increasing social skills of high school students with autism and intellectual disabilities dcdt 2011...
TRANSCRIPT
Increasing Social Skills of High School Students with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities
DCDT 2011
Carolyn HughesVanderbilt University
AgendaRationalePurpose of studyMethodResultsImplicationsQ and AInformation sharing
Rationale
Social skills critical to school performance & postschool outcomes
Social skills especially critical in high school where conversation primary medium of interaction & class participation
One of only 3 predictive factors associated with all 3 indicators of postschool success: employment, education, independent living (NSTTAC, 2009)
However, many students with ID or ASD lack requisite social skills to interact effectively with teachers & peers or respond appropriately to social stimuli
One effective intervention: peer-supported social skills instruction in high school
Ex: 3 students with ASD & ID taught to initiate interaction with multiple gen ed peers (training & generalization) using recreational item (Gaylord-Ross et al., 1984)
Despite peer benefits, legislative mandates (e.g., IDEA), & calls for full participation in gen ed (e.g., Schnorr, 1990), 44% of students with ASD & 52% with ID spend >60% of their day outside gen ed (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2009)
Observational studies in high schools indicate little programming to increase social interaction among gen ed students & peers with ID and ASD (e.g., Hughes, Carter, Mu & colleagues)
Only 8 published h.s. interventions with gen ed peers & students with ID and ASD
Purpose of StudySystematic replication (Hughes et al.,
2000) in which 5 students with ID & ASD were taught by multiple peers to use communication books to initiate conversation to novel peers
Addressed limited role of peers in generalization who were restricted to 3 initiations per 5-minute observational session
Purpose of Study (cont.)Peers instructed to expand on
topics introduced by participants with ID & ASD & to initiate conversation reciprocally
Intervention introduced as package: taught social skills & provided opportunity to interact
Research QuestionsCould communication book be
adapted to promote reciprocal turn taking?
Could support role of gen ed partner be expanded during generalization?
Would book be effective with students who were nonverbal & those with perseverative verbal speech?
Would book use generalize across conversational partners & settings?
Participants
Students with ASD & ID:◦3 males (White), 2 females (1 Asian, 1 White)◦Ages 15-20 years, language impairments◦4 ASD & ID, 1 ID◦Nonverbal to perseverative speech characteristics◦2-4 gen ed classes (e.g., keyboarding, art, audio
tech, PE)Gen ed students (volunteers from students’
classes or lunch period):◦33 females: 23 Black, 5 White, 5 other (e.g.,
Hispanic, Asian, Mid-Eastern)◦28 males: 9 Black, 14 White, 5 other
SettingUrban high school of 1200
students◦50%+ free & reduced lunch; 10%
SPED◦80% graduation rate◦NCLB low-performing status◦53% Black, 40% White, 4% Hispanic,
3% other◦Comprehensive high school –
academic & career tech classes◦Most inclusive high school in district
First Step: Gen Ed Student’s Input:Improve publicity about students with
ASD & ID- we don’t know who they are
Provide disability awareness so we know what to expect – we need to learn how to integrate
Introduce students with disabilities to Gen Ed classmates – we don’t know each other
First Step: Gen Ed Student’s Input:
Intersperse students with ASD in their gen ed classes
Have 2-3 students with ASD eat with us in the lunchroom
Improve publicity about the peer mentor program – have kids that are in it (not teachers) talk to other kids
Some clubs do community service
Involve students in sports or clubs
First Step: Gen Ed Caveats:Can be uncomfortable interacting with a
student who is down or inappropriate-you also don’t want to be associated with them
Gen ed students can be afraid of special ed students because you don’t know what to expect
Some students are friendlier & easier to talk to-it would be devastating to try to start a conversation with a student who didn’t respond
Both students have to feel there’s a benefit
Next Step: Students’ Social Goals:Would you like to have more friends at
school? ◦That’s fine
What would you like to do with them?◦Hang out, watch TV, smackdown, Oh yeah,
smackdown!Do you have friends when you go to keyboarding?
◦ No, no.How do you feel when you meet someone new?
◦ I don’t know. . .scared.Tell me some things you could do to have more
friends at school.◦ Be nice. Hang out.
Next Step: Students’ Social Goals:Would you like to have more friends at
school? ◦Yeah.
What would you like to do with them?◦Hang out, talk about football.
Do you have friends when you go to Keyboarding?◦ Yeah, don’t know their names.
How do you feel when you meet someone new?◦ I guess, kind of a little different.
Tell me some things you could do to have more friends at school.◦ Talk about football, talk about whatever.
Next Step: Parents’ Social Goals:“Now, what we need more than anything is
social skills! This is the last step before he is out of school.”
“A peer mentor could help expose him to a variety of social activities and experiences.”
“A peer mentor program—it’s about time. We’ve needed this for so long!”
“I would like a peer mentor to help him see what is ‘cool’ or ‘not cool’ in order to be accepted.”
“I would like to see him develop a close, lasting relationship.”
Method: Teaching Script
RationaleExplain that you want to help
student make new friends
Explain that you want to help student learn a new way to talk
Teaching SequenceModel using the bookLook at picture and ask questionVerbally instruct student while
s/he uses the book to ask questions
Student uses book without your instructions
Give verbal praise/corrective feedback
ReminderRemind student to use book
when talking to somebody else
Remind student to start talking and keep talking to his or her friends
Method: Interaction OpportunitiesAsk Gen Ed teachers to suggest interaction
partners in classAsk peers if they would like to interact with
studentExplain to partner to give book to student when
ready and to respond to students’ questionsPartner and student interact by having a
conversation. Student uses book to prompt questions to ask partner.
Partners support student in interactingPartners are varied across settings and days
FINDINGS
0
20
40
60
80
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85
Keyboarding
Lunch
Art
Per
cent
of
Inte
rval
s w
ith I
nter
actio
n
Sessions
Baseline Communication book use Follow-up
4 months
5 months
**Conner
0
20
40
60
80
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85Sessions
Per
cent
of I
nter
vals
of
Int
erac
tion
Keyboarding
P.E.
Lunch
Baseline Communication book use
** *Joseph
0
20
40
60
80
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
0
20
40
60
80
100
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85
Per
cent
of
Inte
rval
s w
ith I
nter
actio
n
Baseline Communication book use Follow-up
Lunch
Art
Cosmetology
Sessions***
6 months
4 months
Gabby
OutcomesStudents increased and generalized
their social interactions, conversation skills, and peer relationships
Topics & rate of interacting are similar to peers’
Students report feeling that they are accomplishing their goals
Peers agree that they are enjoying their interactions
Communication book appears acceptable across social situations
ImplicationsCommunication booklets are
effective in promoting conversational behavior across students with varied communication skills from nonspeaking to perseverative
May serve as a “social prosthetic” (Gaylord-Ross et al., 1984) to promote interaction among peers with few common experiences or language
Books comprised socially valid topics to which peers likely could relate
ImplicationsExpanded role of peers allowed
more reciprocal turn taking & active participation
Two-pronged intervention: encouraged peer support & taught social skills vs. just one or the other
Intervention produced fairly typical interactions: (e.g., “This is just like a conversation I have with my friends!”)
ImplicationsGen ed students are accepting of
social differences if provided support, as shown in peer perception ratings
However, conversational partners’ ratings of interaction slightly lower for nonverbal students◦e.g., “I really wanted A to answer
with a sentence instead of just Yes or No. I wanted to encourage her to talk more.” (said of nonverbal student)
LimitationsMay need more disability
awareness orientation with peers prior to interacting
Interaction opportunities were “set up”—but likely would not occur without programming:◦ Virtually no interactions during baseline◦ Gen ed dyads interacted only 30% of time
Researchers vs. teachers facilitated interactive opportunities
Topics socially valid but books had limited question pool
FUTURE
RESEARCH
New Studies: Students with HFAParticipants:
◦3 males (2 White, 1 Black), 3 females (1 White, 2 Black
◦Ages 16-18 years◦2 blind, 3 with ID◦Each participant attended 4-7 gen ed
classesCommunication book peer trainer:
student with learning disabilities“Ask new questions” trainingGen ed students as the intervention
target: self-monitor initiations to SPED
Your questions?Your experiences with high school social interaction programs?
Need more information? Want to join a doctoral program? Contact [email protected]