My ASD Child

What comes naturally to “typical” kids does not come naturally to kids on the autism spectrum. The lack of interpersonal relationship skills makes it difficult for these boys and girls to make and keep friends – and often leads to social isolation. Now for the good news: Parents can learn to teach interpersonal relationship skills to their “special needs” youngsters. In this post, we will discuss the following: Practicing reciprocal interactions Rehearsing social situations through role-play Relationship skills groups Teachers' crucial role in teaching social skills Teaching the youngsters how to recognize the feelings of others Making use of “social skills training” materials Making use of social stories Click here for the full article...

“Can social skills training really help children with high functioning autism? What should a good training program consist of?” There is some objective evidence to support traditional and newer naturalistic behavioral techniques and other approaches to teaching social skills. Joint attention training may be especially helpful in young, pre-verbal kids on the autism spectrum (e.g., Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism), because joint attention behaviors precede and predict social language development. A randomized, controlled trial demonstrated that joint attention and symbolic play skills can be taught, and that these skills generalize to different settings and people. Parents can facilitate joint attention and other reciprocal social interaction experiences throughout the day in the youngster's regular activities. A social skills curriculum should target the following: initiating social behavior minimizing stereotyped perseverative behavior while using a flexible

“What does sensory integration therapy entail? And is it effective for children with high functioning autism?” Sensory integration therapy is often used alone or as part of a broader program of occupational therapy for kids on the autism spectrum. The goal of this particular therapy is not to teach specific skills or behaviors, but to remediate deficits in neurologic processing and integration of sensory information to allow the youngster to interact with the environment in a more adaptive way. Unusual sensory responses are common in young people with Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism (HFA), but there’s no good evidence that these symptoms differentiate HFA from other developmental disorders. The effectiveness of sensory integration therapy has not been demonstrated objectively. “Sensory” activities may be helpful as part of an overall program that uses desired sensory experiences to reinforce a desired behavior, help with transitions between activities, and calm