Additional Social Thinking Strategies
Additional Social Thinking StrategiesThe Incredible 5-Point
ScaleComic Strip ConversationsPower Cards
ppts from the following
resources:http://www.5pointscale.com/CEC_handout.ppthttp://www.5pointscale.com/washington/washington_part_two_handout.ppthttp://www.kessjones.com/events/H2T15/documents/Session2.ppthttp://seasdnetwork.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/incredible-5-point-scale-asd-conference.pdfhttp://www.livingandlearningtogether.org/downloads/Social%20Stories%20&%20Comic%20Strip%20Conversations%20Workshop.ppthttp://www.aiu3.net/uploadedFiles/Teaching_and_Learning/IDEA_and_Training_Consultation/Standard%205%20powerpoint.ppthttp://www.vcu.edu/ttac/images/social_skills.ppthttp://dmsec.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/autism-training-pp.ppt
1
25 Point ScaleThe 5-Point Scale is a predictable visual
systemused to help students reduce abstract ideas such as emotions,
feelings, or pain into simple numbers can also be used to address
behaviors such as vocal volume, disrespect, etc. can be used to
help student identify where they can use certain behaviors. (e.g.
vocal volume level 5 is reserved for outside or in an extreme
emergency when there is no one near by that can hear
you)ExampleMichael is a 5th grader with autism. He is very soft
spoken and often difficult to understand. He is frequently asked to
repeat things because he is so difficult to understand. He is
prompted constantly to speak louder, however, every time he is
called on the teacher has to ask him to speak up again.A 5 point
scale was created for him to use to measure vocal volume and since
it is been in place the teacher no longer says speak up. Instead
she uses phrases such as, Say it at a 3! or Keep it at a 2! In
addition, she will use a visual and point the volume level she
wants Michael to use.Example
The scale:What it looks like:Yelling(sirens, shouting,
screaming, fire alarm)Loud(announcements over the
intercom)Conversation(friends talking, easy to hear but not too
loud)Whisper(have to be really close to hear, talk into ear)No
sound(peaceful)ExampleColton is in the 6th grade. He has problems
getting along in school. He likes to be in control and gets upset
if he perceives something is wrong. For example, if someone cuts in
line he may feel compelled to punish that person by kicking or
hitting them. Coltons ability to control his behavior varies from
day to day. Colton enjoys school despite having challenges with
others who do not follow his way of thinking
(Buron & Curtis, 2003, p. 26).ExampleLooks LikeFeels LikeI
Can Try toKicking or hittingMy head will explodeCall my mom to go
homeScreaming or hittingNervousGo see Mr. PetersonQuiet, rude
talkBad mood, grumpyStay away from kidsRegular kidGood Enjoy
itPlayingA million bucksStay that way
Todays Math Topic5 - I am lost! I need a lot of help.4 - Hard
stuff. I get some of it. I will need help.3 - So-so. I have to
really think hard. A review before the quiz would help.2 - Hey, I
get it! Dont wait too long for the quiz, I might forget. 1 - Easy!
I could help somebody else.8Personal Speed Scale5
4
3
2
1Indy 500!Running Full speedVery slowSnailOKAY NOT
OKAYRunning/joggingFast walk/skippingWalkingWhere am I? Who am I
with? What am I doing? Whats going on?9-Breaks down a concept /
behavior into 5 concrete levels, 1 - 5, often differentiated by
intensity.
-There is mutual agreement to what each number represents.-
Helps your student (& you) better understand what is being
asked.Incredible 5 Point Scale10My Bus Ride Report5 = Terrible
because:_________________Help me resolve this!4 = Kind of bad
because:_________________Im over it. I might need a bit of a
break.3 = Okay. I had a little issue:________________ I was able to
work it out safely.2 = Good ride! No problems I:____________
1 = Excellent ride because:_____________I feel great!To help me
have a 1 - 2 - 3 bus ride, I could ______
11My Energy Level Too Much Energy - Bonkers! A lot of Energy
-ExcitedAverage Energy - AwakeCalm Energy- PeacefulNo Energy -
Drowsy54321WHEN, WHERE, with WHOM would these energy levels Be Okay
and Not Okay?12Typical QuestionsIs a 5 always bad? A 5 can be
either good or bad it is usually the biggest illustration of the
concept.
What age or cognitive level does a student have to be? No rules.
If you talk to your child or student, you can use a scale or some
kind of visual system.13Knowing When Things I Am Told To Do REALLY
Need To Get Done
14
Threatening words
Angry words
Hurtful words
Just fine words
Sweet words15My Verbal Responses to Requests5 - hurtful4 -
negative3 - neutral2 - constructive 1 - positiveFrom Whos
Perspective? How does tone of voice, volume and facial expression
impact opinion?16
17
Use of road signs to increaseMotivation and clarity18
19
20Social Behavior Scale5 = Physically hurtful/ threatening4 =
Scary behavior3 = Odd behavior2 = Reasonable behavior1 = Very
informal social behavior21
22
Involving yourstudent in theprocess23
5 =No question. Against the Law!
4 =Could be against the law if someone is afraid. Will get you
fired and people will be angry.
3 =Unexpected behavior. People dont know what to think
2 = OK other people are feeling OK about you.
1 = Great! This might even make someone happy.24
25
26
Buron27
Buron, Manns, Schultz and Thomas28VDOE T/TAC at VCU
(Dunn, Buron K., Curtis, M. 2004)
Five Point Scale
295-point scales can be used to help teach the person with ASD
to recognize different levels of stress and anxiety. The scale
visually breaks down a persons responses to stress by labeling each
level with what the behavior looks like, what the level feels like,
and what stress reduction exercise or routines can be used to
reduce the stress level (Buron, K & Curtis, M. 2003). The
person with ASD and his caregiver can begin to think in terms of
being at a level 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 using the scale as a visual
prompt. After much practice and patience, the person can be
prompted to bring their stress level down from a 4 to a 2 using the
scale as a guide Comic Strip ConversationsUse of simple drawings to
visually clarify the elements of social interactions and emotional
relations. Can be used to visually "work through" a problem
situation and identify solutions.
30Comic Strip ConversationsAllow you to get the childs
perspective of a situation.
Allow you to share with the child what others are
thinking.31VDOE T/TAC at VCU
32Comic strip conversations are reduced versions of social
stories and offer support to students depicting the perspective of
others. Through the use of simple drawings, comic strips visually
illustrate the actions, feelings, thoughts, and intentions of those
involved in a social situation.
VDOE T/TAC at VCU(Gray, Carol. 1994)
33Using stick figures and word bubbles to show what was said,
and thought bubbles to show the creators perspective of what
participants are thinking, information about a situation can be
readily available to students. In addition, colors can be used to
display and highlight feelings as well. (For example, red might
display bad ideas, anger, fear; blue could symbolize sadness; green
might be good ideas, happiness or friendliness)
Comic Strip ConversationSocial Skills -How to Teach! 34This is
person and talk. You may continue to teach the strategy by saying
to the student draw and tell me about your trip to Disneyworld.
Again, you are teaching this strategy when the student is calm and
wants to talk about a fun event.
In a typical conversation, people face one another. In a comic
strip conversation, the student and instructor are seated side by
side with their focus on the paper. The instructor might even sit
slightly back and to the side so that the student is leading and
the instructor is guiding.
The focus of the conversation is generally a difficulty a
student is having. This instructor may begin the conversation with
a question such as where were you when this happened and the
student may begin by drawing a playground at the top
right.playgroundXX?X!!HAHA HA!!!You go to the bench!35The focus of
the conversation is generally a difficulty the student is having.
This instructor may begin the conversation with a question such as
where were you when this happened and the student may begin by
drawing a playground at the top left.
The student was on the swing on the playgroundyou see, it doesnt
have to be a Picassojust so you and the student understand the
location.
You may now ask where were you? and the student draws as he says
I was here
You may then ask what happened? and the student draws relevant
actions while talking. John kicked me and I cursed. I got in
trouble and he laughed. The playground teacher made me sit on the
bench.
The instructor would summarize by saying: Let me make sure I
understand. You were on the playground and John kicked you. You
cursed at him and you got into trouble and had to sit on the bench
and John laughed at you. Now you can ask the student what he or she
could have done. You can discuss the pros and cons of each solution
with the student.
This strategy allows students a safe way to talk about the
disturbing event. As students become more proficient, additional
conversation symbols can be introduced. On the next slide and in
you handout are additional symbols.Comic Strip
Conversations/CartooningComic Strip Conversations (aka: Cartooning)
are visual systems used to enhance the ability of children and
youth with social-cognitive challenges to understand their
environment, including the hidden curriculum.
Steps for creating/using comic strip conversations:
Drawing: Begin by drawing the drawing the comic strip
conversation. This can be done by you or the student. Either way,
artistic ability is not required; stick figures work fine.
Guide with questions: The adult guides the students drawing or
what needs to be drawn by asking a series of questions:Where are
you? Who else is there?What did you do?What did others do
(Myles, Trautman, & Schelvan, 2004, p. 28-29)
Insight: The adult shares his/her personal insights during the
cartooning process when the natural opportunity occurs. (NOTE:
student should have as much control as possible during the
cartooning session and adults should strive to achieve a balance
between gathering insights into the students perspective, while
sharing accurate social information.
Provide sequence or structure: Use comic strip boxes in which
the student can draw the figures, particularly if the student has
organizational problems. This way boxes can be numbered if the
events are drawn out of sequence.
Summarize the cartoon: This allows participants to discuss the
comic strip in chronological order. The student should verbalize
independently, as much as possible, with the adult only clarifying
as needed. Summarization ensures that both the child and the adult
have the same understanding of a given situation.
Identify new solutions: The adult and student work together,
again with the student performing as independently as possible, to
identify new outcomes of the pictured event. The adult and student
jointly analyze each item, discussing the advantages and
disadvantages of each. The student retains the list, which becomes
a plan for future situations.
(Myles, Trautman, & Schelvan, 2004, p. 28-29)
Example
Example
Comic Strip ConversationsQuestions that guide a Comic Strip
Conversation:Where is the child/young person?Who else is there?What
is the child doing?What happened?What did the child think?What did
others do?What did others say and think?
40Comic Strip ConversationUse colour to visually define the
feelings and intentions of a speaker.
Carol Gray (1994) suggested:
Green good ideas, happy, friendlyRed bad ideas, teasing,
angerBrown comfortable, cosyPurple proudYellow frightenedBlack
facts, things we knowOrange questionsCombination of colours -
confused
41Correcting an incorrect colourClass teacher joking with
classroom assistant: youre going to get detention
Child felt this was bad and therefore red words:
youre going to get detention
Acknowledge the child's response that yes in fact these words
can be bad etc but in this situation the teacher was teasing and
the words were friendly so in fact they are green words:
youre going to get detention
42Comic strip conversations often provide insight into a childs
perspective of a situation and serve as an excellent prerequisite
activity to the development of a social story.
They can help to establish social understanding that can then be
improved with a social story.43Power CardsThe power card strategy
is a visual aid that incorporates the childsspecial interest in
teaching appropriate social interactions including:routinesbehavior
expectationsthe meaning of languagethe hidden curriculum.
The Power Card Strategy consists of presenting on a single sheet
or in booklet form a short scenario, written in the first person,
describing howthe childs hero solves a problem and a small card,
the POWER CARD,which recaps how the child can use the same strategy
to solve a similarproblem himself.
(Gagnon, 2001, p. 19)Components:A brief scenario using the
students hero or special interest and the behavior or situation
that is difficult for the child. The scenario is written at the
individuals comprehension level. In the first paragraph, the hero
or role model attempts a solution to the problem and experiences
success. The second paragraph encourages the student to try out the
new behavior, which is broken down into three to five manageable
steps. The POWER CARD is the size of a trading card, bookmark, or
business card. It contains a small picture of the special interest
and the solutions to the problem behavior or situation broken down
into three to five steps. The POWER CARD is provided to aid in
generalization. It can be carried in a purse, wallet or pocket or
it can be velcroed inside a book, notebook, or locker. It may also
be placed on the corner of a students desk.
(Gagnon, 2001, p. 21)
Where Can the Power Card Strategy Be Used?Power Cards are
appropriate for behaviors/situations in which the student:lacks
understanding of what she/he is to do.does not understand that he
has choices.has difficulty understanding that there is a
cause-and-effect relationship between a specific behavior and its
consequence.has difficulty remembering what to do without a
prompt.does not understand the perspective of others.knows what to
do when calm but cannot follow a give routine under stress.needs a
visual reminder to recall the behavioral expectation for the
situation.has difficulty generalizing.is difficult to motivate and
may be motivated only by the special interest.has difficulty
accepting directions from an adult (Gagnon, 2001, p. 21-22)Power
Cards are NOT appropriate with/when the student:has sensory needs
such as difficulty tolerating certain noises, smells, or tastes. Is
extremely challenged cognitively and appears not to understand
spoken language at the sentence or paragraph level. (This doesnt
mean that the child has to be a reader.)engages in the problem
behavior only once. The teacher or other adults do not have a
positive relationship with the child. Remember, the Power Card
strategy is not a punishment. It should not be perceived as
negative in any way.A child in crisis. When the child is in the
rage stage, this technique will not work. does not have a
well-developed area of interest. In order to buy into the strategy,
the child needs to want to follow the heros directions. (Gagnon,
2001, p. 22)
ExampleStudent Description: Aaron has been acting out in class
and seeking attention from his peers by saying or blurting out
inappropriate comments in class. He likes the attention he gets
from his peers for doing this and he thinks hes being accepted when
his peers laugh at him for doing this. Aarons special interest is
Nascar and he especially likes Nascar driver, Jeff Gordon.Power
Card Story:Jeff Gordon and His FansJeff Gordon loves being a race
car driver, but sometimes it is difficult for him to think before
he speaks. At the end of a long day sometimes all he wants to do is
make others laugh. Sometimes Jeff blurts things out when his boss
is talking. But Jeff has learned to think before he speaks. Jeff
has learned it is important not to talk when his boss is talking
and not to say things to try and make others laugh
when his boss is trying to talk to his pit crew and teach them
the latest NASCAR rules and regulations. Jeff has learned to stop
and think about the comments he makes before speaking.Just like
Jeff, it is important for Aaron to think before he speaks. It would
make Jeff proud to know that Aaron is like him and that he thinks
before he speaks and doesnt interrupt his teachers in class. It is
important for Aaron to remember to do the following:1. Think before
he speaks. Say it in your head first before saying it out loud. If
its not related to what the teacher is teaching then Aaron shouldnt
say out loud in class.2. If Aaron cant think of something to say
about the teachers lesson, its better for him not to say anything
at all.3. Always follow the classroom rules and raise your hand
before you speak.
1. Think before he speaks. Say it in your head first before
saying it out loud. If its not related to what the teacher is
teaching then Aaron shouldnt say out loud in class.
2. If Aaron cant think of something to say about the teachers
lesson, its better for him not to say anything at all.
3. Always follow the classroom rules and raise your hand before
you speak. Power Cards-Social ScriptWill Smith is a cool guy who
has made a lot of movies. It takes a lot of people doing many jobs
to make a good movie. Sometimes Will or others make mistakes on the
movie set. Will Smith stays calm when he or someone else makes a
mistake. If he needs to, he asks for help. Will Smith knows that
everyone make mistakes.Will would like everyone to remember to stay
calm when mistakes happen, to ask for help if it is needed, and
that EVERYONE makes mistakes!Social Script:First Paragraph the hero
or role model attempts to solve a problem and experiences
success.The second paragraph encourages the student to try a new
behavior, which is broken down into 3-5 manageable steps.51Power
Cards
52Calm in Crisis/How to Handle a MeltdownDont:Loud
voicesNegative statements/threats (e.g. You had your chance, You
made your choice, now you need to leave class)Taking away preferred
or comforting materials or activitiesPhysical redirectionAngry tone
or body languagePunishments (e.g., You just lost your sticker on
your behavior chart)
Do:One of the most important skills a teacher can have is the
ability to be clam and comforting in a crisis or meltdown
situation. A comforting teacher may:talk softly and share
encouraging wordsrepeat a calming phraseor simply keep ones own
body relaxed
(Kluth)
The more you try to control the situation, the less control you
will have!
Things to Consider:Its important to consider the following
things:
Fight or Flight
Ask previous teachers and/or parents what typically occurs when
the child has a meltdown (does he/she throw things, hit, kick,
etc.)
Find out if there are triggers or warning signs that a meltdown
might occur and if so what are those triggers or warning signs
Talk with teachers, parents, administrators, etc and discuss the
best way to deescalate the situation
Determine when you should call for additional support
Sit down,
Listen to speaker,
Turn in assignmentBrush teeth when mom says
Take the dog out
Excuse self after burping5
now/hour in ___ minutes
Resource materialsWash your hair4
By end of morning
End of afternoon,
Before bed
Peer proof read assignment
Turn in permission slipClean your room
Mow the lawn3within #__ of days
Turn in fund raiser
Return library
booksClean out garage2
within #__weeks
Turn in final projectGet job1
Within # of months
____
School Home
Urgency
Do it by: