Speech and Language Kids Podcast

Social Skills for Autistic Adolescents and Teens

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Social Skills for Autistic Adolescents and Teens

Today we’re discussing how to teach conversation and social skills to older children who are struggling.  This may include children with autism or other social impairments.

Social Skill Therapy for Autistic Adolescent and Teens:Autism Course

Learn more about supporting students with autism and other communication needs

Join the Hub to Access (Free Trial)How to Decide Which Social Skills to Address:
  • Who are these kids
    • autism
    • social interaction problems
    • want to have friends
    • don’t understand rules
    • How to know which social skills to work on?
      • Observe in natural setting as much as possible
      • Ask teachers or other caregivers about what they’ve noticed
      • Observe other children that age
      • Research about how these kids learn social skills best
        • Review of research by  White and Keonig
        • group-based social skills training
        • Direct teaching of social skills
          • Social Communication Skills to Teach to Autistic Adolescents and Teens
          • Teaching Social Scripts
            • Specific rules that govern these activities
            • watch other kids
            •     introductions, entering conversation, sitting in the lunch room, phone conversations,
            • Modeling and Role Play
              •     watch someone else do it first
              • practice skill on their own
              • Differential reinforcement
                • change reinforcement based on their behavior
                • could be verbal praise or corrective feedback or the reaction of the listener
                • Peer Involvement
                  • use other children with social needs
                  • use typical peers
                  • use siblings
                  • Multiple Trainers
                    • Don’t get too used to the same communication partners
                    • Parent Involvement
                      • Practice skills or talk about them at home
                      • Practice in natural environments
                        • Use peers to help with re-introducing the skill into a natural setting
                        • Talk about before the child enters the situation
                        • Review how it went afterwards
                        • Foster Self-Awareness
                          • Watch videos of self doing skill
                          • Talk about how it went
                          • Encourage child to judge if it went well
                          • Encourage child to judge based on other person’s reaction
                            • How to Do Speech Therapy for Autistic Adolescents and Teens:

                            1. Choose children who need social skills training, group together and add peers if possible

                                     or

                                Tell child you’ll be working on social skills, bring in peers, friends, other children with autism, siblings if possible

                            2. Observe natural social interactions to choose one target: entering a group conversation

                            3. Observe typical kids in that situation

                            • if body language is closed off, don’t enter
                            • stand quietly by to see if they let you in
                            • watch body language to see if they’re ok with you being there
                            • listen for topic
                            • make comment that is relevant and on-topic
                            • don’t change topic away
                            • don’t hog spotlight, ask others questions and let others take turns

                              • 4. Write social script/social story

                              5. Read the story with the group and discuss

                              6. Act out the story with different people being the person approaching

                              7. Provide reinforcement about how each child performed

                              8. Ask peers to rate how other child performed

                              9. Send home info to parents and have them practice/talk about it at home

                              10. Take that skill to a natural setting with the same children

                              11. Have the child rate his own performance

                              12. Take child to a natural setting with whatever people are there.

                              13. Talk about skill before he goes in

                              14. Have him rate his performance after done and give feedback

                              15. Maintenance:

                              • discuss performance periodically to keep fresh
                              • Provide feedback on what you observe
                                • Autism Course

                                Learn more about supporting students with autism and other communication needs

                                Join the Hub to Access (Free Trial) 
                                Free Therapy Materials for Teaching Conversation Skills:

                                Check out the freebies that we have inside our Free Therapy Material Library!

                                How to Initiate Interactions – Social Story

                                Tools for Extending Conversations – Visual Aid

                                Making Inferences from Pictures Worksheets

                                Click Here to Access the Freebies!About the Author: Carrie Clark, MA CCC-SLP

                                Hi, I’m Carrie! I’m a speech-language pathologist from Columbia, Missouri, USA. I’ve worked with children and teenagers of all ages in schools, preschools, and even my own private practice. I love digging through the research on speech and language topics and breaking it down into step-by-step plans for my followers.

                                Connect with Me:

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