MINDS & HEARTS

MINDS & HEARTS A Specialist Clinic for Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Danuta Bulhak-Paterson

www.mindsandhearts.net

SCHOOL INTERVENTIONS FOR THE PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILD

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Overview of Presentation

• The power of the school setting • What practice actually does to the brain • School strategies for common social difficulties and

times when they might arise (outside play) • How parents can assist teachers

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Activities in a child’s day

School Home

Scouts Swimming

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School

Powerful setting because: • It is a learning environment • A diverse social setting • It is structured • Staff trained in education and learning • Children spend most of their time there However, without enough support and guidance the ASD

student can sink!

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School

• Teachers have incredible power to improve and develop a student’s social skills!

• By laying down good groundwork teachers can

prevent problems from building and escalating later

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Learning Changes the Brain

• The brain is neuroplastic, which means that it can be re-wired

• Brain rewiring occurs with repetition of newly learnt skills • ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder where the brain

is wired differently

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Practice = Brain Change!

•Repetition creates stronger pathways in the brain •By teaching and practicing new skills the brain builds more connections and habits begin to form •Neurons that fire together wire together

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Repetition and Guidance

• Because social skills do not come naturally to students

with ASD they need more repetition and guidance with this if they are to improve socially

• Students with ASD will not just learn social skills through

watching their peers- they need that repetition

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First know your student’s individual profile

• What are their strengths and weaknesses? • What is their friendship skill level? • What do they have difficulties with socially?

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Then…

• 1. Build acceptance of the student’s unique profile within the classroom- acknowledgement, special roles, kindness

• 2. Find socially skilled and kind students as

mentors/buddies • 3. Social engineering- select a good match • 4. Develop specific friendship skills through guidance

and practice

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Tools for developing specific friendships skills

• Social Stories by Carol Gray • Provide encouragement and/or rewards for trying • Teach how to be a friend through labelling prosocial

behaviours as ‘friendly’ • Prosocial behaviours to encourage: Sharing, taking turns, good listening, helping,

complimenting, compromising, walking away

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Common social difficulties

• Turntaking • Perspective Taking • Interrupting • Working in groups • Friendships • Conflict & Bullying • Outside play

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Turn taking

• This is a major skill to master and can be practiced in a variety of ways: in games, waiting in line, conversations etc

• Teach the consequences of not taking turns- unfair, lose

friends, miss out next time • A visual aid can remind the student to take a turn or

finish their turn, e.g laminated picture card, ball

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Perspective Taking

• Comic Strip Conversations- use to explain the consequences of a behaviour/situation

• Social Stories • Mind Reading DVD by Baron-Cohen, S (2003)

Cambridge: Human Emotions.

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• Explain why interrupting is inappropriate and provide alternative behaviour (Social Story) • Write cues for the steps on the board or stick to their table • Reward for following cues •Feedback to student later about their progress • A reminder note can help some students

Interrupting

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Group work • Start with pair work and give each person a role • Extend to 3+ students • Utilise the student’s strengths in groups • Lots of rewards and encouragement here!

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• Social engineering • Teach how to join in • Selecting friends (Concentric Circles, animal characterisation) • Teach compliments •Offer support and encouragement - give feedback later

Forming Friendships

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Maintaining friendships

• Teach compromise- half-half as well as giving up • How to cope with losing- explain that losing can mean winning

a friend! • Accepting others’ ideas (is also winning!) • Teach student the art of remembering things about the person

and checking up • Teach empathy- match feeling with face and say something kind

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Conflict

• Daily de-brief with the student, talk through perceived injustices and offer an alternative

• Teasing vs bullying- explain the difference and

practice

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Teach effective strategies for bullying

• Ignoring will make the situation worse. • Stay calm. • Assertive, true and constructive response. • “I don’t deserve this, stop it” or “I don’t like that, stop it.” • Article: “Strategies to reduce the Bullying of Young

Children with Asperger Syndrome” by Professor Tony Attwood

http://www.mindsandhearts.net/gfx/pdf/Strategies%20to%20reduce%20bullying%20asperger%20syndrome.pdf

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Undesirable behaviours in the playground

• Hitting/kicking etc • Following students around • Inappropriate comments • Walking around the periphery • Dobbing (“rules police”) • Wanting to be inside • Sitting outside of office

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Reason for Playground Issues • Commotion and chaos • No place to go to de-stress • Difficulties with joining in • Resolving conflict • Other children may be confusing to the child-

misinterpretation • Bullying is more common, child is relatively unprotected

and often alone

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Playground Solutions (cont…)

• Create a playground plan or routine • Include library or computer time • Special interest groups (e.g chess, electronics) • Reading bench • Friendship station

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Playground Solutions (cont…) • Social engineering- facilitate friendships • Buddies (assign several to take turns) • Educate children in helping others who appear lost or

are being teased • Activity box

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What Parents Can Do • Create a 1 page profile of your child with strengths

and weaknesses, common triggers, suitable rewards, toolbox strategies to give to teacher

• Communication book • Email address for brief communication • Respect teacher’s busy load and schedule in time for

meetings • Ask teachers if there is anything they need from you

to assist

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Recommended Resources

For Teachers/Parents: • The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome by Tony Attwood, published

by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2006. • Navigating the Social World: a Curriculum for Individuals with Asperger’s

Syndrome, High Functioning Autism and Related Disorders, by J.L McAfee, published by Future Horizons, 2002.

• The Social Skills Picture Book by Jed Baker, published by Future Horizons,

2003. • The Friendship Factor: Helping our Children Navigate their Social World –

and why it Matters for their Success and Happiness, by K.H. Rubin, published by Viking, Penguin Group, NY, 2002.

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•Asperger Syndrome and the Elementary School Experience: Practical Solutions for Academic and Social Difficulties, by Susan Thompson Moore, published by Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2002. •Friends for Children – Group Leader’s Manual, by Dr Paula Barrett, Hayley Webster and Cynthia Turner, published by Australian Academic Press, Australia, 2000. For Children: •How Humans Make Friends, by Loreen Leedy, published by Holiday House Publishers, USA, 1996. •How to Be a Friend - A Guide to Making Friends and Keeping Them, by Laurie Krasny Brown and Mark Brown, published by Little Brown & Co,1998. •The Care and Keeping of Friends, by Andrea Weiss et al, published by Pleasant Company Publications, Wisconsin, 1996.