For children on the spectrum a lack of social and communication skills is common. Due to social skills deficits many children on the spectrum find the world confusing and stressful a lack of appropriate communication skills can mean a lack of friendships and in some cases bullying and isolation.
And for many parentsteaching social and communication skills to their autistic child can become a primary focus.
Children with autism like structure and routines and can become frustrated and anxious when routines change, they dislike surprises and may display obsessive behaviours which can make the child appear odd or weird.
Consequently, because of these social skills deficits many parents and teachers struggle to find appropriate techniques and autism teaching aids that are easy to implement and suitable.
It is a fact that the majority of children on the spectrum are visual thinkers and learners and will therefore respond better to visual strategies; such as a visual schedule, social skills stories, flash cards, PECS communication symbols and so on.
A visual strategy can be implemented to suit the individual needs of the autistic child. Many parents and teachers use a combination of visual strategies, all of which compliment each other.
No two autistic children will ever be the same and what works for one autistic child may not be suitable for another.
That said, the vast majority of autistic children use social skills stories as primary autism teaching aids to help them better cope with daily tasks and activities as well as the not so common activities and tasks.
Parents do not need any formal training or previous knowledge to use Autism teaching aids and visual strategies.
A visual strategy such as social skills stories can be used to help the autistic child learn social and communication skills that they may be struggling to master, like for example making friends, asking questions, respecting personal space, or less common activities such as going for a dental visit, visiting grand parents, a birthday party and so on.
For children with autism understanding our world is difficult, therefore addressing any anxieties they may have can help cut down on anxiety attacks, melt downs and negative behaviours.
Introducing a visual schedule will benefit your child, a visual schedule gives the child on the spectrum a step by step framework of the day’s activities using simple pictures or images, reducing surprises and giving routine to the day.
Social skills stories break down the activity or skill into small easier to understand pieces. Using visual images and pictures the social skills stories are visual strategies that show the child on the spectrum by answering the “wh” question – who, where, why, when and what, it will also give the child on the spectrum an insight into the thoughts and feelings of others why and how we undertake certain activities for example brushing our teeth, washing our hands, raising our hand to speak, recess and so on.
Flash cards and PECS communication symbols are visual strategies that can be used effectively with both verbal and nonverbal autistic children. They are universally used for visual schedules to accompany social skills stories, on now and next boards, mini visual schedules, choosing boards and as autism teaching aids.
Flash cards are small laminated pieces of card showing an image or picture some flash cards will also have a small piece of text saying what the picture is of for example, coat, toilet, pencil etc. The idea being the PECS communication symbols or flash cards be used to communicate with the child on the spectrum, they are used in various ways and settings.
For more information on autism teaching aids and visual strategies visit:
For social skills stories which can be downloaded immediately go to:
For flash cards and communication symbols which can be used in a variety of ways such as on visual schedules or on their own as a means of communication visit:
Motivating a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder is not going to be easy. By definition a child with autism will almost certainly have a restricted repertoire of interests and skills as well as difficulties with social interactions, imagination and communication skills.
Many parents will struggle to teach social and communication skills to their child. But without planned, positive experiences, and resources that are designed to help teach appropriate skills and behaviors many children with ASD often become victimized by their autism as they age.
Strategies that support motivation for individuals who have Autism Spectrum Disorder should include visual supports such as social skills stories, PECS and flash cards.
Generally children with autism spectrum disorder tend to be visual thinkers and learners, meaning they think in images or pictures, which makes understanding oral or written instruction or information difficult for them.
Therefore motivating a child with autism spectrum disorder is better achieved when visual supports are implemented. Many strategies that support motivation for individuals who have Autism Spectrum Disorder are now available from sites like http://www.autismsocialstories.com
Parents do not need any formal training to use social skills stories or flash cards, these visual strategies are easy to implement and used successfully both in the home and classroom.
Social skills stories are probably one of the major tools used to help teach and motivate children with autism spectrum disorder. Since their development twenty years ago social stories have grown in popularity and are now readily used by parents, teachers and professionals caring for special needs kids with autism and related conditions.
Developed by therapist Carol Gray social stories are short visual strategies that detail skills and situations the child with autism is struggling to master or understand. Using visual images and first person text the social story acts as a role model or visual plan answering the “wh” questions (who, where, why, when and what) as well as giving the child with autism an insight into how others are thinking and feeling.
To learn more about how a social story could help your child visit http://www.autismsocialstories.com where you will find detailed information on social stories and how they can be used to teach and motivate children with autism.
Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disorder. The disorder is characterized by a set of symptoms known as the triad of impairments, these are:
Social interactions skills deficits
Communication skills deficits
Imagination skills deficits.
This triad of impairments or social skills deficits as they are more commonly referred to are common to all individuals with ASD (autism spectrum disorder).
Therefore students with autism will almost certainly display social skills deficits.
The autistic student will have social skills impairments which can affect their ability to communicate with and understand others.
The autistic student will lack social interaction and flexibility skills, preferring set patterns and routines, this inability to be flexible can cause stress and anxiety if routines are changed even slightly.
These social skills deficits can make understanding communication and social skills in the classroom and around school difficult for the ASD student.
It is true to say that individuals with ASD cannot easily behave in a typical ‘more normal’ way. An autistic student will not purposefully disrupt the class; all autistic behaviour happens for a reason an external or internal (illness) factor.
It is these external and internal factors that trigger a negative autistic behaviour through sheer frustration with situations and with other people.
Teaching the ASD student is difficult. Strategies can be put in place that can help deal with the affects of the student’s social skills deficits, which can help the motivation and behaviours displayed by the ASD student.
Strategies used for motivating students with autism can include visual schedules, PECS, flash cards, autism symbols and social skills stories.
For the majority of students with autism a combination of all these autism resources is favourable. However for many students with autism probably one of the most useful autism resources available is social skills stories.
Social stories as strategies used for motivating students with autism are short visual strategies used to show a skill or situation that the student is struggling with. Using visual images and first person text the social story is used like a role model of the skill or situation. Detailing the skill by giving the student with autism the relevant social cues, answering the “wh” questions (who, where, why, when and what) and giving an insight into the emotions, thoughts and nonverbal communication shown or felt by others.
Easy to implement, personalize and with no formal training needed to use social skills stories are used widely in the classroom for dealing with issues such as staying on task, calling out, asking question, recess, P.E. lessons and so on.
Research into ASD suggests that the definitions of the characteristics of autism spectrum disorder…are the individual’s inability to socialize and communicate effectively. A child with ASD will have the inability to interact or communicate socially.
The typical definition of the characteristics of autism spectrum disorder, are commonly known as the social skills deficits these include:
* Uncoordinated motor movements and clumsiness.
* Poor posture
* Social impairments
* Limited interests and sometimes unusual preoccupations
* The need for repetition and ritualistic obsessions, like lining up possessions, collecting timetables and so on…
* Inability to communicate effectively lack of ability to understand wit, humour, puns and slang words
* Inability to read body language or facial expression…lack of eye contact
* Inappropriate behaviours
* Speech and language deficits…odd use of language and sometimes language can be delayed.
* Appearing to lack the ability to understand others feelings and emotions…one sided friendships…there way or no way!
Autism spectrum disorder is probably the most common childhood disorder today. There is no cure for autism it is a life long disorder.
However, although there is no cure for autism there are efficient treatments for autism that can help the symptoms of autism, the characteristics.
Generally an individual with autism spectrum disorder will have quite good rote memory, and may also display an intense interest in a certain topic to the exclusion of anything else.
These interests can sometimes be with the strangest of things; for example a bus timetable, a clock even some marbles etc.
Research shows us that treatments for autism likesocial skills stories, PECS and flash cards are an effective means of teaching and addressing the social skills deficits associated with this disorder.
Probably the biggest hurdle faced by an individual with autism spectrum disorder is a lack of social awareness and deficits in social skills and communications.
For individuals with ASD learning social and communication skills is not going to happen naturally as it would for a typically developing individual therefore individuals with ASD need direct teaching of social and communication skills.
Autism social skills stories ARE excellent resources, designed to help the child with ASD understand and deal with situations and activities that the rest of us take for granted like tooth brushing or catching a train or bus.
Autism social skills stories are like a role model or a blueprint to independent life and those things we take for granted like…shopping trips or flushing toilets.
An individual with autism spectrum disorder may be confused by certain situations and struggle to understand things like friendships, being a good sport and so on.
These are areas that autism social skills stories can help, by providing the child with ASD with clear precise information and instruction in a visual format through text and visual images like a comic script depicting the skill or situation.
Used for a variety of situations and skills that the individual with autism is finding confusing or that may be making them anxious or aggressive. The social story can be edited to personalize it and printed for convenience and use anywhere.
To learn more about how a social story could benefit your autistic child or young person visit:
ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) is a pervasive developmental disorder that affects four times more males than females. Some research suggests autism caused by genetic factors that interfere with normal brain development, or environmental factors, such as the effects of pollution or the damage caused by viruses. However how autism is caused is still under research. Autism Spectrum Disorder is normally detected in children before the age of three and is a life long condition.
No two people are ever the same and this runs true with Autism Spectrum Disorder which affects individuals in various ways. However the characteristics of autism are generally grouped together and called the triad of autistic impairments. Every individual with ASD will have to varying degree’s the triad of autistic impairments.
The triad of autistic impairments means difficulties with three areas of development; social communication, social interaction and imagination skills and behaviours. Probably the most apparent of the characteristics of autism is the way a person’s ability to communicate both verbally and non-verbally with others is affected.
So when considering autism and brain development and how it affects learning it is beneficial to remember all individuals with autism will have marked difficulties with communication both verbal and non-verbal skills.
An Individual with ASD will have difficulties understanding things that we probably take for granted like jokes, metaphors wit and slang, this form of communication may be indecipherable to an individual with ASD. It is suggested that using visual cues such asflash cards and social stories can help overcome this hurdle. You should also try to adapt how you speak, speak less and be more direct, don’t use metaphors or slang and say exactly what you mean.
Therefore with autism and brain development and how it affects learning can be aided using visual cues. An autistic person is far more likely to respond to visual cues like flash cards and social stories rather than written or spoken information or instruction.
One of the primary worries for many parents with autistic children is how their child will learn play autism spectrum disorder affects a person’s ability to use their imagination. This makes play difficult for autistic children and in a lot of instances a child with ASD will simply prefer to line up their toys or arrange them in certain ways rather than play with them.
Many autistic children may also develop ritualistic behaviours and become obsessive about certain things or objects this can take different forms from obsession with a TV character to train timetables.
Generally social skills stories and flash cards can help the child with ASD understand play skills effectively, as well as how to make and maintain friendships.
Social skills stories are short descriptive visual role model of an activity, situation or skill that the child with ASD is struggling to understand, finds stressful or simply can not cope with. The social skills story will also help with transition, and other skills such as hygiene, sharing, taking turns calming down and so on.
A social skills story can be edited and personalized to suit individual children specific needs. Most social stories are visual with images and first person text.
To finds out more about flash cards or social skills stories and how they are to help children with ASD as well as how they affect autism and brain development and how it affects learning visit:
For the majority of children with autism direct teaching of social skills is necessary. Unlike their typically developing peers children with autism do not naturally acquire social skills from people watching or the environment. For many autistic children the ability to understand and read subtle cues, facial expressions, verbal and nonverbal communication and people’s body language is missing, which makes interpreting meaning challenging.
Teaching social skills to children with autism can take many forms from PECS and visual flash cards to ABA and social skills stories.
For many parents of autistic children choosing a school is difficult. To attend mainstream education children with autism or asperger syndrome will need a certain amount of social skills. Inclusion in a mainstream school is often not dependent solely on the child’s IQ or intelligence. Many children with autism or asperger syndrome are capable of working at the required level, but are not being accepted into mainstream education due to behavioral issues or poorly developed social skills.
Teaching social skills to children with autism is not easy, for many autistic children understanding instruction is difficult. However there are certain treatments of autism which can help overcome this hurdle.
Generally children on the spectrum are visual thinkers and learners, meaning they will comprehend information or instruction easier if it is given visually, for example images or pictures etc. rather than written or spoken instruction.
Therefore teaching social skills to children on the spectrum can be achieved far easier using visual tools and methods such as visual flash cards and social skills stories, both of which are visual and are proven successful methods.
A good social story will focus on a particular social situation or interaction. Some examples of social stories would be assembly, sharing, taking turns, not shouting out, recess etc. These are all good examples of social stories. The social story serves a number of purposes. The most important aspect being that the social story provides the child on the spectrum with a role model, something to follow visually.
Social stories address the “wh” question (who, where, why, when and what) as well as give an insight into the thinking, emotions and actions of others. It will also explain the actions and reactions expected of the child on the spectrum. Social stories are generally written following a specific pattern and normally by experts although some parents have learnt how to write social stories themselves.
Not all social skills stories are perfect. It may well be that a particular social story does not have exactly the desired effect or address all the necessary elements of a situation. Be prepared to occasionally rewrite a social story to make it more effective.
To find out more about social stories and how they can be implemented for teaching social skills to children with autism visit any of the following sites:
It is common for preschool aged children with autism to have difficulties moving on from activities or tasks. Generally all preschool aged children with autism will prefer routines and want things to stay constant and the same, without deviations or changes no matter how small.
The need for routine is common to autism and forms part of the symptoms of autism.
It is not uncommon for a preschool aged autistic child to get stuck on an activity especially if it interests them and teachers can have a difficult time trying to move the child onto the next thing. The preschool aged autistic child can become anxious even agitated or aggressive when the teacher tries to encourage them onto a new activity.
These difficulties can make the ever changing preschool environment confusing and stressful to the autistic child.
Research into how teachers can best cope within preschool suggests that using visual strategies for autism and preschool can be beneficial.
Using visual strategies for autism and preschool such as a visual schedule, flash cards, PECS and social skills stories are known to help teachers communicate and cope with the autistic child in their care.
Children with autism can become anxious when things change or they do not know what is happening, such as moving onto the next activity. By implementing a visual schedule the autistic child can see the days plan. Thus removing anxieties about what is happening, giving them information about what to expect now or next, therefore reducing the stress of not knowing.
PECS and flash cards can be used to help children with autism recognise areas for example the bathroom, sink, where the pencils are etc. A small picture is placed above the area showing the autistic child exactly where something is. Preschool aged autistic children can become anxious when things or places are not clear. A preschool aged autistic child is not inquisitive and will not look for the pencil draw for example.
PECS and flash cards are also used as a means of communication, for example a teacher can show the preschool aged autistic child a picture or image, for example of a drink to let the autistic child know it is time for a drink etc.
Children with autism will understand information far quicker and simpler if the information is visual. Try to talk less and use visual strategies as, children with autism think in pictures, they are visual thinkers and learners.
It is also recommended that teachers of preschool aged children with autism try using visual strategies for autism and preschool such as social skills stories. Teachers are able to share the social skills story with the autistic child to help them understand the “wh” question (who, where, why, when and what).
So for example if the preschool autistic child struggles to understand why Mummy leaves in the morning, the teacher or Mum may share a social skills story showing visually why Mummy goes, where she goes and when she will return, taking away the anxiety the preschool autistic child is feeling.
Another example would be snack time, a social skills story can show the child, when it is snack time, why the children have snack time, what they can expect to happen and how they will be expected to behave, again removing the anxiety.
These are just a few suggestions. To find out more about using visual strategies for autism and preschool such as PECS and flash cards visit:
Many parents of autistic children feel confused and helpless wondering how to communicate with their child and ensure their child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Research does suggest early intervention strategies for autistic children are beneficial, and that enrollment for autistic children in preschool can also help the child.
Your G.P. will be able to point you in the right direction with regard to early intervention strategies for autistic children.
Many parents of autistic children opt to place their child in mainstream preschool.It is always a good idea to make an appointment to visit the preschool and discuss your child with the teacher to ensure she is aware of what autism is and that appropriate provisions are in place before your child begins.
If you are the teacher of an inclusive preschool a good place for you to start will be with the introduction of appropriate visual support tools for preschool children with autism.
There are many visual support tools available today, with PECS, flash cards and social stories being among the most significant visual support tools for preschool children with autism that are available to you. All of which can now be sourced directly from the internet, as well as from OT and the speech therapist.
Using visual support tools for preschool children with autism do not need any form of formal training, sites offering good support and visual tools can be visited at:
Personally we recommend the use of both flash cards and social stories combined. By placing visual supports like flash cards around the preschool you can help the preschool autistic infant quickly identify certain areas, for example a picture of the toilet above the bathroom allows the child to find the toilet without causing the stress and anxiety. This is repeated around preschool in areas the child will need to identify like the pencil tray, sink, coast pegs etc.
Social stories for the preschool autistic infant are short descriptive visual scripts used as a tool to teach and improve social and communication skills. The preschool autistic infant may have difficulties interacting in play, or understanding make believe, ask for a drink etc. A social story will help the child address these difficulties.
Social stories are much like a comic strip showing the skill or behavior in visual images with age appropriate text always in first person and from the child’s point of view.