Teaching social skills with the use of `peers (111.45 kB)

Teaching children with autism to interact appropriately with their peers and import pre-comp onente a comprehensive behavioral program. Initially the program is conducted in a format 1 to 1, with an adult and a child with autism. As you increase the repertoire of the child (ability to follow the directives of the adult imitate the actions of adults, play with toys, will benefit from instruction that is interacting with a peer. Involving a peer in a session behavioral therapy may provide

the opportunity to teach children with autism to observe and learn from the behavior of other children, to accept offers of social peers and begin to support an interaction child - child. Teaching a child with autism to learn through interaction with peers, however, can be a real challenge. Many researchers have shown that not just only a "physical proximity" with the same age to promote a positive interaction between the child with autism and his peers. Recall that many autistic children do not become "social" simply spending time with their neurotypical peers, but the socialization depends on the teacher gives instructions to both the child with autism than neurotypical which should explain how to interact with the partner.

The profound social and language deficits demonstrated by the majority of autistic children, as well as their unique learning needs, require specialized instructions if you want to have children can benefit from the involvement of peers in therapy
The instructions must be tailored and individualized: eg. a child with good collaborative skills can benefit from communicative language instructions to follow a conversation in a context of play, with the adult education that shapes the strategy. But a child who does not speak and who can follow a limited number of instructions may initially take the adult quite structured sessions, using strategies that encourage peers rather than to respond to demand for him to start an interaction.
Of course, the social behavior will change in the age of the child. During the years the children of asylum support relations with their typical peers for limited periods of time, especially in the context of the interplay. When children enter elementary school years, social relationships with peers become more complex, including games that require more participants and different roles and sustain conversations. So the instructions that give the child to interact with peers should take these factors.
This chapter provides a set of research on how to teach the skills of social interaction, providing a comprehensive report to parents and therapists.

DETERMINE IF THE CHILD 'ready to learn to interact with peers
The research unfortunately does not provide guidelines to understand when a child is ready to start learning from interaction with peers. Some researchers have determined that the children need some prerequisites to benefit fully from this type of learning. For eg. Hauck (1995) observed that the quality and quantity of social interaction with children with autism varied with the degree of cognitive and verbal child. This suggests that children with autism must have specific skills to benefit from the activities with peers. Some of these skills can be deduced from careful consideration of the components of the social interaction of peers. The child with autism who can imitate the behavior of other children and play appropriately with toys will find a number of course easier to learn from interaction with peers rather than a child who lack such skills. Instead, a child who has not yet learned to follow a variety of simple instructions could not be ready to learn from peers' requests to play. In all ways will be appropriate to encourage interaction with peers, if the child is not cooperative and destructive behaviors.
To determine if a child with autism is ready to start learning from peers, doctors or parents should consider the child's current ability to understand and follow instructions. If the child does not have these capabilities, the time will be used to teach these skills in the context of the activities with peers. However, teaching social skills through the relationship with peers will be more profitable if the child has already mastered a large number of skills, how to follow simple instructions, identify and label with the name objects and people, adults watching, imitating a variety of actions, playing appropriately with toys, keep close to zero destructive behaviors and stereotyped.

CHOOSE peers
Properly identify suitable peers requires a specific application by the parents or the treatment team. The peers may be the neighborhood kids, siblings or cousins ​​or other children with autism, siblings of children with autism, school mates.
Some families offer their children for free in exchange for babysitting, but in this case, you should inform parents about why their child will use.

FEATURES peers
Although there are no studies that establish the characteristics that must be the same age in general and family therapists who choose must have the following things in mind:

• It can be helpful if the same is a little larger than the child with autism, this will increase the chances that the model appropriately peer social language, behavior in the game for the child with autism.

• Since the child will be asked to start many types of activity, he must be flexible and cooperative in following the instructions of the adult.

• The peer must be persistent in getting a response from the autistic child to give him the 'opportunity to practice new skills.

• The peer must be able to sustain attention, that is, must know how to be careful. The activities may be required to begin a long and repeat certain activities several times to give the possibility to the autistic child to learn.

• The same age should be socially responsible (to use a polite language and gentle, have initiative, behave appropriately, assist) to serve as a model appropriate to the child with autism.

• In general, the same should show an interest in helping the child with autism to participate in the session.

Number of peers
Some researchers suggest that a multiple number of peers can be useful to help generalization. Involve more peers preclude the possibility that a single can of bored with the activities or to find the session too heavy. The number depends on the availability of peers, as well as the frequency of sessions. Must be initially involved a small number of peers, this will make it easier to ensure that peers are able to interact with the autistic child and make them both better able to follow the exercises.

HOW LIKE BROTHERS
Many studies have shown that the brothers can be like their instructors-autistic brother. The brothers often show a curiosity about their participation in the session and this can make learning easier. But we must always give them the choice to participate or not a session, then making it interesting and fun for the brother-peers.

USE THE SAME WITH AUTISM
A number of studies shows that children with autism can interact with their peers with autism. For example, the conversation between young people with autism can be increased with the use of scripts to follow. However, when two children with autism are involved in a session, will be required more attention and more direct instruction by an adult.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SKILLS 'SOCIAL FOR CHILDREN WHO DO NOT SPEAK
Few researchers have spoken for the non-verbal children to be involved in sessions with their peers, although few have documented that this can be done. Jasper (1996) has shown that a child with nonverbal autism could be taught to use an electronic communication device to initiate an interaction with a peer. Even if the child has no functional vocal language, may also participate in some social statements with their peers. For example, the child can be taught to respond to peers, for example by imitating them or follow their instructions.
Alternatively, the non-verbal autistic child can be taught different ways to start an interaction with abilities that do not necessarily involve language, how to give a toy like, give a tap on the shoulder, indicating the favorite activity or game that you want to do. It can also be used as a paint-communicative argumentative, sentences in sequence, electronic systems. If the child with autism does not use an augmentative communication system is important to understand that the same system. For example, the peer can not immediately understand the design used in a communication difficulty in finding images to interpret that kind of communication.

HELP FOR peers
Many studies have shown that peers benefit from these skills that must be his first show to take the sessions.

• SHARE: teaching games like to offer or propose activities to children with autism (eg. The hands of a game to the child and says "Here you can play with maccinina")

• ASK FOR SHARING: teach like to request something or ask you to take turns (eg. Say "Can I play with the toy car?")

• ORGANIZE THE GAME: Teaching like to suggest games or activities (eg. To tell the child with autism "We play with building blocks" or "You are the thief and the cop I")

• OFFERING HELP: Teaching like to offer help to children with autism (eg the notes of the child with autism try to open the jar for bubbles without success and says "I'll help you to open it").

• ASK FOR HELP: to teach the same to get help to children with autism (the even says "Help me to do this puzzle")

• DO CONGRATULATIONS: to teach like to congratulate the child with autism (eg. Children draw together and then the even says "I like your drawing")

• EXCHANGE EVENTS OF AFFECTION: to teach the same to be affectionate (eg. The pair holding hands while the child goes to play with construction)

• GIVE ENCOURAGEMENT TO OTHERS ALSO: if there are multiple equal amount to help teach other neurotypical children to start an interaction (eg. Typical child say to another "Ask Billy if he wants to play with building blocks")
  

Others have documented additional skills:

• REQUIRE ATTENTION: teach peers to do the child's name or to make sure you have his attention before giving an instruction (eg, the pair says "Jhon, give me the building")

• ANSWER THE INITIATIVE: Teaching like to respond when the child with autism takes initiative (eg. When the child with autism, says "Want to play ball?", The answer of "Yes, ok")

• HEALTHY: to teach the same way to greet the child with autism (eg. The pair says "Hello Michael")

• DO QUESTIONS: asking questions like teaching a child with autism play activities (eg. While playing with building blocks, the pair tells the child with autism, "What are you building?")

• Offer a choice: to teach the same children with autism to offer a range of activities in the session (eg. Shows two of the games and says "Do you want the ball red or green top?")

• COMMENTING ON THE ACTIVITIES 'teaching like to comment on gaming activities (eg. While drawing with the child with autism says of the "Making a house" or "I like to draw")

• REFUSE 'ACTIVITY' FAVORITE UNTIL 'THE CHILD IS NOT AN IMITATION OF MINUTES: Teaching like to wait until the child with autism say anything to get the preferred activity (eg. The exhibition of a game and says "What do you want?" , but wait until the game to give equal with autism says what he wants)

• EASY DIRECTIONS TO: to teach the same to give instructions in simple easy answer is that (for eg. The pair tells the child with autism, "Put the man in the truck")

• SHOW THE RESPONSE: to teach the same to show the action for the child with autism (eg per.. In the example above shows how to put the same man in the truck)

• PHYSICALLY HELP: to teach the same to drive the child's hand to make the response (eg. The pair takes the hand of a child with autism and offers to put man in the truck)

• PRAISE A GOOD BEHAVIOR: Teaching like to praise the bambno for adequate socialization (eg per.. Of the child with autism to say "Thank you for having shared with me the game")

• IGNORE Property destruction: to teach the same to ignore destructive behaviors displayed by children with autism (eg. The child with autism slams the toy and the continued activity of the game)

• Insists until 'DO NOT GET THE RESPONSE: to teach the same to be insistent with the child with autism until he be a response (eg, eg. The pair tells the child with autism, "Give me the ball", if the child does not respond, the repeats of education and helps the child to respond)

STRATEGIES TO TEACH THESE SKILLS 'EQUAL TO TYPICAL
They used a number of strategies to teach these skills to peers:

• Taught before: during the pre-teaching session is simulated with the adult education so that the same may occur with the answer first and then the adult child with autism. It will give verbal praise or other reinforcement to show the answer with an adult and then with the child.

• ROLE PLAY: During the exercises, role-playing of child with autism will use the same response with the adult. The role-playing game continues until the peer is able to demonstrate the answer carefully.

• Reinforcement procedures: usually in the training session, verbal praise or access to tangible reinforcement is given to demonstrate the response (eg. Agrees that the child after a game, the adult says "I like when you split games Billy! ")

• USE OF VISUAL AID: drawings or photographs may be used in the session to illustrate speficici exercises (eg. Photo of the child who gives a game to another to show a response of sharing). This visual aid can be used in a session and unstructured play activities with peers serve as an aid to remembering the same typical response.
  

LOCAL INFORMATION FOR EQUAL Autism
The decision to speak to peers in learning the special needs of children with autism should be taken in a personal way, based on the profile of the autistic child's age peers and the objectives of the training session.
For example, peers in preschool do not necessarily need to know that the child has autism, but may be useful to tell him that their friend needs extra help to learn to play and how to talk. Peers involved in working sessions with children who have severe deficits in learning and behavior need more information about the nature of autism to interact with them successfully. On the other hand, for a greater understanding of children with autism, typical children say that their partner has autism could stigmatize the child with autism and reduce its participation in the activities typical of peers.

EXAMPLE OF THE FIRST YEAR

YEAR NUMBER 1
THE LOOK LIKE WHEN IT REQUIRES ADULT

Procedure: Seat the child and equal in front. Presenting the statement "Look at ... (name of)" eg. JILL Jill ....." LOOK ". Helping your child to look at par with gestures (eg. Stating the same) or driving the child (the child's face gently turning in the direction of par). When the response is demonstrated, giving a tangible reinforcement (eg. Something to eat or a favorite game) and praise ("Bravo, you've watched Jill"). Decrease in the help next time trying to get the answer by showing less and less help. Always change reinforcement. Subsequently, only reinforce the correct answer obtained without help. Change the position of the child and also during exercise (eg. Seated to the even close to the child instead of in front). Once the child is the principle or simply look in the direction of, change the principle to get eye contact with peers.

Suggested Prerequisites: The child establishes eye contact with an adult when prompted, follow simple instructions, responds gestural or physical assistance.

Aid Tips: Indicate or equal to the turn of the child.

Specific instructions for the same: to say of the child must be trained to look at. Praise him and give a tangible reinforcement like to be seated well and to wait. Encourage equal to praise and give a tangible reinforcement to the child when he sees it.

The objectives of education "WATCH JILL" are four:

• The child looks in the direction of the same while sitting in front of him

• The child looks in the direction of the equal par with sitting in various places

• The child looks in the direction of equal par with the various activities engaged in

• The child has an equal eye contact with the

Helpful Hint: It may be difficult to determine if the child with autism is having eye contact with peers. It will be helpful to teach first like to distinguish from non-contact eye contact. The pair is expected to be able to distinguish if the child is watching or not. If necessary, the pair must help you to get eye contact by putting a child's favorite game to the level of their eyes when the adult suggests it to him. The pair must then reward the child with a favorite toy or food when the child looks at him.

Document taken from the website: www.emergenzautismo.org Translation by Fromitaly