Describe interventions for improving socialization in students with autism.
Children and youth with autism characteristically display low levels of social engagement. In fact, Kanner chose the term autism, from the Greek autos, meaning “self,” to reflect this cardinal symptom of the disorder. Attempts to interact by teachers or peers without disabilities may produce challenging behaviors such as self-injury, aggression, tantrums, or crying from a child with autism. Most typically developing children and youth initiate social interactions and respond to social initiations by others with little or no direct, formal instruction in socialization skills. Such informal social learning occurs, in part, because children imitate the behaviors of peers and social interactions are reinforcing for most children and adults. However, social learning is less likely to occur for children and youth with autism through traditional (e.g., informal) channels for reasons related to why autism develops in the first place (e.g., atypical neurocognitive development) and because of deficits in social awareness, imitation skills, and self-awareness (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). In addition, naturally occurring social interactions may not be reinforcing enough to children with autism to motivate them to initiate and respond to those interactions, and children with autism may lack the skills to learn from socialization interactions that do occur.
It is important not to conflate a lack of social skills with disinterest in social interaction or relationships. Although people with autism may lack the skills necessary to establish or maintain social relationships, many desire meaningful social relationships and cherish their interactions with friends and family. Further, even though social deficits are emphasized in autism spectrum disorder’s diagnostic criteria, social skills can be taught to people with autism. Having the skills necessary to engage in more meaningful and successful social interactions is important regardless of whether or not those skills are consistently used. Improving the social skills of children with autism empowers them to make more choices regarding their social lives. Teachers of children with autism will need planned socialization interventions designed to address targeted socialization goals.
Did You Know That
· To improve social performance for children with autism, you must teach critical skills and provide opportunities to socialize?
· Teaching social skills is important but may not lead to better social relationships with peers?
· Sometimes we need to teach children how to be friends and provide opportunities for children to practice those friendship skills?
· Direct instruction of social skills does not necessarily result in improved friendships, increased social engagement, or richer social networks?
In this chapter, we will explore socialization characteristics common in individuals with autism and how those characteristics affect social engagement. In addition, we will describe interventions for improving social competence in children and youth with autism, in part by assessing students’ current socialization deficits with respect to the demands of social environments and the skills that are naturally reinforced in those environments. We will also describe intervention strategies to teach social behavior.