How to Enhance Communication Skills and Social Competence in Kids on the Autism Spectrum

“If we had to choose only one, what would be the best intervention strategy for our child with HFA?”

For most children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s (AS), the most important treatment strategy would definitely be to enhance communication and social competence (i.e., social skills training).

The goal is not to force the child to “conform to societal pressure” or to stifle individuality and uniqueness. Instead, the goal reflects the fact that most kids on the autism spectrum are not loners by choice. 

Also, there is a tendency (as these kids develop towards the teenage years) for anxiety, depression, despondency, and negativism as a result of the child’s increasing awareness of personal inadequacy in social situations, and repeated experiences of failure to make and maintain relationships.

The typical limitations of insight and self-reflection found in kids on the spectrum often prevent spontaneous self-adjustment to social and interpersonal demands. Social skills training prepares the “special needs” child to cope with social and interpersonal expectations, therefore enhancing his or her attractiveness as a conversational partner or as a potential friend or companion.

==> Teaching Social Skills and Emotion Management: A Complete Program That Parents Can Easily Utilize


The following are suggestions intended to foster relevant skills in this crucial area:

1. The HFA or AS child should be taught to monitor his own speech style in terms of the following:
  •  adjusting depending on proximity to the speaker
  • context and social situation
  • naturalness
  • number of people and background noise
  • rhythm
  • volume

2. Through verbal means, the child should be helped to recognize and use a range of different means to:
  • disagree
  • discuss
  • interact
  • mediate
  • negotiate
  • persuade

3. In order to increase the flexibility with which the child both thinks about - and uses language with - other people, it is be important to help the him or her to:
  •  anticipate multiple outcomes
  • develop the ability to make inferences
  • explain motivation
  • predict

4. The effort to develop the HFA or AS child’s skills with peers in terms of managing social situations should be a priority. This should include:
  •  ending topics appropriately
  • feeling comfortable with a range of topics that are typically discussed by same-age peers
  • shifting topics
  • the ability to expand and elaborate on a range of different topics initiated by others
  • topic management

5. Explicit verbal instructions on how to interpret other people's social behavior should be taught in a fashion not unlike the teaching of a foreign language (i.e., rote fashion; all elements should be made verbally explicit and appropriately and repeatedly drilled). For example:
  • facial and hand gestures
  • gaze
  • non-literal communications such as humor, figurative language, irony, sarcasm and metaphor
  • the meaning of eye contact
  • tone of voice
  • various inflections

6. The same principles should guide the training of the child’s expressive skills. Concrete situations should be exercised and gradually tried out in naturally occurring situations. All those in close contact with the child (teachers, coaches, etc.) should be made aware of the program so that consistency, monitoring and contingent reinforcement are maximized.

7. Encounters with unfamiliar people (e.g., making acquaintances) should be rehearsed until the child is made aware of the impact of her behavior on others’ reactions to her. Strategies include:

•    watching a video recorded behavior
•    practicing in front of a mirror
•    listening to the recorded speech


==> Teaching Social Skills and Emotion Management: A Complete Program That Parents Can Easily Utilize
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Therapeutic Programs for Kids on the Autism Spectrum: Conditions that Parents Should Look For

“We are wanting to get our child (high functioning) into some form of therapy. What things should we look for so we can find the best fit for her specific needs?”

The following are positive program specifications to be kept in mind when deciding on an appropriate program for children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA). These may not be applicable to every child; however, they are optimal conditions to keep in mind when dealing with program specifications.

Ideally, the program will include the following:

1.  Opportunities for social interaction and facilitation of social relationships in fairly structured and supervised activities.

2.  Relatively small setting with ample opportunity for individual attention, individualized approach, and small work groups.

3.  The availability of a communication specialist with a specific interest in pragmatics and social skills training who can (a) be available for individual and small group work, and (b) make a communication and social skills training intervention an integral part of all activities. These activities should be implemented at all times, consistently, and across staff members, settings, and situations. This specialist can also act as a resource to the other staff members.

4.  A concern for the acquisition of real-life skills and academic goals, making use of creative initiatives and making full use of the child’s interests and talents. For instance, given the fact that children with HFA often excel in certain activities, social situations may be constructed so as to allow him the opportunity to take the leadership in the activity, explaining, demonstrating, or teaching others how to improve in the particular activity.


Such situations are ideal to help kids on the autism spectrum:
  • Follow coherent and less one-sided goal-directed behaviors and approaches. Also, by taking the leadership in an activity, the child’s self-esteem is likely to be boosted, and her (usually difficult) position vis-a-vis peers is for once reversed.
  • Follow conversation and social interaction rules.
  • Take the perspective of others.

5. The availability of a sensitive therapist who can focus on the youngster’s emotional well-being and who could serve as a coordinator of services, serving as a resource to other staff members, monitoring progress, and providing effective and supportive liaison with the family. 

6. Lastly, a willingness to adapt the curriculum content and requirements in order to flexibly provide opportunities for success, to foster the acquisition of a more positive self-concept, and to foster an internalized investment in performance and progress. This may mean that the child with HFA is provided with individual challenges in his or her areas of strength, and with individualized programs in his or her areas of weakness.


Resources for parents of children and teens on the autism spectrum:
 

==> Videos for Parents of Children and Teens with ASD
 
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Home-Based Social Skills Training for Young People on the Autism Spectrum

The best treatment for Asperger's and high-functioning autistic children and teens is definitely “social skills training.” Social skills training is a form of behavior therapy used by therapists to help these "special needs" young people who have difficulties relating to other people. But, parents can teach social skills as well. It's especially easy to do so with the help of social skills DVDs and CDs.

Here are our top 12 picks:


























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Communication Issues for Kids with High-Functioning Autism: Tips for Teachers

“I have an autistic student (level 1, high functioning) in my 5th grade class this year and was needing to know if there are any communication impairments associated with the condition that I should be aware of. Thanks in advance.”

Although significant problems with speech are not typical of High-Functioning Autism (HFA), there are at least 4 features of these students’ communication skills that should be understood.

1. Though inflection and intonation are not be as rigid and monotonic as in classic autism, speech is often marked by poor prosody (i.e., patterns of stress and intonation). Young people with HFA often have an odd manner of speaking (e.g., words enunciated precisely and formally; the speed, volume and rhythm may be strange).

Problem areas to look out for include talking loudly, odd rhythms of speech, stilted or formal speech, monotonous sound, little or no inflection, and difficulties in coordinating speaking and breathing.

2.  Speech is often vague and circumstantial, conveying a sense of looseness of associations and disjointedness. The lack of coherence and reciprocity in speech is a result of (a) the one-sided, egocentric conversational style (e.g., endless monologues about the names, codes, names of dinosaurs, etc.), and (b) failure to provide the background for comments and to clearly establish changes in topic.




3. Another aspect typifying the communication patterns of children with HFA concerns the significant verbosity observed (which some researchers see as one of the most prominent traits of HFA). The youngster may talk incessantly (usually about his or her favorite topic) with complete disregard to whether the listener is interested, engaged, attempting to interject a comment, or change the subject of conversation.

Despite such long-winded monologues, the child may never come to a point or conclusion. Attempts by peers to elaborate on issues of content or to shift the conversation to related topics are usually unsuccessful.

==> Teaching Students with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism

4. The possibility exists that all of these traits may be accounted for in terms of significant deficits in pragmatics skills and/or lack of awareness of other people's expectations. Pragmatics refers to language usage and the way that context relates to meaning. Kids on the autism spectrum often have difficulty in holding a normal conversation where there is “give and take” in the social interaction.

Problems with pragmatics manifest in a number of ways, including when the child is oblivious to emotional reactions in others, is oblivious to boredom in others, does not greet others and instead jumps right into a monologue, lacks facial expression and eye contact, interrupts others, gives too much detailed information, focuses exclusively on topics that interest him or her, does not use people’s names, and does not allow the other person to talk.







More resources for parents of children and teens with High-Functioning Autism and Asperger's:

==> How To Prevent Meltdowns and Tantrums In Children With High-Functioning Autism and Asperger's

==> Parenting System that Significantly Reduces Defiant Behavior in Teens with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism

==> Launching Adult Children with Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism: Guide for Parents Who Want to Promote Self-Reliance

==> Teaching Social Skills and Emotion Management to Children and Teens with Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism

==> Parenting Children and Teens with High-Functioning Autism: Comprehensive Handbook

==> Unraveling The Mystery Behind Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism: Audio Book


==> Parenting System that Reduces Problematic Behavior in Children with Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism
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