Links to Books to Support Understanding and Acceptance 

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Links to Books to Support Understanding and Acceptance 

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A variety of ages/ levels of understanding.

Neurodiversity

Medical Differences

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Inclusion and Diversity

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Jump back to the beginning!

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Social Interaction and Peer to Peer Supports

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Social Interaction and Peer to Peer Supports

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START Project Peer to Peer

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Targets

Peer Interaction
Peer Supports
Meaningful Interaction with Peers

Social Interaction & Peer to Peer Supports Examples and resources

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Padlet