Learn Your ABC’S: A utism B ehavior C ommunication Liz Farmer, MA, Autism Consultant Beth Waite, CCC/SLP-ATP Assistive Technology Coordinator.

Learn Your ABC’S:

Autism

Behavior

Communication

Liz Farmer, MA, Autism Consultant

Beth Waite, CCC/SLP-ATP

Assistive Technology Coordinator

Autism is a Neurobiological Disorder that affects 3 primary areas

• COMMUNICATION

• SOCIAL

• BEHAVIORAL

COMMUNICATION AND LITERAL THINKING

I don’t understand.

It’s raining cats and dogs

Get busy! We have a MILLION things to do.

I’ve got my wires crossed.

Good Luck and Break a Leg!

Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill!

Zip your lip.

You’re pulling my leg.

This muddies the water.

RECEPTIVE COMMUNICATION Remember the 7 second rule

Put your backpacks away

Hang up your coats

Get out your morning work

There should be no talking

Stop for the pledge

Listen to the announcements

Wait! What is after backpack?

HOW DO THESE PROBLEMS TRANSLATE TO SCHOOL DIFFICULTIES?

• 1. Problems following directions.

• 2. Problems understanding language.

• 3. Problems making inferences

• 4. Problems with multi-step tasks.

• 5. Problems sequencing.

History Time Lines

Lab Projects

Plots in Stories/Plays

Multi-Step Math EquationsStory Problems

Common Communication Deficits for ASD

•Receptive lang. delay typical for most kids on spectrum

•Pragmatic language and social skill deficits

•Nonverbal with minimal to no expressive language

•Must have co-existing significant deficits in behavioror social emotional functioning or they shouldn’t be dx with ASD

Communication Modes for Nonverbal/Minimally Verbal ASD

gestures/facial expressions (rare)

manual signs

objects

photos

picture symbols

written words

voice output devices

Make Language Visible

DAILY SCHEDULE

“Check your schedule”

Now, I get it!

NEEDED MODIFICATIONS

• Visual cues or schedules

• Augment instructions with gestures

• Give Short Concise Instructions

• Tell Kids What To Do vs. “not what to do”.

Visual Strategies are:Visual Strategies are: Easily recognizedEasily recognized Easily understoodEasily understood Universally understoodUniversally understood

Visual Strategies include:

Body language

Objects

Pictures- Photographs-Logos

Printed format

Hierarchy of Visual SupportsHierarchy of Visual Supports

Most abstract and difficult to understand

Most concrete and easiest to understand

Objects, partial objects

Photographs cut to shape

Photographs

Line drawing symbols (Rebus, Boardmaker) 1. Realistically-colored

2. Black and white

Word choices

Phrases

Remember when using Remember when using photos…photos… Picture the critical Picture the critical

element (usually element (usually an object vs. an object vs. activity)activity)

Eliminate Eliminate backgroundbackground

Shoot close up to Shoot close up to targettarget

Tools to Give InformationTools to Give Information

Schedule and mini-scheduleSchedule and mini-schedule CalendarCalendar Choice boardsChoice boards MenusMenus People locatorsPeople locators Saying no or “wait”Saying no or “wait” Transition and travel helpersTransition and travel helpers Conversation regulationConversation regulation

Barbara Bloomfield –

www.icontalk.com

From ICON to ICAN

www.patinsproject.com

First-Then Behavior ChartFirst-Then Behavior Chart

PROBLEMS READING NON-VERBAL CUES MEANS “MISSING THE OBVIOUS”

“uh hum”

We better quiet down

Teacher’s getting mad

We could lose

recess

My teacher keeps clearing his throat

What are they doing?

He hit me!

They must be laughing at

me

Watch Video

HOW DO THESE PROBLEMS TRANSLATE TO SCHOOL DIFFICULTIES?

• 1. Trouble interacting with Peers (in the classroom, hallway, cafeteria, recess, extra-curricular activities)

• 2. Trouble following rules and understanding “hidden” agenda

• 3. Become easy targets for others

• 4. Increases in anxiety due to misinterpretations and lack of understanding (*This often escalates to depression during middle/high school)

Social Skills Training Strategies

• Social Skills Groups

• Pragmatic/Language

• Peer Training

• Social Stories

• Video Modeling

Functions of Communication

• Greetings/Farewells• Requests/Protests• Comments• Initiation• Social Closeness• Topic setting• Maintaining

conversation

• Ask/answer questions• Repair breakdowns• Express ideas and

share feelings• Acknowledge

comments• Label and describe• Direct others• Telling jokes, secrets

Communication Characteristics often found in ASD

• Joint attention is usually absent• Interested in objects – not people• Communication repertoire may be limited• Imitation skills may be poor• Receptive vocabulary can be limited • Echolalia • Difficulty with abstract language• Social skills can be impaired

Behavior IS Communication

• We need to learn to read and predict student behavior

• Adapt the circumstances to limit the reason for the behavior

• Teach a substitute communication skill that is more effective

• Focus on telling student “what” to do…

not “what not” to do

Emotions

• Difficulty understanding levels of intensity

• Difficulty expressing levels of intensity with words and nonverbal clues

Stress

• Reactive approach to managing stress

• Under stress communication abilities may become difficult to access

Learning Strategies • Environmental modifications (quiet seating,

study carrel, etc.)• Provide organizational tools (timers, planners,

checklists)• Visual schedules/calendars• Noise-canceling headphones to reduce

distraction• Assistive Technology for writing/organizing

Pragmatic Language Skills

• Knowing “what” to say

• Knowing “when” to say it

• Knowing “where” to say it

• Knowing “why” to say it

• Knowing “how” to say it

*the “social” aspect of interacting with others*

More Visual Support for Conversation

• Limit questions (student can turn in 2 tokens representing questions-then can’t ask more).

• Limit amount of time student can talk about topic using visual timer

? ?

Substitute Communication Response Must:

• Be quick and easy for the student

• Be quickly reinforced by the comm. partner

• Easily recognized by all working with student

• AS POWERFUL AS THE NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR

WARNING – initially the negativebehavior usually gets worse before

it gets better !

Social Skills

Training

Why Do Social Groups?

• Identified deficits in the areas of personal interactions with others.

• 1-1 training does not seem to generalize to group settings.

• Kids can learn through direct modeling experiences with others.

• Kids in social skill groups often begin making friendships with each other!

Let’s Get Started

• ESTABLISH GROUP RULES AND A PREDICTABLE ROUTINE

Components of Pragmatics

age appropriate topics appropriate relationships

topic maintenance making inferences

reciprocity compromise

manners sportsmanship

personal space eye contact or faking it

accepting differences (filtering)

inflection

nonverbal cues hidden social rules

theory of mind

accurate perceptions

•Voice Inflection•Accurate perspective-taking

Audacity free audio editing software

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Theory of Mind

the ability to recognize other people’s feelings, beliefs, intentions, and respond accordingly.

This results in problems such as • predicting how another might respond in a given situation

• Inability to perceive intended meaning (tone of voice)

• Insensitivity to other’s feelings

• Inability to understand “unwritten social rules”

Social Skill Stories

My name is Max and this story is about me.

I like to play games with my friends.

Sometimes, I win.

Sometimes, someone else wins.

Make these with Boardmaker, Pixwriter, Google images or anything!

Video promptingVideo self prompting

Video modelingVideo self modeling