Socially Thinking Coordinating Abilities for a Better Outcome Under the school website’s Social Skills heading, it states: Social Skills Classes: All students enrolled in Gersh Academy participate in Social Skill classes that are built into their schedule. The content varies by age and program but the overall goal is to provide students with the skills they need to make friends and have meaningful relationships. Social Thinking is a set of periods where children address (here in no particular order): • Problem Identification & Problem Solving • Interpersonal Communication and Dialog (eye contact, body language, intelligibility, turn taking, listening, etc) • Cognitive Flexibility (differing opinions, multiple ways of doing things) • Communicating Ideas Fully (give all necessary information, avoid and repair communication breakdowns) • Greeting, introducing, topic initiation, topic maintenance, proper ways of ending a conversation • Bullying, appropriateness (expected vs unexpected), kindness and word selection • Self-Regulation (inhibiting actions, remembering and following rules) • Utilizing AAC to participate in interpersonal interactions • Social Media Safety (protecting personal information, meeting people off the internet) • Executive Functioning (higher level: evaluating evidence, making decisions, etc) We believe the Social Thinking period to be of utmost importance to our students attaining independence within the community. We are working to create a program that draws from expertise from Speech Language Pathology, Psychology/Counseling, Social Work, and Occupational Therapy- as well as some yoga principles! Our Kids Are Different • Our students have a primary diagnosis of Autism, which means they have several impairments all at once: • They receive OT, PT, Counseling with the Psychologists and/or Social Worker, and Speech/Language Therapy in addition to their classroom time. • How do we coordinate these skills so the child can use these skills functionally as a member of society? • Get the professions working together! Why Develop their Social Skills? • Increases feelings such as: Belonging, Acceptance, and Confidence • Helps them make friends, feel good about themselves, develop skills such as team work • Increases their communication skills and allows them opportunities to use their communication skills • Prepares them for the future (job, relationships, etc.) • Enhances their overall happiness • Improves academic achievement • Decreases emotional & behavioral problems Why Occupational Therapy? • The Occupational Therapists are uniquely qualified to provide ways for the children to improve their Self-Regulation through sensorymotor activities. • According to Psychology Today, research consistently shows that selfregulation skill is necessary for reliable emotional well being. Behaviorally, self-regulation is the ability to act in your long-term best interest, consistent with your deepest values. • Without emotional stability, it is difficult to relate to the outside world or even feel ready to confront it. What is Self-Regulation? • The ability to manage and direct one’s own physical states, feelings, thoughts, and actions in healthy, pro-active ways to be successful across several domains of life. • It is universal…a set of skills everyone needs for success. • Also called self-control, emotion regulation, coping, impulse control, executive function, etc. Why is Self-Regulation Important? • Directly related to success in learning, academic performance, social interaction, overall health, safety and more. • Is critical for success in school, work, and life. • A better predictor of academic success than IQ. Self-Regulation requires the skills and ability to: • Identify one’s physical state to be able to then calm or arouse one’s body and physical state • Identify, express and manage one’s feelings in an age appropriate and healthy ways • Manage one’s thoughts and engage in cognitive processes such as problem solving and academic learning • Recent research shows children with less impairment in these behaviors make larger gains in vocabulary and language learning Teaching Self-Regulation Skills • Self-regulation skills can be taught. • Overall, children learn self-regulation by observing how others, especially significant adults regulated themselves. • Self-regulation skills develop gradually, so it is important that adults hold developmentally appropriate expectations for children’s behavior. • Some children need direct instruction and practice to learn these skills. Sensory Processing/Modulation is… • Natural process of the maturing nervous system . • The ability to appropriately grade one’s responses to sensory stimuli. • To react to the environment without over or under-responding to stimuli. Programs Used for Self-Regulation Zones of Regulation Videos • Here is a video on what it looks like to be in the Blue Zone (Barbie crying and upset): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5ze5PfDEzI&index=2&list=PL87B22B04E C463D3B • Here is a video on what it looks like to be in the Green Zone: (Finding Nemo: Just Keep Swimming): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB6W2VAx2J8 • Here is a video on what it looks like to be in the Yellow Zone (Mike’s New Car): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfC_GuHiP68 • Here is a video on what it looks like to be in the Red Zone (Lucy mad in Charlie Brown): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq9hBEvFNlM&list=PLD7C6A74DFECE6B3 F&index=1 Self-Regulation Strategies Sensory Strategies Drink Bathroom Wall push-up Palm press or tickles Wiggle cushion Lap pad Thera-putty/Playdoh Therapy Ball Chair push-ups Movement break Arm squeezes Calming Techniques Deep breathing Tense and relax muscles Worry/feeling book Counting to 10 Asking for help Thinking Strategies Self-talk Thinking good thoughts Use your imagination Big problem vs. little problem, Brain break Talk about it Resources • GoNoodle.com Why Social Work? • Among the many professionals who work with people on the autism spectrum, social workers have moved to the forefront in the areas of case management, community interaction, and social skills training. • Unique knowledge of community related issues that confront people with autism. • Social workers are trained to provide individual and group therapy services, and make extremely effective social-cognition coaches who can help an increasing number of adults with autism learn to cope with the ambiguous and sometimes-frustrating world of workplace social interaction. Social Workers can play a key role in improving social functioning, addressing behavioral issues, and increasing the well-being of individuals on the autism spectrum – whether at school, in a clinic, or at a workplace. Why Psychology/Counseling? • Psychologists are uniquely qualified to provide treatments to help people with ASD manage anxiety or mood disorders such as depression. This often includes modified cognitive behavioral therapy, a method that helps individuals change negative thoughts and behaviors. • They often lead social skills groups to help people with ASD improve conversational skills, nonverbal communication and play. Why Speech Language Pathology? • The Speech Language Pathologist is uniquely qualified to sew the parts together with the How of language. • How should I formulate my request so people understand what I want? • How do I know what information is important to listen to? • How do I know what information is important to give? • How do I react to linguistic information? • What vocabulary is • How do I interpret supralinguistic information? important in which How do I give supralinguistic information? (body context? What’s the topic? language, facial expression, tone of voice) What’s the theme? WAIT!!! What about Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking program??? • We’ll still use it!! • We’re adding some perquisites and expanding the program, but you can absolutely still use Thinksheets, Thinking About You, Thinking About me, and the Super Flex curriculum and characters. In fact- we recommend it! • It is extremely helpful for the students to anthropomorphize the different concepts and skills. In fact, we’re providing a link to a great online PowerPoint to introduce the concepts and their corresponding characters to you: http://allspecialed.com/Forums/attachments/video-tutorialspresentations/118d1327954350-social-thinking-powerpoint-social-thinkingpowerpoint.pdf I know what Social Skills are. Why am I here? What are you doing for me? • We generally think of Social Skills as Interpersonal Communication. But we can’t begin there. We can’t assume our students are ready. Our students range in age and level of need. And they are here for a better program than the one they left. We need to find the gaps in their knowledge. We need to work on hidden areas. Is it Complicated? Social Skills, the way we typically approach them, have many prerequisites. They are rooted in Sensory Integration and Regulation, Awareness of Self and Empathy for Others. We can attach language to these skills, and social communication can grow. But we start with the basics of Body Awareness, beginning inside. Outward social skills need a base from which to build. Yeah. The red circle shows the areas we consider real social and interpersonal skills. This is the tip of the iceberg. The yellow circle indicates the underlying levels that prepare them to focus outwards, by organizing their internal needs. Why so many Specialties? • The previous slide shows how social skills and daily living activities are at the top of a wide pyramid. • We work with non-neurotypical (neurodiverse) children who are overreactive and under-reactive to stimuli, and they may have trouble integrating information from multiple sources at once. They may feel bombarded as one piece of information is given too much importance: the scratchy tag, for example. The student could be overwhelmed with this sensation and under reactive to other input: ex, the speaker in a social situation. The child does not hear the question asked because his tactile sense is overloaded. • For this reason, OT, PT, Speech, Counseling, and Social Work have coordinated their efforts to provide a framework for the development of social skills from the bottom up. Sensory Stuff?? • Yes. Sensory stuff. Part of a child’s ability to organize themselves depends on their sensory needs being met. • OT is creating a simple flow chart of Behavior>>Probable Need>>Sensory Item or activity to fill that need. • Sensory items are NOT toys or rewards and children do not earn them or lose them. • All classrooms should have a sensory/break area with items and activities So much!! How do I get help? • The Related Service Team is happy to help you but first… We’re creating a depository on the N:/ drive under Social Thinking and we’re looking to create a physical library with duplicate materials and ideas for games and role-plays. Body Awareness • Go Noodle (website for 5 minute movement breaks) • Excerpts from Astronaut Program (OT will provide handout) • Deep Breathing • Yoga (Lori will provide handouts) • Whole-body Movement • Heavy Work (crab walk, jumping, wall push-up, etc) • Sensory Seat (for bottoms or feet!) • Build a body- give children arms, legs, facial features, etc. and have them build a body on the door one at a time. Talk about senses. Find examples: things you touch, things you smell, things you hear, things you taste. • Body Wake Up- Wiggles, Jiggles, and Dancing How is Body Awareness Important to Developing Social Skills? • Body awareness is the sense that we have of our own bodies. It helps us know where the body parts are, how they move and work, and even how they feel. Body awareness develops as gross motor and fine motor development occur. Balance is also important in the development of body awareness. • Developing an understanding of your whole body, and individual parts of the body, helps with controlling the body, from knowing when you are moving and when you are still to being able to use body language, gesture, and facial expressions in interpersonal communication. Spatial Awareness/Bodies in Space • Placemats (for rug)- discuss optimal distance and what to do with each body part specifically. You can discuss Active/Whole Body Listening here. • Tape course • Obstacle Course • Group Scavenger Hunt • Stretching • Big circle/little circle – while holding hands, kids squish in tight, then spread out to create a larger circle. Talk about sensations- what does it feel like to be so tightly together? • Freeze dance/free movement in space How is Spatial Awareness Important to Developing Social Skills? • Spatial awareness is the ability to be aware of oneself in space. It is an organized knowledge of objects in relation to oneself in that given space. Spatial awareness also involves understanding the relationship of these objects when there is a change of position. • In interpersonal communication, spatial awareness allows one to maintain an appropriate distance from a speaker, listener, or bystander. The student will be able to judge appropriate movements and touch that we use daily to augment our verbal communication. Self Awareness • Emotion Charades • Identify anxieties • Body drawing (where do you feel your feelings?) • What do you feel? How does it feel? Where do you feel it? • Emotional labeling and charting (See N:/Social Thinking/…) • Anger Thermometer: How Big is my Problem? (Continue throughout program) • Positive Self-talk • Coping Skills • Sensory needs/sensory break How is Self Awareness Important to Developing Social Skills? • Conscious knowledge of one's own character, feelings, motives, and desires • Awareness of self is important to developing self-determination. This is not strictly reacting to the environment but allows for development of self-esteem, goal setting, self-advocacy, and problem identification. Perspective Taking/Empathy • Body Language/Nonverbal Cues (anxious, impatient, bored, etc) • Facial Expression- Face ID (MORE Emotional Charades) • Tone of Voice – happy, sad, sarcastic • Cognitive Flexibility – ex. Pete hates pizza. Pete likes PB&J. Which will Pete eat? How is Perspective Taking and Empathy Important to Developing Social Skills? • The autistic individual has a particular difficulty with Theory of Mind. • Theory of mind refers to the notion that many autistic individuals do not understand that other people have their own plans, thoughts, and points of view. Furthermore, it appears that they have difficulty understanding other people's beliefs, attitudes, and emotions. • When interacting with another, it is important for the student to realize their thoughts and experiences are not the same as those of the other individual. There is literally no reason for one person to communicate with another if one student thinks the other knows exactly what they themselves know. • The child has to be effected by another person’s feelings and emotional state to recognize a problem and attempt a solution. Perspective Taking/Empathy • This is a BIG topic (and will take a while to cover!) covering everything from • Awareness of others and importance of others to • Bullying/Cyberbullying (lots of YouTube videos on this topic: see “You Look Disgusting,” “I’m not Black, You’re not White,” and “What happens when we stop putting people in boxes.”) • Recognizing and reacting to expressions (not laughing at peers that trip, cry, get angry, sneeze, lose) • Compliments • Expected versus Unexpected behaviors (chart) • Conversations (N:/Social Thinking/Conversation Train) • Filtering (using appropriate language, limiting expression of thoughts) • Sharing/Compromising Perspective Taking/Empathy • Developing and Maintaining Relationships (Family, Friends, Employment, School, Romantic) • Types of vocabulary for relatives, peers, authority figures, acquaintances • Cell phone/device overuse • Private information versus public information (chart) • Good attention/bad attention • Social Media Safety Conflict Identification and Resolution • Avoid and Repair Communication Breakdowns -(5 “w”s) Give all necessary information (and ask questions to obtain additional information) • Problem Solving • Reacting to Situations • Cause and Effect • Accepting Consequences • Topic Maintenance But my Students are Non Verbal • No, they are not. “Verbal” actually just describes the ability to use language. Our kids are all at different language levels. They may be nonoral or non-vocal. They do not have spoken language. They have devices or PECS to help them communicate. They simply need access to the appropriate vocabulary. • Those that do not yet have a system will be exposed to written words and meaningful symbols. • Fortunately, the SLPs are going to help generate vocabulary that could be pertinent to the lessons so they can participate along with their peers. We are also on hand to help you and the aides understand the child’s device so you can program vocabulary in real time as you think of it. Generalizing Skills in isolation are one thing, but using them in different contexts and beyond the classroom is quite another • Use folder sets, role plays, matching, and movement/kinesthetic activities to reinforce concepts throughout the day. • Review whole body listening, expected versus unexpected behaviors, and anger thermometer concepts throughout the day • Incorporate “other-awareness” activities into the Daily Meeting. Who’s at school? Who’s at home? A student can be the greeter, a student can pass out the placemats, a student can hand out name tags/necklaces. • “Hello, how are you?” song and others to preview and review greetings and conversational components. • Prepare children with the language they’ll need and give them tasks throughout the day that require interpersonal communication and contact. Resources!!! We are hoping to provide a physical library in addition to one on the N:/ drive • https://jillkuzma.wordpress.com/friendship-interactionskills/teaching-ideas/ • https://www.socialthinking.com/landingpages/webinarages47 • http://allspecialed.com/Forums/attachments/video-tutorialspresentations/118d1327954350-social-thinking-powerpointsocial-thinking-powerpoint.pdf • The Question Challenge card game • Feelings map, Anger Thermometer, Anxiety indicator (N:/…) • Community map (N:/…) • That’s Life! Social Language (book) • Social Language Development Scenes for Elementary, for Adolescents (cards) • Temper Tamers (cards) • YouTube: “You Look Disgusting,” “I am Not Black, You are Not White,” “What Happens when We Stop Putting People in Boxes.” (Empathy, Perspective Taking) • Conversation Train (N:/…) • YouTube: Richert4 (channel) Social Skills made Simple, presented by children • Social Thinking books by Michelle Garcia Winner: Thinksheets, Thinking About You, Thinking About me And so much more! We’re working to provide classrooms with more sensory items and every class with a sensory needs flow chart and suggested activities list.