Visual supports in Autism

For children on the autism spectrum communication difficulties are common. Research suggests that the vast majority of children on the autism spectrum find visual information easier to understand than the spoken word.

Consequently, tools for autism such as visual supports cards and social skills stories are used more effectively for teaching and improving communication in children on the autism spectrum.

It is a fact that visual strategies work best with children on the spectrum. Therefore parents, teachers and other professionals use tools for autism like social skills stories to help address communication difficulties such as asking questions, having a good conversation, calming down and so on.

Social skills stories work well because they are visual, short pieces of first person text in specific patterns of sentence types. Which show by answering the important “wh” questions – who, where, why, when and what as well as giving an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others.

A common issue in children with autism is their inability to process information in the typical manner. This inability to process information in many cases can lead to communication difficulties as well as social blunders.

A typically developing child naturally learns social and communication skills and the ability to read another’s body language and facial expression. Without this ability many children with autism can misread situations and cause harm or hurt feelings without that intention.

Visual strategies for improving communication in children on the autism spectrum like social stories can be downloaded from: http://www.autismsocialstories.com

By implementing visual strategies such as visual support cards and social skills stories you can teach your child with autism social, communication, imagination skills and behaviours as well as address sensory processing issues that are common to autism, like visiting a dentist, tooth brushing, getting a haircut and so on. Social stories are one of the major tools for autism used today, they are editable, can be personalized and printed for ease of use and convenience.

Learn more about visual strategies for improving communication in children on the autism spectrum like visual supports cards from:  http://www.autismsocialstories.com/visual_aids

Other social stories can be accessed at:

http://www.autismsocialstories.co.uk

http://www.insideautisticminds.com

http://www.autismsocialskillsstories.org.uk

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 parents teaching 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:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.co.uk

http://www.insideautisticminds.com

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:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/visual_aids

ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) affects about one in every 100 children born.

Autistic children are sometimes referred to as being “locked in their own world” and struggle to communicate with others. Many autistic children have hyper or hypo sensitivities, will display repetitive behaviours and obsessive tendencies.

All children on the spectrum will have social skills deficits, the theory of mind: Social interactions, communication difficulties and imagination skills do not develop in the typical manner.

The theory of mind refers to how the child on the spectrum cannot readily appreciate the feelings, knowledge, or beliefs of other people, nor recognise or interpret his or her own thought processes. Consequently they will display communication difficulties, a lack of self-consciousness, and an inability to understand social situations, skills, nonverbal communications and imagination skills.

It is because of the theory of mind a child on the spectrum may find making friends difficult preferring solitary play.

Typically developing children may find a child on the spectrum hard to befriend, this is not uncommon, autistic children can appear rude, aloof and at times unfriendly or approachable.

This is due to their social skills deficits, an autistic child may fail to recognise nonverbal signals sent from another child, humour or jokes, they may lack the skills to pretend play, share or take turns all of which can make befriending an autistic child hard.

There are methods that can help teach autistic children to make friends, one method which is easy to use and can be implemented without any need for formal training is social stories.

Social stories are visual supports for autism which were developed almost twenty years ago as a means of aiding communication difficulties. However today their uses have increased, social stories are probably one of the major methods used to help autistic children learn social skills such as making friends.

Social stories are short, almost comic like representations of a skill or behaviour from the autistic person’s point of view. Using visual images and first person text the social story will answer the “wh” questions - who, where, why, when and what a well as give an insight into the thought process, emotions, feelings and nonverbal communications of others.

Today visual supports for autism play a large part in the teaching of social, communication and imagination skills of children on the spectrum. Generally written by experts, teachers and parents of children on the spectrum, social stories are editable, can be personalized and should be printable for convenience of use. To access social skills stories for issues like making friends visit http://www.autismsocialstories.com

To learn more about social skills stories for children with autism and how they can be used to help teach autistic children to make friends, as well as for a wide variety of issues such as respecting personal space, asking questions, recess, visiting the dentist, joining in PE lessons and so on.

Get access to social skills stories for children with autism and related conditions.

http://www.autismsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/socialskills

http://www.insideautisticminds.com

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disorder of the brain which affects the way a person interacts and communicates with others.

Interestingly, almost four times more boys than girls are diagnosed with autism. Children are generally diagnosed with autism by three years of age.

The term ‘Autistic Spectrum Disorders’ encompasses the many varying degrees of autism, from low functioning autism where the child will almost certainly have other difficulties such as seizures and in most cases educational deficits also. On the other end of the ‘Autistic Spectrum Disorders’ scale - Asperger’s syndrome or high functioning autism, where the child will almost certainly be of average or above average intelligence.

It would be very wrong of us to categorise all children with an Autistic Spectrum Disorders into the same category. As with typically developing children all children with autism develop at varying degrees and no two children will ever be exactly the same.

However that said, all children on the spectrum will have social skills deficits. These are common to autism, social skills deficits affect the way children on the spectrum develop socially, as well as their communication skills and imagination skills.

Having social skills deficits can mean your child with ASD may be unable to communicate effectively, they may find making friends difficult and become stressed in social settings.

For many parents their child’s inability to relate or interact with other people can be stressful. Coupled with their child’s communication difficulties and odd use of language can leave many parents frustrated and needing help to teach their child appropriate social and communication skills and behaviours.

Children with Autism need social skills teaching directly, it is of no use to simply explain what your child should be doing, this will not help. Typically children with autism are visual thinkers and learners’, meaning spoken or written information is not going to be understood as easily as information given visually.

So what does this mean for the child with ASD, well put simply talk less and use more visual supports when trying to teach an ASD child social and communication skills.

Children with Autism need social skills as much as everyone else does to help them function. A good source of visual supports are social stories, these treatments of autism have been around for around twenty years and are today probably the most significant treatments of autism used when finding means to teach an ASD child social and communication skills.

Social stories are short descriptive stories much like a comic script with visual images showing a skill or behaviour in a manner that is easily understood by children on the spectrum.

The social skills story breaks down the skill, such as respecting personal space, washing your teeth, taking a bath, eating dinner even visiting the dentist into small chunks, removes the frills and shows with visual images and first person direct text.

Explaining the “wh” questions – who, where, why, when and what, as well as giving an insight into emotions, thoughts and feelings of those others involved, and suggest possible outcomes.

As well as detailing what to expect from others and in return what they expect in return from the child, all helping to make the child with ASD more comfortable with and in the situation.

To learn more about how social skills stories work as well as get access to downloads of social skills stories visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com/socialskills

Where you will find stories for hygiene issues, play, family matters as well as some stories for the classroom and out and about.

Alternatively visit sites like http://www.autismsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/preschool

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:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

http://www.autismsocialskillsstories.org.uk

http://www.autismsocialstories.co.uk

http://www.autismsocialstories.org.uk

Social stories can be used as a treatment to help improve the social and communication skills of children on the spectrum.

Generally all children with autism spectrum disorder  will have social skills deficits in social, communication, imagination and interaction skills and behaviours.

It is because of these social skills deficits children on the spectrum have difficulties with social situations, for example making friends, sharing, taking turns play skills and so on.

Social stories were first used as a means of communication, developed around twenty years ago by a therapist that at the time was working with autistic children. Since then social stories have grown in popularity and uses and are now regularly used to teach and improve the social and communication skills of those individuals on the spectrum.

Today social stories are probably one of the major tools used to help individuals on the spectrum learn social and communication skills and behaviours and can be easily adapted to suit their differing needs. There are many sites on the internet offering downloads of social stories for children on the spectrum, one such site is http://www.autismsocialstories.com

A social story is a short descriptive story, like a comic strip with visual images that details a situation or skill in small bite sized pieces, that can be easily understood and followed, by an autistic individual.

The social story follows a specific formula and is normally written in first person language and from the point of view of the autistic individual. With no frill language and visual images the social story breaks the situation or skill down in to relevant social cues, answering the “wh” questions (who, where, when, why and what).

Allowing individuals on the spectrum the opportunity to see what others are expecting of them, how they may be feeling, their emotions,  and give them an idea of what others may be expecting from them.

Social stories for children on the spectrum are used for various situations and skills that the child may be struggling with, like recess, hygiene skills, eating habits etc.

Many parents and teachers use social stories with great results, research suggests children with autism spectrum disorder do respond very well to social stories.

To find out how you can use social stories for children on the spectrum visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com where you will be able to find more information and downloads of social stories.

One of the significant difficulties for children with autism is their lack of social skills. Treatments available that help with improving social skills in children with autism include strategies such as social stories.

Social skills deficits are common in children on the spectrum, being able to read another person’s body language, tone of voice or facial expression is not a naturally learnt skill for those with autism, these skills need direct teaching.

This lack of social knowledge can lead to social blunders for even the highest functioning children on the spectrum. Without even knowing why, the child with autism can cause upset, ask inappropriate questions, act oddly and generally leave themselves open to taunts and teasing.

Teaching a child with autism how to improve their social skills especially if they are being schooled in mainstream education is almost certainly a necessity.

For many parents with an autistic child improving their child’s social skills is paramount and for this reason many parents with an autistic child turn to therapies and treatments that are readily available such as social stories. Also used in schools, colleges and the community social stories have evolved into one of the major tools in helping young people with autism improve their social and communication skills effectively.

The social story aims to improve social and communication skills in young people with autism, by using visual images in the form of a short story.  Much like a comic strip conversation, that helps the young person with autism interpret the situation or skill, in a manner that they can understand.

A social story follows a specific style or format, a visual framework. That describes the skill or situation in terms of the relevant social cues, the key points, the perspective of others and will suggest some possible responses and possible responses that others may expect from the young person with autism.

The social story answers the “wh” questions (who, where, why, when and what) helping to make the child with autism more comfortable with and in the situation.

The social story breaks down the skill or situation into small bite sized chinks with relevant visual images giving the child on the spectrum the relative information they need to address the skill or situation in a positive manner. By improving social skills in children with autism, social stories help address the child’s social skills deficits helping the “fit in” with their peers, relieving some confusion, anxieties and stress.

To learn more about social stories and download appropriate social stories for children on the spectrum visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com

Alternatively other sites offering social stories for children on the spectrum can be found at: http://www.autismsocialstories.co.uk
http://www.insideautisticminds.com
http://www.autismsocialstories.org.uk
http://www.autismsocialstories.com/socialskills