Facilitating Success in
Academic and Social Situations
BY
JOAN CLARK,
SPEECH-LANGUAGE
PATHOLOGIST
M.A., CCC-SLP
Autistic Spectrum Disorders
-Autistic Spectrum Disorder- Level 1
Formerly diagnosed as:
Asperger Syndrome
High Functioning Autism
-Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorders
Formerly diagnosed as:
PDD, PDD-NOS
Pragmatic Language Disorder
Broad Characteristics
 Limited ability and/or interest in social interaction
 Restricted and repetitive interests and/or
behaviors
 Pragmatic language problems
 Perspective-taking difficulties
 Emotional control issues
Traits often Associated with ASD
 Sensory issues
 Co-morbid Diagnoses
 Executive Function difficulties
 Fine and gross motor problems
Ideas and Techniques
 Communication development
ideas/activities for home and school
 Commercially available therapies for
academic and social success.
 Techniques and therapies to address
difficult behaviors
CALM COMMUNICATION
 C- Clear, concise, creative
 A- Affirming, appreciative, amusing
 L- Laser-focused
 M- Motivational
LISTENING
 Probably the most critical element of communication
 There are skills involved that make listening both a
science and an art
 Active listening occurs when a person is actively
trying to understand what is being said or taught
 Critical listening involves listening to information
stated to try to figure out information not stated.
Listening Rules
Watch the one who talks
Keep our body still
Sit (stand) up straight and tall
Do not interrupt
Think about the words
Use a friendly face
(to the tune “The farmer in the Dell”)
EXAMPLE: We watch the one who talks, we
watch the one who talks, when we are good
listeners, we watch the one who talks.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Speaking Rules
Watch the listener
Speak loud enough to be heard
Speak soft enough to avoid bothering others
Say each word with all its sounds and syllables
Speak slowly
Play Games and Have Fun!
 Car Games: Who-Where-Why, Guess Who I’m thinking of,
Add-a-sentence stories, The Alphabet Game, Counting
Games, License Plate Games
 Manufactured Games: Guess Who, Guesstures, Monopoly,
Clue, Battleship, Dictionary Game, Apples to Apples, Life,
Headbandz, have your child teach you a game s/he loves
 Play indoor/outdoor Games- Exercise activities including
statue, copycat, freeze tag, hide-and-go-seek, ball games,
and yoga games; pretend games, cooking activities
 Sportsmanship Rewards (go overboard!)
Rules
 Be concrete, specific, and consistent
 Allow child to use rules to make decisions
 Create and talk to the child about the rule when
she/he is calm and ready to hear.
 May be helpful to post written or pictured rules.
 Perhaps create “Rules” notebook
My RULES Book
State the
Draw simple
subject
illustration
(ladylike sitting) (female sitting properly)
1. Avoid spreading legs far far apart
2. Try to keep knees one hand apart or closer
3. Can touch/cross feet to keep knees closer
My RULES Book
State the
subject
(texting)
Draw simple
illustration
(phone with texts)
1. Don’t respond if I don’t know who sent it
2. Avoid texting if I don’t get a response.
Colors of texts should be about the same.
3. If I don’t know what a text means, show
an adult.
The VISUALS Rule
 People with ASD are by nature, very visual
 Pictures and written information can be much
more powerful and effective than spoken words.
 Pictured and written schedules give child a more
clear and memorable understanding
 Pictures of family, classmates, and friends can be
basis of social thinking activities
Two Ways to Win, Two Ways to Lose
Winning
1. Making others feel comfortable by actions
or words. (No matter the result, this person wins!)
2. Being the victor.
Losing
A. Making others feel uncomfortable by actions or
words. (The victor becomes a loser by doing this.)
B. Being the one who lost the game.
Lose to Win
 Explain the concept…People who have learned how
to lose gracefully are winning the game of life.
 Set up a “lose to win” chart.
 Goal: I will learn to win by losing with grace.
 Set up reinforcement system on chart, so child
earns a reward for “X” graceful losses.
Other Ideas to Develop Sportsmanship
 Tell child that you are often kind by letting
“letting” her/him win. Ask if s/he could try to “let”
you win. Reinforce efforts! 
 Get WAY far behind in a game. Encourage your
child to give you extra turns or some way to catch
up. Reinforce efforts! 
 Become upset when you lose, so that you look
ridiculous. Have your child show you how you
should respond, and then do it correctly for
him/her.
The S-S-S Way

Stress-management- give
opportunities to relax

Self-esteem- develop confidence

Strengths- turn an interest or unusual
behavior into a positive
Commercially Available Therapies
 The Incredible 5-Point Scales by
Kari Baron Dunn
 Social Thinking by
Michelle Garcia Winner
 Social Stories™ by
Carol Gray
The Incredible 5-Point Scale
 Define behavior in degrees from
least to most
 Give the child, parents and teachers
knowledge and definitions of
behaviors or expectations
 Can easily be adapted for home and
classroom use
Voice Levels
 5 OUTSIDE VOICE- YELLING
 4 TEACHER VOICE- LOUD CLASSROOM VOICE,
MANY HEAR
 3 SOFT VOICE- ONLY A FEW HEAR
 2 SUPER SOFT VOICE- OFTEN USED FOR
SECRETS, QUIET WHISPER
 1 NO VOICE- SILENT
Quantity of Listening & Speaking
5 ONLY TALK (giving speech)
4 MOSTLY TALK, LISTEN SOME
(person in group telling everyone a story)
3 LISTEN AND TALK EQUALLY
(conversation with another person)
2 MOSTLY LISTEN, TALK SOME
(conversation with many)
1 ONLY LISTEN (listening as part of class)
Conversational responses
5 MAKE A RELEVANT COMMENT
ASK A RELEVANT QUESTION
4 ASK A RELEVANT QUESTION
3 MAKE A RELEVANT COMMENT
2 ANSWER A QUESTION WITH A SHORT
RESPONSE WITHOUT ELABORATING
1 SAY OR GESTURE YES, NO, OR I DON’T KNOW
Detailing the 5-Point Scale
My (Anxiety, Obsession, etc.) Scale
Looks like
Feels like
I can try to
-describe
-describe
Strategies
behavior,
mood or
to help
what child
physical
child cope
actually
symptoms
and bring
does
down level
Other Ideas for Scale Use
 Relationships (from best friend to barely an
acquaintance)
 Emotional/Temper levels (calm to angry)
 Range of problems (big to small)
(can be accompanied by feelings and responses)
 Levels of politeness (from very rude to very
polite)
Social Thinking
by
Michelle Garcia Winner
Social Thinking occurs in any environment with
more than one person. It involves thinking
about what other people think and being aware
that people have thoughts about us based on
how we act and what we say. When social
thinking is learned and valued, positive change
in behavior and social skills naturally follow.
I-Laugh
Model of Social Cognition
 I L A U G H-
Initiation of Communication
Listening with eyes and brain
Abstract and inferential
language/communication
Understanding perspective
Gestalt Processing/getting the big picture
Humor and Human Relatedness
Superflex and the Unthinkables
 Rock Brain
 Grumpy-grumpininny
 Space Invader
 One Sided Sid
 Body Snatcher
 D.O.F. Destroyer of Fun
 Topic Twister Meister
Wasfunnyonce
Worry Wall
Brain eater
Hyper Harey
Unwonderer
Glassman
Mean Jean
Social Behavior Mapping
Behaviors that are expected
Context: (example: coming into classroom)
Expected
Behaviors
(example)
Look at
classmate
Say “Hi”
How they
Consequences
make others you
feel:
experience:
(example)
(example)
respected
a smile
good
a greeting
liked
a short chat
How you
feel about
yourself:
(example)
friendly
happy
confident
Social Behavior Mapping
Behaviors that are unexpected
Context: (example: coming into classroom)
Unexpected
Behaviors
How they
Consequences
make others
you
feel:
experience:
(example)
(example)
disregarded
being ignored
(example)
Look at
book
Don’t look
unimportant
at others
Ignore peers unliked
when they
greet you
being left out
being alone
How you
feel about
yourself:
(example)
unconfident
in making
friends
lonely
Social Stories™ by Carol Gray
 The Rationale: the ASD child needs
to be taught
social understanding (that
.
other children glean naturally) so s/he
will know what to do in social settings.
 The Why: If written and used as
described, Social Stories can be very
effective and yield results in a short
amount of time.
What is a Social Story™?
A Social Story™ accurately
describes a situation, skill, or
concept according to
specified criteria.
Criteria- ONE GOAL
The goal of a Social Story™ is to share
accurate information using a format,
“voice”, and content that is descriptive,
meaningful, and physically, socially and
emotionally safe for its audience. Every
Social Story™ has an overall patient and
supportive quality.
 Used wit written permission from Carol Gray, 2012
T
Think About the Goal
Is the goal of a
Social Story™
to change behavior?
Used with written permission from Carol Gray 2012
Which Meets Goal?
Story #1 or Story #2
My mom and dad try to keep me
safe. That is why sometimes they need to
hold my hand. They will take my hand.
They may say, “Hand, please!” I will try
to hold hands to stay safe. This is
important.
Used with written permission from Carol Gray, 2012
Or this…
ITS
MY MOM AND DAD TELL ME WHEN
TIME TO HOLD HANDS. IF I WHINE
OR PULL AWAY,
IT MAKES IT HARD FOR MOM AND
DAD. SO, I
WILL DO A GOOD JOB HOLDING
HANDS.
USED WITH WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM CAROL GRAY, 2012
Voice and Vocabulary
 Perspective is important- Only use first- person
pronouns (I, me, my, mine) and/or third person
pronouns (they, them, their, he, his , him, she, her,
hers, )
 Avoid use of “you” and “your.”
 Sometimes good to start in the third person and
end in the first person.
Voice and Vocabulary (c0ntinued)
 Maintain a positive and patient tone
 Past, present and future can all be part of
a single story. (don’t have to be)
 There should be no difference between literal and
stated meaning
 Accurate vocabulary is of vital importance
Suggested Books and Resources
 The New Social Story Book and other publications
by Carol Gray (available at book sales at this
conference)
 The Incredible 5-Point Scale and other
publications by Kari Dunn Baron
 Social Behavior Mapping, Superflex and the team
of Unthinkables, You are a Social Detective, by
Michelle Garcia Winner www.socialthinking.com
 Yogarilla Exercises and Activities
Available through Amazon.com
For More Ideas…
Learningtobesocial.com
Contact information:
learningtobesocial@gmail.com