Social Skills Activities for Children with Autism
AutismTeachingStrategies.com
German translation of this resource
There are other free, downloadable “meters” on the website.
Your comments on these resources are most welcome, and often helpful. Click HERE to send an email.
For the computer screen-based, teletherapy version of this resource, click HERE
Your comments on these resources are most welcome, and often helpful. Click HERE to send an email.
Children on the autism spectrum often struggle to discern the interests of other people and to take these interests into account in conversation. This social skills game employs a picture-based strategy works well in a variety of ages and reading levels. I would then encourage you to go on to fully explore this fun, visual method in my illustrated children’s book, The Green Zone Conversation Book, published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
To download the activity, click on the red link below.
I wish you success in your social skills work with children on the autism spectrum.
Above are two pages from The Green Zone Conversation Book
In another post, I have directions for making and using this fun variation, the Green Zone Mat.
Your comments on these resources are most welcome, and often helpful. Click HERE to send an email.
Here is a something quick to make to help children with autism (and other children) to practice.
Some commentary, photos and links to other resources on giving compliments are given below.
[ for another holiday-themed social skills activity, CLICK HERE ]
Children on the autism spectrum are often deficient in the skill of giving compliments. They tend to not be aware of the obligation and necessity of offering compliments to build and maintain good will in relationships.
During holidays in which family and friends give and receive gifts, and adults host meals, parties and other celebratory events, part of the expectation is that those on the receiving end will praise that which is provided for them to play with, eat and enjoy. It is useful for children with ASD to practice the social skill of giving compliments in advance of such occasions.
I have put a lot of free downloads on this website to promote giving compliments. Here are a few to check out:
Compliment maker with pictures, words and phrases
Compliment tag; how to play it
Elsewhere on the website, I have picture guides to show you how to fold paper fortune tellers and use them in your work. I also have free downloads of a dozen other ones.
Your comments on these resources are most welcome, and often helpful. Click HERE to send an email.
I hope you enjoy using these things. Happy holidays.
Joel Shaul, LCSW
Social skills games and learning activities for tattling and correcting
I created these materials ten years ago and just finished a re-design of the whole kit.
Young people on the autism spectrum can come across as rigid and bossy at times to their peers. Children with ASD can misinterpret complex social situations and express themselves too openly, without considering the broader social consequences.
Figuring out when to “tattle” or correct someone is very hard. I designed the 48 question cards to include a lot of challenging questions that don’t have clear-cut answers.
When you use the cards, feel free to go through the deck and select the ones that seem best for the young people you are helping, based on their age, level of comprehension and particular issues they are dealing with.
Children like to hold the cards and have an actual “deck” to play with, but this social skills activity also really works well in the screen display version (which is the version I most often use myself, for groups and teletherapy).
I hope these materials are useful for you in your work.
Joel Shaul
Your comments on these resources are most welcome, and often helpful. Click HERE to send an email.
Children with autism spectrum disorders often have difficulties having conversations with the people they live with. It really helps to use picture guides. Here is a set of easy-to-use worksheets for classroom, speech room and home.
1. Have the child put check marks next to the photos they think represent the person’s interests.
2. Go over the images one at a time with the child. Explain that the family member probably has many interests that are different from the child’s own interests.
3. The sheet “Questions, Comments, Compliments” can be used to set up role plays and actual conversation practice with family members.
4. Have family members fill them out for the child to use as a reference.
5. Project the sheets using a smart board or projector – this really helps for small group or classroom discussions about family members.
I hope these worksheets are useful for you.
Your comments on these resources are most welcome, and often helpful. Click HERE to send an email.
Teaching social skills to children with autism spectrum disorders can be much more effective when it is engaging and fun. By the time children with autism ends up in our classrooms or psychotherapy offices, they are often feeling pretty weary and discouraged with their problems. If we don’t introduce some elements of levity, we may lose their attention altogether.
Here are some tips for making your social skills training engaging and “game-like.” Much of this is summarized in this Youtube video, check it out: http://bit.ly/x9TvvO
Here is an example: “Kids, we are going to play the compliment game today. A compliment is when you say something nice to someone about how they look, or about what they do, or about how they are. When it is your turn, if you roll a one or two with the dice, you have to give someone a compliment here about how they look. If you roll a three or a four, give a compliment to someone about what they are doing. If you roll a five or a six, give a compliment to someone about how they are (nice, funny, smart, fast, clever, etc.)”
You can download this cool play money that I made! Click here.
2. Use tokens or scoring systems. These fall into two categories. The first kind of scoring system is to give out token objects (play money, marbles, etc.). These you have the kids keep in cups so they are not overly distracted by them. The second scoring system is to create a score board. Simply write the names of the children on a dry erase board, and add a hatch mark next to their names each time they score. (This is the preferred system if your kids on the autism spectrum get distracted by wanting to touch and handle the token items.)
3. Use achievement levels. Most kids on the autism spectrum play a lot of video games. Video games are usually all about “levels” and getting from one level to the next. Here is an example of how to incorporate this into an activity teaching compliments: “Kids, there are three levels of giving compliments. We are going to play a compliment game. Who will get to level three? Level one is easy. You say something nice about how someone looks. Level two is harder. You have to say something nice about the thing the person is doing. Level three is the top level. You have to know the person well enough to know their special inside qualities, like “Generous,” “Smart,” or “Helpful.”
4. Build in Game-show elements. Children with autism spectrum disorders seem to appreciate it when their counselor or teacher is willing to pretend to be a game show host. Copy and print out the picture of the game show guy shown in the picture above, and stick it on the wall. If you want to get fancy, play game show music. Here is a link to Jeopardy music sound clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXGhvoekY44 Then, abandon your professional decorum , and say something like this: “Kids, welcome to the Elmhurst School Game Show. I am your host, Ms. Apple. Today, we are going to test people’s ability to give compliments. Please welcome our first contestant, Tiffany. Tiffany, come on down!”
I wish you good luck with introducing levity and game-like qualities to your social skills training for kids on the autism spectrum.
Your comments on these resources are most welcome, and often helpful. Click HERE to send an email.
