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This article discusses teaching greetings. I believe this is a skill that preschool age children should learn.

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I am sure that you don't need me to tell you how hard teaching the social function of communication (even greetings) is to students with ASD and similar disabilities. We know it's like our kids' Kryptonite. As we work on communication a kid can make requests like a champ. He can even manage some self-regulation. But using language to interact with other people? Meh, not so much! So I am picking up the series on increasing communication functions with the social function.

Why We Start with Social Greetings

We usually start with are social routines like greetings. We start with social greetings for a few reasons.

First, they are typically a way to initiate and respond to others' interactions. They open the student to social interaction. And they are used in almost every setting. So even though they seem trivial, they are an important social communication.

Second, they are rote interactions most of the time. Let's face it, we all have scripts we use for greetings. How many times have you responded to the second statement someone said after saying hello with "Fine" only to find out that question WASN'T "How are you?" but something completely unrelated? Because it's a script, we typically respond in a rote manner. That makes it easy to teach to our students who need predictability and can learn scripts.

Third, and finally, they are routine and predictable. That means they are easy to fit into the day on a regular basis. And the response to them is predictable. We don't have to worry about the student generating new language or how they will respond to someone saying something different. Teaching them a set of responses will work most of the time.

Social communication is ASD kryptonite...we can start instruction by teaching greetings.

So, how can we capitalize on these reasons to teach them? Here are 4 strategies to help teach this entry skill.

1. Build it into routines.

Set up times that make sense to practice greetings with familiar people to start. I'm not a fan of teaching greetings in a discrete trial format because life is not discrete trials. I'm just going to have to teach them in the real environment anyway, so why not start there.

Life is not discrete trials. Social language can be taught effectively in routines.

I'm also a stickler for making sure that the we are practicing greetings in a way to reflects how real people use them. In other words, we don't greet people over and over to get 10 trials. Instead, we greet people when we enter a room. We say goodbye when we leave a room or situation. So think about those kinds of transitions and build instruction around them.

We also sometimes greet people in meetings, similar to morning meeting. Think about making greetings part of your morning and/or afternoon meetings or circle. It's a great time for increasing the number of times students practice the greeting since they can greet each of their peers.

2. Use Visuals

Set up visuals everywhere greetings take place. If you have students using speech-generating devices, place hello and goodbye switches by the entrance and exit to the room. Pair visuals with your greetings to the student to help them make the connections.

3. Video Modeling

You can use video modeling to help the students understand the routines. Video models of greetings are pretty easy to make because they are short and predictable. You can even do some modeling with your student in the video. Just edit out the prompts. For more ideas about how and why to use video modeling, check out this post. And here's an example:

4. Teach in Multiple Settings and Multiple People

Generalization is key with any type of social skills and communication. You always want to start with familiar people, often adults because their responses are going to be more predictable. But once students begin to be independent in those situations, expand to others in the building. Obviously you want to work with peers, which can start in morning meeting. But also think about training others in the building like the office secretaries and custodians. You can set up classroom jobs or errands where students deliver a message to someone in the building. I sometimes will just put a note in an envelope that says, "just say hi after he says hi, sign the paper and give it back to him to return."

Part of training others is making sure that they know whether you are at the teaching stage of the student needing to respond to greetings (first step) or initiating greetings (next step). For initiating greetings, make sure they know how to prompt the greeting, to wait for the student to initiate, and how to reinforce both steps. This includes making sure that peers know how to do this too to increase success with them.

So those are some thoughts of how I teach greetings. I would love to hear about them in the comments. And hopefully you can join us for our Sunday Night Facebook / Instagram Live Professional Development Sessions. If you missed this topic, check the video here for our discussion and some great ideas from the participants!

PD: Increasing Social Comments
Professional Development: Increasing the Functions of Communication-Greetings and Recap. And if you are interested in PD for your school, drop me a line at autismclassroomnews@gmail.com https://www.autismclassroomresources.com/teach-social-greetings/

Posted by Autism Classroom News on Sunday, January 22, 2017

Until next time,

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4 Ways to Teach Social Greetings In Your Class Now

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I am sure that you don't need me to tell you how hard teaching the social function of communication (even greetings) is to students with ASD and similar disabilities. We know it's like our kids' Kryptonite. As we work on communication a kid can make requests like a champ.

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This resource discusses the importance of play and social skills in students with autism. Play skills are an important social skill for young children with ASD.

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Preschoolers_Building Social Skills_ ABA Works

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Preschoolers_Building Social Skills_ ABA Works

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This resource discusses initiating conversation, which is an important social skill for young children to have.

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TIPS by ABA Works

Conversational skills are something many of us take for granted every day. We often don't have to remind ourselves to have eye contact and appropriate body language, to focus on what the other person is saying to create a related response or to seamlessly use smooth transitions. But for individuals with communication or social deficits, keeping up with all these rules can be overwhelming. For expats and their children, who move from place to place, these communication challenges can be even more extreme.

Although individuals may appear as though they are not interested in socialization, often they are just lacking the skill set to do so.

So, how can parents help their children increase their social skills, meet new friends on the playground or at school? Or how can parents and individuals help themselves? Follow our 3-part series on how to use effective strategies to teach your child social skills that can benefit them in their new home or school.

Part I: How to Initiate Conversations

Pick conversation topics that are interesting to your child (or yourself): If your child has an affinity or fascination with a certain book, fictional character, animal, or any other interest, use this to guide and choose conversation topics. Your child's motivation to socialize will greatly increase if the topic is something of relevance to them.

Use conversation prompt cards: With your child (or for yourself: with a partner/friend), create several conversation topic cards that can be used to practice conversation, and eventually to help build a foundation of some possible questions to ask new people. Use relevant topics as previously suggested, and also help your child come up with other conversational topics like, "do you like ____?" or "what's your favorite _____?" Write each topic on a card and put all on a key ring to easily keep with you for practice. Sample cards here.

Use social stories to explain social rules: Social stories are a great way to visually and verbally teach the rules and structure of a conversation, social expectations, and body language. Here are examples of social stories that explain an overview of conversation structure:

Social stories can also be used to teach specific skills, like understanding personal space, or how to ask someone to play:

Model and role play: Depending on your child's learning abilities, they may benefit from either watching two people (i.e. two parents, one parent/one sibling) model initiating a conversation or your child may benefit more from engaging in role play. Once you have together created some sample conversation topics, explained the structure and expectations of initiating a conversation, now it is time to practice!

Starting a real conversation: After having some practice with initiating generic conversations and understanding related social rules, children and adults should try out their new skills in real life settings.

First, start with someone you already know. This should help the conversation feel more comfortable and natural.

Use information you already know about that individual (from previous conversation or observation). For example, "Hey, I saw you reading a book about Minecraft, that's also my favorite game! Which character do you like?"

Try starting with open-ended questions to allow for follow up questions. For example, "Hey (name), I saw you're on the school's martial arts team, how do you like it?"

Positive Reinforcement: It is crucial that you include reinforcement in your child's learning process. Not only does reinforcement allow your child to understand that they are engaging in the correct behavior, it also encourages them to continue with that behavior. You can provide an immediate reward after a successful role play, or provide tokens throughout the teaching process that your child can "cash in" for a reward once the token board is full.

Interested in receiving professional, customized ABA services for your family in the home, after-school program or at school? Our BCBA and staff will help with behavior challenges, developmental delays, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Disorders, ADHD or related disorders. Contact ABA Works at lilyan@aba-works.com
Follow our social skills series next week when we will offer tips on how to sustain a conversation!

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Expanding Social Skills Part I: How to Initiate Conversation - ABA Works

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Conversational skills are something many of us take for granted every day. We often don't have to remind ourselves to have eye contact and appropriate body language, to focus on what the other person is saying to create a related response or to seamlessly use smooth transitions.

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This article provides a detailed description of SST interventions that can be used and why or when they need to be used.

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Applied Behavior Analysis Programs Guide

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One of the core features of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) relates to understanding and behaving in social situations. Many children and adults with ASD need specific support to learn about social behaviors and how to engage with:

Individuals with ASD may be motivated to have meaningful interactions with others; however, many need systematic teaching to have successful social outcomes. Social Skills Training (SST) represents one evidence-based method for helping individuals with ASD better understand social interactions and how to engage with others socially.

What is Social Skills Training (SST)?

SST refers to a wide range of interventions and instructional methods used to help an individual understand and improve social skills. Sometimes referred to as social skills groups, SST is often associated with the fields of:

applied behavior analysis

special education

cognitive-behavioral therapy

relationship-based therapies

A variety of professionals implement SST, including:

Research also suggests that parents can train to implement SST programs effectively.

What skills can be taught with SST?

SST addresses a wide range of social skills. While there are many different ways to define social skills, in general, SST focuses on the rules and behaviors that help individuals interact with one another.

Some examples of skills targeted in SST programs include:

Initiating conversations

Appropriate eye contact

Social interaction

How to behave in specific social and community settings

Understanding emotions and facial expressions

Gestures and body language

Assertiveness

SST programs vary significantly based on the age and skill level of participants. Social skills for children with autism might include fundamental play skills like:

Social skills for adolescents and young adults with ASD might consist of:

One benefit of social skills programs is that they are fully customizable for each individual's strengths and needs.

Is SST evidence-based?

According to the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice (NCAPE) , SST is an evidence-based method for teaching social skills. To be considered evidence-based, researchers and provider professionals have published sufficient and quality research showing that social skills training results in improved outcomes for individuals with ASD.

Why is teaching social skills necessary?

Most social skills programs for autism, including SST, recognize the critical need to address social skills. By tackling a wide range of social skills, SST addresses one of the core symptoms of autism outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) . Multiple studies show that developing social skills in children with autism can:

increase appropriate peer interactions

reduce problem behavior

increase academic performance

Different types of Social Skills Training

As mentioned above, there is no one-size-fits-all format for social skills programs. Individuals with ASD have a wide range of skills, so finding an SST program that fits well for each child is essential. To describe how SST programs can differ, here are four different types of SST:

Peer Mediated Instruction and Interventions -

In peer-mediated instruction and intervention (PMII), children without an associated diagnosis are trained to be 'peer mentors' or 'peer tutors.' The peer mentors are then assigned a series of tasks to work with classmates with ASD, including how to facilitate social and play interactions. PMI programs also structure the physical environment of a classroom or clinic to promote social interactions.

Social Stories and Scripts -

Social stories and scripts are one SST method that involves describing a particular social concept using written or visual materials. Social stories and scripts can be customized to capture the strengths and motivations of a specific individual. There is limited evidence that social stories alone assist children with ASD in learning social skills.

Instead, social stories work best when combined with role-play, peer-intervention, or rehearsal models where the individual practices and receives feedback on performance

Video Modeling -

One of the most effective social skills training methods involves using video as a tool to teach social concepts. In this training method, the individual watches a video demonstration of a behavior and then attempts to perform the social skill immediately after. Videos can be of other children or adults engaging with others, or videos of the individual can be collected and watched later.

PEERS (UCLA Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) -

{PEERS involves weekly, 90-minute group sessions for 3-4 months for children with ASD aged preschool to young adults. Sessions tackle a variety of different social skills taught through:

These are designed to foster socialization. A parent or caregiver often attends, who trains to help the learner practice the skills at home and in the community.

According to a study in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, young adults who completed social skills classes through PEERS continue to increase their social connections months after their training. The same study also showed a decrease in autism symptoms during the same time period.

Steps to Incorporate SST into the Classroom

, describe the critical ingredients for success required in Krasney, Williams, Provencal, and Ozonoff (2003) social skills interventions for children with ASD. For anyone considering implementing social skills training into a classroom, clinic, or home-based program, plan to incorporate some of the elements:

1. Make the abstract concrete.

Learners should be given actionable steps for each social skill to be taught. Many children with ASD struggle with abstract concepts and application of complex social norms. Focus on teaching concrete tasks to:

Repeat the process until the individual with ASD can fluently demonstrate the skill.

2. Create structure and predictability.

Each time the social skills group assembles, use a similar format and routine. Many children with ASD benefit from structure and predictability. Changes in routine can be disruptive and distracting and interfere with the social skill intervention program. Consider a schedule for each social skills training session. This could look like:

By building this into the social skills training time, individuals can focus more on social skills therapy session and less on changes in the routine or schedule.

3. Simplify language and group children by language level.

Research supports that children with autism may benefit from learning from peers with similar language comprehension skills. If a child only understands simple 4-5 word statements, teaching complex social skills in lecture format likely won't have much benefit. Social skills groups can be an effective way for children to learn game playing and conversation.

Similarly, peers that have advanced language skills may not be the best fit to model and demonstrate simple social language required for younger learners. Evaluate and assess each child's language skills first before developing the social skills training groups.

4. Provide multiple and varied learning opportunities.

Not all children with ASD learn the same or learn different concepts in the same way.

During social skills groups, attempt various activities to teach the same idea to increase the chances a learner might 'latch on' to the social behavior in a way that makes sense for him or her.

Try partner activities. Vary that with small and large group activities. Use video or technology-based learning opportunities, along with role-playing or traditional paper-and-pencil skills. Collect some data on what activities seem most helpful for each learner and adapt as you go.

5. Select relevant goals.

As mentioned earlier, many different skills work in SST programs.

Teachers, parents, and practitioners should evaluate a learner's skills upfront and select the most important and relevant social skills goals before beginning training. Many instructors start at the beginning of a curriculum and complete module after module, whether a child needs the instruction or not.

This can create monotony, waste time on less meaningful skills, and may even generate problem behaviors. Select the goals and skills that are likely to make the most significant difference in the child's success.

6. Program for maintenance and generalization.

Finally, as the learner masters different social skills within a social skills training setting, it becomes crucial to identify ways to bring these skills outside of SST into real-world applications.

Successful SST programs incorporate generalization tasks, testing the child's ability to demonstrate the response in the moment with peers or other adults. Likewise, SST should make sure that a child has sufficient opportunities to practice a skill so that it's not forgotten or set aside after infrequent practice. Take time to identify how you plan to program for maintenance and generalization of skills before you begin teaching.

Social Skills Training for Adults

It is never too late to start SST. SST can be an important tool to help adults who have not learned appropriate interpersonal skills. SST can also be beneficial as social therapy for adults with disorders like:

Autism spectrum disorders

Mood disorders

Personality disorders

Social skills groups have many benefits including:

Helping adults improve eye contact.

Learning how to initiate and engage in conversation

Effectively handling conflict while developing social problem solving skills

Gaining confidence and self esteem

Improving overall mental health

Krasny, L., Williams, B. J., Provencal, S., & Ozonoff, S. (2003). Social skills interventions for the autism spectrum: Essential ingredients and a model curriculum. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 12 (1), 107-122
Applied Behavior Analysis | Saint Cloud State University Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Psychology | University of Minnesota
June 2020

More Articles of Interest:

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What is Social Skills Training (SST) and When is it Used?

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One of the core features of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) relates to understanding and behaving in social situations. Many children and adults with ASD need specific support to learn about social behaviors and how to engage with: Individuals with ASD may be motivated to have meaningful interactions with others; however, many need systematic teaching to have successful social outcomes.

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This resource discusses turn taking, an important social skill for preschoolers with autism. This is sometimes the first interaction children have with another. It is an important life skill, and one that needs to be taught at a young age.

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February 27, 2017
This week's "Got Questions?" response is by Janine Stichter, professor of special education and an applied behavioral analyst at the University of Missouri's Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, in Columbia. The university and its autism center are among the 13 sites in the Editor's note: The following information is not meant to diagnose or treat and should not take the place of personal consultation, as appropriate, with a qualified healthcare professional and/or behavioral therapist. Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN).
I often hear this question about a pivotal life skill that challenges many children and adults on the autism spectrum.

Most people agree that learning to take turns is crucial to success in social situations. What often goes unappreciated is how turn taking involves the mastery of several related skills that are likewise important throughout life.

For instance, the ability and willingness to take turns involves

the skill of waiting (impulse control),

the ability to read facial expressions and body language (social perception) and

the twin skills of sharing and conversational reciprocity (the dance of interactions).

How we teach turn taking depends on a person's developmental level. For example, young children and those with intellectual disability or limited language skills may not be able to process a lot of verbal instruction. In these situations, it's important to create an environment that encourages and supports turn taking. (More about that below.)

Explaining how and why to take turns can work well with many older children and those on the less-severely affected end of the autism spectrum. With these groups, we can also teach higher-level turn taking skills. (Also described below.)

To put it another way, learning how to take turns along with its related skills is a lot like learning to read. As the child masters each level, we want to build on the skill while practicing it in different situations.

Here are some strategies we've found helpful working with children of different ages and developmental levels.

Taking turns in games

Many games and other fun activities lend themselves to learning how to take turns. I recommend games that have a clear turn taking structure combined with a strong visual element. Good examples include games with turns that involve rolling dice, spinning a wheel, picking up a card and so on.

You may find it helps to use visual supports as a reminder or signal for when it's someone's turn. For example, consider giving each player a card that's red on one side and green on the other. You might explain that players keep their cards with the red side up while waiting, then flip it to green when it's their turn.

At first, the person learning to take turns may need some assistance. For instance, if your son reaches for the spinner out of turn, you can point to the red card and say "Wait" or ask "Whose turn?"

Remember to praise your son for waiting his turn. Depending on the situation, you might also give a sticker or other small reward.

A turn taking project

At our center, we've had success with a Legos® building game involving two partners. We provide a picture of a completed structure built from blocks of two different colors. (See example at right.) The structure can be as simple or complex as you judge appropriate. Give one partner all the blocks of one color - let's say red. Give the other color - let's say blue - to the other partner. Now invite them to build the structure by taking turns.

Structured sharing

Classroom teachers can be powerful allies in helping children learn how to take turns. In kindergarten and the early grade school years, for example, it's common to have a daily time for sharing or "show and tell." Often, the students sit in a circle, each holding something to talk about or show to the group. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn the routine of turn taking, as each child learns to not only wait but also to focus on others. The key to success is repetition as part of the child's daily schedule.

As in game playing, the teacher can use red- and green-sided cue cards as visual supports to help students remember to wait their turns. To signal when a student's turn is over, the teacher might use a timer or give a verbal or visual cue. For example, hold up a yellow card, followed by a red card.

Conversational turn taking

Families can use a similar strategy to practice taking turns sharing about each person's day at the dinner table. Consider putting out a line-up of topic cards (with pictures and/or words) in the center of the table, along with a red/green card for each person. To start, all of the cards should be flipped to red.

One person starts by choosing a topic and perhaps a conversation partner. For instance, one child may choose to talk to his dad about the topic "school." Child and dad flip their cards to green. Meanwhile, mom and another child are listening with their cards showing red. Once the conversation about school ends, the second child can choose a topic and conversation partner, and so on.

If your son isn't ready for this sort of planned conversation, I suggest using the cards slightly differently. Choose a topic card and give it to the first speaker. The person can say whatever he or she would like about the topic, while everyone else listens. The speaker then passes the card to the next person, who then takes a turn sharing.

You can adapt all these strategies to support your son as his skills improve.

Strengthening other social skills

As your son masters simple conversational turn taking, I encourage you to add opportunities to strengthen associated social skills. For instance, let's say that one person at the table shares that she had a bad day. Instead of moving immediately on to the next person, model empathy and reciprocity by expressing how sorry you are that she had a bad day and/or asking a follow-up question. By reciprocity, I mean an exchange that reflects the perspectives of both the speaker and the listener.

Turn taking and table manners

Of course, turn taking is also important when it comes to serving food. Here again, you can use the red- and green-sided cards. Everyone starts with the red side up. Then one at a time, each person turns the card to green when the cook signals it's their turn to serve themselves.

Again, be ready to remind your son if he starts to go out of turn, pointing to the red card and calmly asking, "Whose turn?" or saying, "Wait, please." Likewise, remember to use lots of positive reinforcement such as immediate praise for waiting and perhaps a sticker or small prize.

As these examples illustrate, it's helpful to use the same or similar cues across different activities and settings. The consistency can speed learning and help a child apply the skill in new and unanticipated situations.

You might even keep a couple of those green- and red-sided cards in a pocket or purse for situations like waiting in line at a store or for a server to take your order at a restaurant. Certainly, they can come in handy during a play-date that involves taking turns with a toy.

Teens and turn taking

As a child advances developmentally, I recommend activities that introduce more-advanced turn taking skills.

Take, for example, a high schooler who gets impatient while waiting his turn at Jenga. This is a good opportunity for some pre-game coaching.

First, encourage the teen to look at the friend whose turn it is and see if he can tell if the friend is aware that it's his or her turn. You might suggest looking for telltale signs of concentration such as furrowed eyebrows and a slightly clenched mouth. Clearly, reading facial expressions and body language are important social as well as turn taking skills.
For related tips and perspective, also see: "Autism and conversation skills: How do we teach our son to listen?"
In addition, I encourage teaching the teen how to express a polite prompt such as "Sorry I'm impatient; do you think you'll be much longer?"

I hope these strategies are helpful. We'd love to hear more from readers at gotquestions@autismspeaks.org.

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Autism & turn taking: How can I teach our son this crucial life skill? | Autism Speaks

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February 27, 2017 This week's "Got Questions?" response is by Janine Stichter, professor of special education and an applied behavioral analyst at the University of Missouri's Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, in Columbia.

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Social stories can be used for older preschool age children, like 5 year olds. Social stories are an effective way to teach social skills and what to expect in social situations to children.

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Social Stories are a social learning tool that supports the safe and meaningful exchange of information between parents, professionals, and people with autism of all ages. The people who develop Social Stories are referred to as Authors, and they work on behalf of a child, adolescent, or adult with autism, the Audience.

Authors follow a defined process that begins with gathering information, discovering a topic that 'fits' the Audience, and the development of personalized text and illustration. Most frequently associated with short, simple Stories, there are also Social Articles for use with older or more advanced individuals. The Social Story Definition and ten defining characteristics (The Social Story Criteria) guide the development of every Story and result a patient, respectful, and unassuming quality that is the hallmark of the approach. It is that quality that distinguishes genuine Social Stories from social scripts, skill checklists, or 'social stories' that do not meet the current the definition.

What is a Social Story? presentation

There is only one definition for the term 'Social Story':

A Social Story accurately describes a context, skill, achievement, or concept according to 10 defining criteria. These criteria guide Story research, development, and implementation to ensure an overall patient and supportive quality, and a format, "voice", content, and learning experience that is descriptive, meaningful, and physically, socially, and emotionally safe for the child, adolescent, or adult with autism.
Additional Social Story Information:
Where did Social Stories come from?
The History of Social Stories

Check your knowledge of Social Stories
The Social Story Quiz and Answers to The Social Story Quiz

Is THIS a Social Story?
It is NOT a Social Story if... An initial screening instrument

How the Social Story Criteria keep pace with experience and research
Social Stories 10.0 - 10.2 Comparison Chart

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What Is A Social Story? - Carol Gray - Social Stories

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Social Stories are a social learning tool that supports the safe and meaningful exchange of information between parents, professionals, and people with autism of all ages. The people who develop Social Stories are referred to as Authors, and they work on behalf of a child, adolescent, or adult with autism, the Audience.

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Preschoolers_Building Social Skills_ Chicago ABA

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Preschoolers_Building Social Skills_ Chicago ABA

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This resource discusses developing imitation and play skills with young children with ASD. A good foundation of imitation skills is important for building more complex skills in the future. Play skills are also important for social skills in young children.

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Applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy does not have one set formula, which is why some many therapists utilize this method for children on the autism spectrum. ABA therapy can look different for every child, including the skills being targeted during treatment. If a young child is behind in development of their imitation and play skills, ABA therapy may be used to help develop these social skills.
Imitation skills
While imitation skills sound simple, this is an important piece of early childhood development and everyday interactions. Imitation includes a range of different actions, including mimicking an action (e.g. waving your hand), mimicking a sound (e.g. saying hello), or mimicking an action made with an object (e.g. grabbing a block from a pile). Children who follow the typical progression of development will begin to imitate at approximately eight months old. They will continue to develop this skill (more advanced imitation) throughout the next 10 to 24 months (approximately). Parents are usually the most influential in their child's development of imitation skills throughout play time.
Imitation skills in children with autism: How ABA therapy can help
Children who are on the autism spectrum often experience delays in their imitation skills at an early age. This is significant because delayed imitation skills can result in delays in other areas of development, such as language and play skills. Because of the impact of imitation on other areas of language and social development, ABA therapy is now being used to strengthen imitation skills in children with autism. Throughout treatment, ABA therapists will incorporate the interests of the child into therapy for imitation and continually encourage the child to imitate their behaviors. One way to do this is by first imitating the behaviors of the child (to model this skill). Because this skill may not come naturally, it is important for the therapist to encourage and motivate the child to do so.

Parents can also play an important role in practicing imitation at home in play settings, mimicking the behaviors of the child (to, again, model the skill), and helping or motivating the child to mimic behaviors. In some cases, the parents and therapists may also need to cue the child to mimic, if additional support is needed.
Play skills
As previously mentioned, a delay in imitation skills can lead to a delay in play skills. There are six main types of play skills that child develop: cause-and-effect, constructive, exploratory, physical, pretend, and toy play.
Play skills in children with autism: How ABA therapy can help
Children who are on the autism spectrum often experience delays in developing their interactive play skills, including taking turns or sharing with others. ABA therapists can help children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) build play skills by modeling appropriate play skills and practicing playing in a controlled space (before playing with their peers during school). ABA therapy can also aim to resolve problematic behaviors that occur during play time and replace these behaviors with more positive behaviors. As with many other aspects of ABA therapy, the more practice, the better!

Are you interested in ABA services for your child in the Chicago area? Contact us or call (773) 630-4400 to learn more about the range of services we provide for children who are on the autism spectrum at Chicago ABA Therapy, including applied behavior analysis therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology.
Contributed by Rachel Brusstar.

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How Can ABA Therapy Help Develop Imitation and Play Skills? - Chicago ABA Therapy

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Applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy does not have one set formula, which is why some many therapists utilize this method for children on the autism spectrum. ABA therapy can look different for every child, including the skills being targeted during treatment. If a young child is behind in de ...

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This resource discusses teaching play skills to children with ASD. Play skills is an essential part of social skills for preschool age children. Play skills are one of the ways social skills training can be done with preschoolers with ASD.

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So often, we take for granted that kids like to play. We buy them toys, arrange play dates, and even take them to parks and public areas, all in the name of playing. No one doubts the importance of play on a child's development. It builds confidence, social skills, creativity, and imagination.

But what happens when a child is unable to play? They may seem disinterested in age-appropriate toys, preferring to throw them or spin them. Or, a child may be so involved with his toy that he refuses to engage with other adults or peers. Another common concern is when a child may be able to learn functional play skills but has trouble progressing on towards interactive play and symbolic play. Meaning, they can learn to build a block tower but they won't build blocks with other kids or pretend that they blocks are a road to drive a pretend car on.

If play is difficult for your client or child, there are some ways to work on it so that it improves.

Step 1: Teach the child to tolerate adults in their space

A child might be able to engage in a toy, but as soon as an adult comes over, the child runs away. This child might have learned that adults tend to interrupt their fun play and try to control it. At this early stage, we encourage parents and other adults to be fun with their kids. Let the child take the lead on controlling how he uses the toy and then copy the child. If Jacob is enjoying flipping cars upside down and watching the wheels spin, get on the ground beside him and flip your own cars. Don't put too many demands on him; let him learn that having adults in his space while he plays is fun!
Tip: The adult should have her own set of toys, don't take the toys from the child.
Step 2: Slowly begin to manipulate the play

Once Jacob is able to tolerate having an adult beside him while he plays, the adult can begin to control some parts of that play. Try to get in his play and push his car for 10 seconds. If he tolerates this, then back off and reward him by giving him back the control. We can try switching up the routine so that if he always plays with the blue car, tell him to use the red car. If Jacob likes to put his car down the ramp first, have him let you take the first turn.
Tip: Remember, this is hard for some little guys! Don't push too hard and be prepared with lots of good reinforcement!
Step 3: Increase the amount of play sequences

If Jacob has gotten really good at letting you put the cars down the ramp together with him, try teaching him more sequences with that toy. For example, put the cars into a car wash, put gas into the cars, and maybe crash the cars together. Also work on increasing the child's time on task so that he can engage with adults while playing for longer periods of time.
Tip: Whatever you do, remember to make it fun!
Click here for a FREE car ramp play script

Step 4: Introduce peers

Once a child can play with an adult for 3-5 minutes and has about five sequences within each play activity, we can start to introduce peers. Similar to step 1 (above), we would teach the child to tolerate playing near peers, also called parallel play. Parallel play remains age-appropriate until about age four when interactive play typically emerges.
Tip: Kids love trains? Build one track and have them each drive their own cars around the track
Step 5: Interactive play with peers

For a child older than four who is able to demonstrate parallel play with peers, we can teach interactive play. As an adult or therapist, you can help manipulate the play so that instead of two children building two separate block towers, they take turns building a tower together. Once they can play together and share some toys, we can work on increasing more conversation skills.
Tip: We like to start teaching conversation skills in play by modeling - narrate what you're doing, even if it's just sounds effects! Examples: "vroom, vroom", "Here's some gas" "Down the ramp"

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So often, we take for granted that kids like to play. We buy them toys, arrange play dates, and even take them to parks and public areas, all in the name of playing. No one doubts the importance of play on a child's development. It builds confidence, social skills, creativity, and imagination.

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This sources provides a detailed overview about social skills and how they are affected by ASD. The source also discusses many of the ways ABA can target social skills, and many of the interventions used with social skills training.

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The sooner someone with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) starts to work on their social skills, the better. It's important that ASD gets diagnosed as early as possible so ABA therapists can help build strong, practical social skills with their autistic patients.

Read on to learn more about:

What social skills are and why autistic children struggle with them

Important social skills for autistic children

How ABA therapy helps autistic children develop social skills

Other common strategies used for teaching and developing social skills

What are social skills?

Social skills are essential tools. Everyone needs to have them and use them in their everyday lives. They are what make it possible to have successful communication . Without them, there would be misinterpretations during each social interaction with another person.

Social skills can be characterized one of the following:

Verbal social skills: Let the other person know about certain information through talking and voice how you're feeling to the people around you.

Written social skills: Exchanging information, feelings, thoughts, and opinions through writing. Newsletters, lists, emails, and notes are all used for written social skills.

They are often goal-oriented.

The social skills used depend on the situation, who it involves, and where it occurs. For example, a scenario taking place at home may produce a very different reaction than the same scenario taking place at work. Personal and professional social skills tend to be quite different from person to person.

Social skills are certain types of behavior that get judged by other people. These behaviors get evaluated to determine our level of social skill.

They can be taught, practiced, and learned by almost anyone.

However, suppose they only get taught what the definition of those social skills is. In that case, they still get considered underdeveloped.

Determine how to act appropriately in any social situation.

Make new friends, and be able to keep them as well.

Discover personal interests and develop new hobbies.

To learn and develop social skills of their own, they need to have a complete understanding of what they are. They also need to know how to recognize them in day-to-day life. They need to have complete cognitive control over them without being told when and how to do so.

Non-verbal social skills: Using appropriate gestures to communicate during social interactions and knowing how to use facial expressions and body language in practical ways.

Empathetic social skills: Empathy as a social skill consists of three key components. how to recognize the emotions of others. Understanding what they are feeling and thinking-knowing and feeling the same way that they do to give a sincere response.

Some of the common characteristics of social skills include:

Why do autistic children struggle with social skills?

Autistic individuals who are older or have a late diagnosis may struggle to relearn healthy social skills. It could also take them longer to develop those skills as well. Learning a new skill set can take quite a bit of time.

More time is often needed because they also have to forget their old habits. Letting go of negative behaviors that hold them back is one step closer to having good social skills.

Having good social skills can help autistic children:

It helps make and keep friendships.

Feeling good makes you share, and in return, sharing makes you feel good.

Teaches good communication.

Improves ability to learn and absorb information.

It helps avoid having to correct mistakes.

Following directions shows that they understand when they get asked to do something.

It helps set boundaries for themselves and other people.

Shows ability to follow the rules and directions.

Needed for proper communication.

Good eye contact shows that they are listening.

It can help keep some behaviors more under control.

It makes them more approachable.

Shows respect to the other person speaking.

Another reason why children with autism struggle with social skills because it is much harder for them to pick up on social cues. They may not recognize how another person feels right away, which can sometimes lead to them seeming like they don't care.

A robust set of social skills is essential for autistic children. It will have a significant positive impact on their mental health. Communicating their needs and expressing emotions to others will give a massive boost to their self-esteem.

Building solid social skills is good for the mental and emotional wellbeing of people with ASD. It can increase their overall quality of life.

The most important social skills to teach an autistic child?

The most essential and needed social skills that can be taught to children with autism belong to these four groups:

Play skills: Sharing toys and taking turns to be fair with one another.

Conversation skills: Choosing appropriate conversation topics or what body language to use.

Emotional skills: Recognizing, understanding, expressing, and managing their emotions, also doing the same for the feelings of other people.

1. Make its theme in context for a specific social skill you want the autistic child to learn.

2. Let the child choose their role and act out the scenario.

3. When role-playing, you want to show the best possible behaviors for specific situations. When they do happen in real life, they will have prepared to deal with it accordingly.

Problem-solving skills: Making proper decisions in social situations, dealing with and resolving conflict.

Here are seven social skills that every child should have and why they're so necessary to have:

Cooperating

Following directions

Respecting personal space

Making eye contact

Using manners

ABA therapy for autistic children to improve their social skills?

Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) is an effective type of therapy. It is a common form of therapy for children with developmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

ABA therapy involves reinforcing new and healthy behaviors. It pinpoints what specific strengths and weaknesses need attention.

It is also one of the most popular therapies. It's primarily known for helping autistic children build positive skills such as:

ABA therapy's effective design was created for meeting the needs of everyone in a different way. Each treatment plan is unique.

The main goal of ABA therapy is first to understand how certain behaviors develop. Once the behaviors that have adverse effects get identified, intervention and a treatment plan get put into place.

ABA therapy can help your autistic child build healthy social skills. It can also improve learning abilities and modify behaviors into more positive ones. Check out Hidden Talents ABA to learn more about how you can easily access quality and effective treatments.

Additional Strategies for teaching and developing social skills

Role-playing

To role-play as a social skill-building strategy, set the role-play:

Video-Modelling

One of the most effective intervention strategies for teaching social skills to autistic children is video modeling.

It is a visual teaching technique and involves watching a video of the desired behavior. After the video is over you, then work with the child to try to mimic the same behaviors as seen in the video.

Use games as your tools when teaching autistic children new social skills. Games are hands-on and fun. They are good at making it easy for any child to take part in skill-building activities.

Playing different types of games is a great interactive way to develop meaningful social skills. Behaviors that get learned through playing games also often will stick.

Visual supports

Visual supports enhance the communication process by adding another interpretable level to it.

Photographs, artwork and various objects can all get used as visual supports. Using written words as visual supports, such as checklists and schedules, can also be used.

An excellent example of a visual support is a stop sign.

Giving proper praise

Giving out proper praise when deserved is essential. It's a necessary part of effectively teaching autistic children social skills.

Children are more likely to remember how to use good social skills when rewarded. You can give them praise for displaying certain positive, ideal behaviors.

Giving credit when needed also shows them that they are on the right track. It reassures them that they are offering the appropriate social behaviors.

Social skills training

Social skills training (SST) is a type of behavioral therapy. It helps people with developmental disorders, like ASD, to quickly learn and build a solid set of social skills.

It shows how to use positive behaviors in complex social situations. SST also teaches valuable social problem-solving skills needed in everyday life.

Read social stories

Social stories are personalized short stories. They are a way for autistic children to easily exchange information.

Doing so can make it easier to develop positive social skills. They typically get written in an active first-person point-of-view. They can answer questions based on: Who, what, when, where, why, and how.

You can find several examples of social stories for different specific issues .

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Social Skills for Autism - Hidden Talents ABA

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The sooner someone with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) starts to work on their social skills, the better. It's important that ASD gets diagnosed as early as possible so ABA therapists can help build strong, practical social skills with their autistic patients.

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This source offers information on how ABA therapy can be used to target social skills in children with ASD.

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Autism Therapy Chicago: ABA Therapy for Children with Autism

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It is well known that deficits in social skills are common with children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Each child with ASD is unique and may have different social areas they struggle with. The good news is that there are many interventions to help those with ASD improve their social interactions!

Evaluating Social Interactions

It is important to evaluate social interactions before beginning any social skill building program. The process of evaluating social skills can involve direct observation of your child in social situations and also interviews with parents. Direct assessment can also be used to help evaluate a child's ability to perform social skills such as: making eye contact, understanding social perspectives, and reading facial expressions. It is important to look at both what the individual child's deficits are and also what is developmentally and age appropriate to teach.

Social Skills Activities for Early Learners

For young children, the first social interaction they have is with their parents and other caregivers. Teaching early social games like peek-a-boo and rolling a ball back and forth can help create a social connection and promote social reciprocity. Around age 2, children start engaging in parallel play; that is, playing next to a peer but not interacting. Providing children with ASD plentiful positive experiences to engage in and be reinforced for engaging in parallel play with help promote this important milestone. Children this age can also start recognizing people's facial expressions. Teaching children what a "sad" and "happy" face looks like can take the form of role play. This can also extend to books or videos whereby pausing during a book or video to point out a character's face and how it shows what they might be feeling can serve as a beneficial learning opportunity.

Social Skills Activities for School Ages Learners

As children enter the elementary years, social interactions become more complex and nuanced. This is often when we see learners with ASD struggle to understand their peer's feelings and actions. You may see a learner have difficulty sustaining friendships, making and sustaining appropriate conversations, or understanding socially appropriate behaviors. Some of these skills can be taught via didactic instruction, such as explaining how far to stand from someone when talking, and then practiced during role play or within a social group.

ABA therapy programs can address these social deficits and help a child both understand what appropriate social interactions are and when to practice them. While many times during in-home sessions there may not be peers available, the skills can be practiced with therapists, siblings, and parents. There is definitely benefit for a child to become fluent with these skills in the safe, comfortable, home setting before practicing them in larger, unfamiliar settings with potential novel peers. Scheduling play dates during therapy time can be beneficial and a great way to practice social skills with a therapist or BCBA there to help prompt interactions, if needed!

Social skills are an Important Part of a Therapy Program

A quality ABA program will look at each learner holistically and focus on all areas that are an important part of their development. Steinberg Behavior Solutions' comprehensive programs make sure that all needed skills are targeted and developed in developmentally appropriate ways, using empirically validated methods.

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Building Social Skills for Children with ASD - Autism Therapy Chicago: ABA Therapy for Children with Autism

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It is well known that deficits in social skills are common with children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Each child with ASD is unique and may have different social areas they struggle with. The good news is that there are many interventions to help those with ASD improve their social interactions!