Behavior Analytic Interventions for Developing

Social Skills in Individuals with Autism

The Challenges of Learning and Teaching Social Skills

Social skills intervention for children with autism is an area in which gains have been modest and the development of innovative clinical approaches has been limited (Rao, Beidel, & Murray, 2008). Social skills are among the most elusive targets to teach. One impediment to teaching social skills is that there may be limited intrinsic interest on the part of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) to learn these skills. Many individuals with ASDs lack social interest and fail to comprehend social nuances. In addition, they often exhibit little social initiation, as well as reduced social responsiveness. It is often difficult to identify the best methods for teaching social skills. Most social skills are multielement skills that require an individual to engage in multiple behaviors and distinct tasks. Also, most social skills involve an element of judgment in determining whether and when to use each skill (e.g., Is it appropriate to engage in this behavior at this time?). Such complexities make it difficult to teach such skills effectively and thoroughly. How can practitioners operationally define social judgment? How can practitioners best prepare learners for the endless possibilities that exist in the natural social environment? This chapter examines the components of social skills necessary for effective social functioning. In addition, commonly used approaches for teaching social skills are reviewed. The importance of identifying the critical elements of intervention is discussed.

Basic Components of Social Skills

Social initiations include skills such as greeting others, asking questions of others, commenting to others, and asking to join ongoing activities. Social responses include responding to the social overtures of others, which may include greetings, questions, and offers to join activities. In individuals with ASDs, social initiations are generally weaker than social responses. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) has been shown to be extremely effective in building social initiations and social responses. Social skill impairments include impairments in making social initiations, responding to social overtures, and demonstrating social comprehension (i.e., behaving appropriately in circumstances that require complex or multicomponent initiations and responses). Impairments in these central skills limit the success of social integration and can negatively affect how an individual interacts with others in his or her environment.

Qualitative Aspects of Social Behaviors

Qualitative aspects of social initiations and responses affect the functional utility of social skills learned, regardless of how they are taught. Social initiations and responses emitted may lack clarity or be blatantly inappropriate. Such children may lack independence and require facilitation from an adult. When skills lack clarity or are inappropriate, they typically do not result in social interaction. Poor-quality responses result in less social success. In addition, many social skills are complex, multielement skills, requiring a variety of component skills. The demonstration of social skills also requires social judgment regarding when and how to use the skills.

Social Comprehension

Social comprehension describes the complicated social responses and initiations that are part of navigating the social world. Individuals are required to understand social rules, engage in behaviors that are expected in given contexts, and interpret social nuances. Social comprehension skills are essential in making meaningful progress in effectively navigating the social world.

Strategies for Teaching Social Skills

Some commonly used approaches include Social Stories, rule cards, and video modeling. Video modeling is an effective means of teaching a wide variety of skills, and many students with ASDs are strong visual learners. Social Stories can be used to explain behavioral expectations for multielement situations and have become increasingly popular as an instructional strategy for learners with ASDs.

Summary of Strategies to Build Social Comprehension

Social skills are difficult to define and challenging to teach. Furthermore, it is often difficult to evaluate the impact of the instructional methods used. Although probably the most widely used approach, Social Stories have little data supporting their effectiveness. Video modeling and social scripting have good empirical support. It is essential that variability be included in scripts and models to ensure generalized and functional results. Direct behavior change procedures should always be used to effect behavior, and data on the effectiveness of all strategies used with individual learners should be collected and utilized.