isolation - Social Skills Activities for Children with Autism

In an earlier post, I provide an isolation card activity for you to download and use in your social skills teaching activities with children on the autism spectrum. Here are some additional materials for you to use, simple worksheets.There are many reasons that children with Asperger’s and other autism spectrum disorders often struggle with social isolation. They may be motivated to socialize, but their efforts may not be fruitful. They might be enthralled with solitary activities based on their preferred interests. Kids with ASD can find their days at school exhausting, and they sometimes over-compensate with down time to recover. Typical children can reject or bully children with ASD.The worksheets are to support your social skills teaching efforts on this topic. The most important worksheets are the daily schedule records, which you can use separately if you like if you don’t wish to use the other four worksheets.If you do not download the card activity from the earlier blog post, I do suggest you check out the content of the cards anyhow. I believe it will help you cover more dimensions of this social skills activity.

My best wishes to you, and the children you are helping, as you work on this issue.

To download the worksheets:

Follow the directions below to download the PDF files for the worksheets.

CLICK HERE: Seven Worksheets to explore social isolation

CLICK HERE for telehealth version of this resource

Hebrew translation: 7 worksheets for children who are socially isolated

Your comments on these resources are most welcome, and often helpful. Click HERE to send an email.

social skills game activity — This shows a social skills card game you can download and make pretty easily. It’s to help children with ASD to explore issues related to social isolation.

To download the pdf of this kit, click on the red link here:

Social Cards PDF Download

This resource is available in Polish

This activity is also available in a PowerPoint version in case you want to “show it” rather than cut it out:

Social Cards PowerPoint Version

Social isolation is common in children with autism spectrum disorders. The reasons are obvious. They can become enthralled with preferred activities that they carry out in solitude. The social world can be tiring and frustrating and children with autism can over-compensate with down time to recover. Modern technology provides engaging self- stimulation without face-to-face social contact. Children with ASD can become bewildered and discouraged when they go about trying to socialize. The peers of children with ASD can be unaccommodating and rejecting.

I have provided for you here a social skills teaching activity to help children with ASD’s to explore social isolation. It can be played in a small group or one-on-one between an adult and a child. To play it, you need a single die. When you roll it, it directs the participant to draw a card out of one of three piles of 12 cards.

Dice — Why bother with dice in this activity? To add levity and to take an edge off the challenging content. For more on game-like elements in social skills teaching, click on the dice picture.

Roll 1 or 2: “Help the Kid” card. Each card describes a different child experiencing a unique isolation problem. You have to figure out some way to “Help the Kid” with their problem. There is more than one possible solution to each.

Roll 3 or 4: “Fix the Thought” card. Each card shows a different thought or belief which can either contribute to social isolation or make loneliness hurt more. You have to think of one or more thoughts or beliefs to counter the negative thought.

Roll 5 or 6: “All about You.” These questions explore the child’s own social isolation.

Hot to make the cards and card holders: Click on the PDF download link at the top of this post.

I hope you find this social skills game activity useful.

Joel Shaul

Here is a free download of worksheets on the topic of social isolation for children on the autism spectrum.

Worksheets for Exploring Social Isolation

Your comments on these resources are most welcome, and often helpful. Click HERE to send an email.