'If a child is nonverbal, there are still skills... that will be relevant for them. Remember that communication is both verbal and nonverbal, and that expression can take many forms besides verbal communication.' (for example, understanding the nonverbal communication of others) (pp70)
The Language of Social Skills (pp71)
- appropriate social behaviour
- following social rules
- getting and giving information
- maintaining a conversation
- slang, idioms, and expressions
- telling jokes
- using gestures
Conversational Exchange
'As the grammatical complexity of a child's language increases, so too does his ability to carry his own end of a conversation. Initially, it takes a great deal of work from the adult to sustain a conversation with the child. As the child gets older, he reciprocates with an adult more skillfully, and can carry on conversation with a peer.'
'conversations with a peer occur later, because childre are not as aware of the need to create a supportive structure for sustaining the echange. In fact, this is one of the reasons children with autism have a harder time conversing with peers than with adults. Adults have a very nuanced ability to recognise the needs of the child with autism and provide the right prompts. A child, no matter how well intentioned, will not understand how to do this and after a few attempts may give up on the dialog.'
Teaching the Language of Social Skills
'Children with autism are doubly challenged in learning the language of social sills. First, they struggle with understanding social information and with learning how to interact with peers. Second, understanding and using complex language is a significant challenge for many of them. As a result, learning to manage social interaction often presents formidable language demands along with social ones.'
- Is this why echolalia occurs?
- Are children repeating because they are not understanding to the concept?
Social Stories
'social stories are brief, written narratives about what will happen or how a child is expected to behave in a specific situation. These stories are written in simple language and capture the essence of a social behaviour.'
'Carol Gray, an educator employed by a school system in Michigan, created social stories as a means to convey complex social information to children with autism... She suggests that one directive (rule) statement be given for every three to five informative sentences that describe the situation or give perspective on behaviour.'
- Will the stories told relate to a social story that has been repeatedly told to the child?
- Will statements given refelct this, or will the program's more open-plan approach mean that the statements won't come up as the system of storytelling is less regimented?
- Should there be more of a 'rule' structure to the overall storytelling process?
