The Social Skills Picture Book. Jed Baker

flow of social conversation, talking

      at

      people instead of

      with

      people,

      relaying factual information or phrases memorized from TV shows without responding to what their listener is saying or doing. Thus

      individuals with Asperger’s may have extensive vocabularies, but difficulty using it in a fluid way to make conversation in social

      situations. High-functioning individuals, like those with more language difficulties, may also have trouble with abstract language and

      tend to interpret things literally. For example, if a teacher said, “Don’t let the cat out of the bag,” a literal interpretation would have

      a student looking for a cat and a bag. In addition, many students with autism may have trouble processing language when there

      are competing sights and sounds. Thus using language alone to explain complicated material may sometimes be less effective than

      supplementing the explanation with concrete visual information that supports the verbal explanation (Quill, 1995).

      Repetitive and ritualistic behaviors reflect a preference for sameness and repetition with regards to interests, daily routine, and

      body movements. Many youngsters with autism develop a fascination with a particular area of interest and elaborate on that interest

      to the exclusion of learning about new things. For example, I knew a youngster who became obsessed with vacuum cleaners and

      was reluctant to attend to or talk about anything else. Many individuals with autism also exhibit nonfunctional routines that appear

      superstitious in nature. One individual I worked with had to hang every picture in the house at a crooked angle before he could use

      the toilet. Other students may not have nonfunctional routines, but prefer that their daily routines occur the same way all the time

      and may become very anxious or upset when changes or transitions are introduced. Youngsters may also demonstrate repetition in

      their use of language (repeating the same phrase over and over) or in their physical movements (e.g., repetitive hand flapping, body

      rocking, or twirling around).

      Because of the difficulties individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders have in negotiating social situations and handling

      changes in their environment, many students experience stress, frustration and anxiety on an almost constant basis (Kim, Szatmari,

      Bryson, Streiner, & Wilson, 2000; Myles & Southwick, 1999). Wanting to interact with another student but not knowing how,

      not understanding the change in teacher directions for a new challenging task, hearing other students laugh around them, and

      not knowing whether they are the target of the joke—these are all stressful situations that youths with Autism Spectrum Disorders

      experience daily.

      Despite this level of stress, it is important to point out the emotional variability among students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

      Some students rarely seem to get upset, as they may handle their stress by withdrawal and go virtually unnoticed. Others present

      with additional anxiety disorders (e.g., Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Social Phobia, or Panic Disorder). Some students seem to be

      constantly frustrated, impulsive, and have frequent tantrums. Many of these individuals may also be diagnosed with Attention Deficit

      Disorder or a Mood Disorder (e.g., Bipolar Disorder). Although students may react and cope with the stresses in their lives quite

      differently, they may share a similar reason for experiencing high levels of stress, as described below.

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      Given the variety of symptoms and levels of intellectual functioning among individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, a number

      of researchers have theorized about the core underlying problem within the disorders. Three, perhaps related, theories have received

      the most attention:

      1.

      Frith (1989) suggests that autistic individuals lack the ability to simultaneously integrate the multiple language, social and

      emotional messages typically present in social situations. Something about their neurological functioning makes it difficult to

      assimilate and organize all the pertinent information. Since most social situations have multiple levels of sensory input, autistic

      individuals do not always fully grasp what is happening or how to respond. Instead, they may attend to and process only a

      fragment of the social experience, resulting in repetitive and atypical social behavior.

      2.

      Baron-Cohen (1995) suggests that the core problem is the inability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others, a

      process termed “theory of mind.” Thus, autistic individuals have difficulty taking other people’s perspectives.

      3.

      Hobson (1996) suggests that autism involves the inability to perceive and understand emotional expressions. This would

      then lead to difficulties in perspective taking and subsequent problems in social interaction.

      These three theories can be considered complementary. Both Baron-Cohen and Hobson’s theories suggest that autistic individuals

      cannot easily empathize with or understand another person’s view of the world. Frith’s theory helps explain why. The inability to

      simultaneously integrate information about what is happening in a social situation makes it difficult to imagine what others might be

      thinking and feeling. To take another’s perspective, one has to synthesize information about the other person (e.g., the person’s recent

      past experiences and preferences), along with what is happening to the person.

      Most social skills rely on the ability to mentally adopt another person’s perspective. For example, knowing why to say hello when

      you greet someone is based on understanding how others might think or feel if you ignore them rather than greet them. Knowing

      when to stop talking, take turns, respond to others’ initiations, compromise, help others, or share, all come naturally when a person

      can easily take another’s perspective. However, these social skills do not come naturally to autistic individuals, and must be taught

      explicitly if they are going to be mastered. The Social Skills Pictures that follow attempt to do just that—break down social skills into

      their components and make explicit what to do and say in social situations, and why.

      The Importance of Visual Aids in Teaching Those with Autism Spectrum Disorders

      As described earlier, autistic individuals often have language processing difficulties including: (a) for classically autistic individuals,

      difficulties comprehending language, (b) for high-functioning individuals, difficulties with abstract language, and (c) for many autistic

      individuals, difficulty attending to verbal explanations when there is competing visual and auditory information. Visual aids can often

      facilitate both attention and language comprehension.