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Summary

This video script outlines strategies for building support communities for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It emphasizes teaching social skills through methods like social skills groups, skill streaming, social stories, and natural environment teaching. The script also discusses training caregivers using behavior skills training and the importance of advocacy and person-centered planning. It highlights the role of behavior technicians in facilitating skill generalization and collaboration among support circles to enhance the client's quality of life.

Takeaways

• 😃 Social skills are crucial for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and can be taught through various interventions.
• 👥 Social skills groups, which include typically developing peers, are beneficial for teaching social skills to individuals with ASD.
• 🎓 Skill streaming is a teaching procedure that involves modeling, role-playing, feedback, and generalization to teach social skills.
• 📚 Social stories provide simple descriptions of social situations to help individuals with ASD understand and navigate them.
• 🌳 Natural environment teaching (NET) focuses on teaching social skills within the context of a client's usual routines and activities.
• 👨‍🏫 Behavior skills training (BST) is a four-step method used to teach new skills to both children and adults, including instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback.
• 👪 Caregivers play a vital role in supporting individuals with ASD, and they can be trained through BST to effectively assist their loved ones.
• 🗣️ Advocacy for individuals with developmental disabilities involves understanding their needs, helping them make informed choices, and supporting their goals.
• 🔄 Person-centered planning emphasizes the individual's goals and strengths, involving family and community in the planning process.
• 🌐 Building a lifelong circle of support and essential lifestyle plans are key components of person-centered planning, aiming to maximize the quality of life for individuals with ASD.
• 🤝 Collaboration among all involved parties, including family members, caregivers, and service providers, is essential for ensuring consistency and a high quality of life for individuals with ASD.

Q & A

What are the three areas of deficit associated with autism spectrum disorder as described by the triad of impairments?

The three areas of deficit associated with autism spectrum disorder are social interaction, social imagination, and social communication.

What is the purpose of including typically developing peers in social skills groups for individuals with autism spectrum disorder?

Typically developing peers are included in social skills groups to provide good models for clients with autism, helping them learn and practice social skills in a more natural context.

How does skill streaming help in teaching social skills to individuals with autism?

Skill streaming is a teaching procedure that involves modeling, role-playing, performance feedback, and generalization to develop alternative behaviors to replace problem behaviors, thus teaching social skills.

What is the role of a behavior technician during social skills groups?

A behavior technician may help clients during social skills groups when they are in need of additional support for learning the skills and managing challenging behavior.

How do social stories assist individuals with autism spectrum disorder?

Social stories provide a simple description of a social situation from the perspective of the individual with ASD, helping them understand social cues, expectations, and consequences, and guide them on appropriate responses.

What is the difference between teaching social skills using natural environment teaching (NET) and other methods?

Natural environment teaching focuses on teaching skills in the usual routines and activities of the client, making the learning process more contextual and relevant to the individual's daily life.

How does behavior skills training (BST) help caregivers support their loved ones with autism?

Behavior skills training is a four-step method that teaches caregivers new skills to support their loved ones effectively. It involves instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback to ensure the caregiver can consistently apply the taught skills.

Why is it important to involve family and community in the planning process for individuals with autism?

Involving family and community in the planning process ensures that the support provided is person-centered, taking into account the individual's goals, strengths, and the resources available within their social network.

What is the role of a circle of support in person-centered planning for individuals with autism?

A circle of support is a group of people committed to helping an individual with autism meet their personal goals. It includes family, friends, and community members who work together to minimize obstacles and maximize the individual's quality of life.

How does essential lifestyle planning contribute to the well-being of individuals with autism?

Essential lifestyle planning involves understanding what is important to the individual, balancing health, safety, and happiness, and finding a balance within what is possible for the individual and their community, thus enhancing their overall well-being.

Why is collaboration among different service providers and circles important for individuals with autism?

Collaboration ensures consistency and stability for the individual with autism, allowing for a more cohesive support system and facilitating the generalization of skills across different environments and situations.

Outlines

00:00

🤝 Building Supportive Communities for Autism Spectrum Disorder

This paragraph introduces the video's focus on developing supportive communities for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It discusses the importance of teaching social skills to clients, training caregivers, and helping clients access community resources. The paragraph outlines various social skills interventions such as social skills groups, skill streaming, social stories, and natural environment teaching. Social skills groups involve peers and may include typically developing individuals as role models. Skill streaming is a teaching procedure developed by Dr. Goldstein and Dr. McGinnis in 1973, aimed at replacing problem behaviors with alternative behaviors through modeling, role-playing, performance, feedback, and generalization. Social stories provide simple descriptions of social situations from the perspective of individuals with ASD, often needing supplementation with role-playing and feedback. Natural environment teaching (NET) involves teaching skills in the context of the client's usual routines and activities, following behavior principles like reinforcement and shaping.

05:03

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Training Caregivers with Behavior Skills Training

The second paragraph delves into the process of providing caregivers with essential training to support their loved ones with ASD. It introduces Behavior Skills Training (BST), a four-step method similar to skill streaming, which includes instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. The paragraph explains each step in detail: providing clear and detailed instructions, demonstrating the skill through modeling, allowing caregivers to practice the skill in rehearsal, and offering feedback to refine their performance. The goal is to ensure caregivers can effectively support their children in daily life, with the ultimate aim of generalizing these skills beyond the training sessions and into the home and community environments. The paragraph emphasizes the role of behavior technicians in facilitating this training and the importance of involving family members and caregivers in the client's life for skill maintenance and development.

10:04

🌟 Advocacy and Person-Centered Planning for ASD Individuals

The final paragraph shifts the focus to advocacy and person-centered planning for individuals with ASD. It distinguishes between helpful advocacy, which involves understanding and supporting the client's choices and goals, and over-helping, which can hinder the client's autonomy. The paragraph introduces person-centered planning as a system that includes the individual's goals and strengths, involving family and community from the planning stage. It discusses the concept of 'circles of support,' groups that meet regularly to help individuals achieve personal goals, and 'essential lifestyle plans,' which balance the individual's desires with health and safety considerations. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of collaboration among all individuals in the client's life, including family, community members, and service providers, to ensure consistency and stability, and to promote a high quality of life for the client.

Keywords

💡Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. In the video, ASD is the central focus, as the script discusses building support communities and teaching social skills to individuals with this condition. The video aims to help these individuals overcome social interaction and communication challenges.

💡Social Skills

Social skills are the abilities to interact effectively with others, which individuals with ASD often find challenging. The video script emphasizes the importance of teaching social skills to improve the quality of life for those with ASD. It mentions various interventions like social skills groups and natural environment teaching to develop these skills.

💡ABA Programs

ABA stands for Applied Behavior Analysis, which is a therapeutic approach used to teach new skills and behaviors to individuals with developmental disorders. The script describes ABA programs as a means to address social skill deficits in ASD, employing methods like social stories and skill streaming.

💡Social Skills Groups

Social skills groups are small, age-appropriate gatherings that include typically developing peers to model social behaviors. The script explains that these groups are crucial for teaching social skills to individuals with ASD, with behavior technicians providing support when necessary.

💡Skill Streaming

Skill streaming is a teaching procedure developed by Dr. Goldstein and Dr. McGinnis in 1973, primarily for social skills. The script outlines a four-step process involving modeling, role-playing, performance, feedback, and generalization to teach new behaviors, such as initiating greetings.

💡Social Stories

Social stories are descriptive narratives that help individuals with ASD understand social situations from their perspective. The script mentions that these stories can be used to describe community use and safety, often needing role-playing and feedback for effectiveness.

💡Natural Environment Teaching (NET)

NET involves teaching social skills in the context of the individual's usual routines and activities. The script provides examples such as teaching sharing during playground time or taking turns in games, following behavior principles like reinforcement and shaping.

💡Behavior Skills Training (BST)

BST is a research-based method to teach new skills to both children and adults, similar to skill streaming. The script details a four-step process involving instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback, which is crucial for training caregivers to support individuals with ASD.

💡Generalization

Generalization in the context of the video refers to the process of applying learned skills in various settings beyond the training environment. The script discusses the importance of generalizing skills taught in sessions to caregivers and family members to ensure the skills are maintained and built upon.

💡Person-Centered Planning

Person-centered planning is an approach that focuses on the individual's goals and strengths, including family and community in the planning process. The script explains that this system helps build advocacy into the support process for individuals with ASD, aiming to minimize obstacles and maximize quality of life.

💡Circles of Support

Circles of support are groups that meet regularly to help an individual with ASD meet their personal goals. The script describes these as communities of committed people, including family and friends, who assist in achieving the individual's aspirations, with professionals serving as resources.

💡Essential Lifestyle Plans (ELP)

ELPs are part of person-centered planning, focusing on what is important to the individual, balancing happiness with health and safety. The script gives an example of balancing a love for pizza with health concerns, finding a compromise that suits the individual's lifestyle and community.

Highlights

Building communities of support for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involves teaching social skills, supporting caregivers, and accessing community resources.

Social skills are a critical area of deficit for individuals with ASD, characterized by impairments in social interaction, imagination, and communication.

ABA programs can address social skill deficits through various interventions such as social skills groups, skill streaming, social stories, and natural environment teaching.

Social skills groups should include typically developing peers to provide good models for clients with ASD.

Skill streaming is a teaching procedure developed by Dr. Goldstein and Dr. McGinnis in 1973 to replace problem behavior with alternative behaviors.

Skill streaming involves four steps: modeling, role-playing, performance, feedback, and generalization.

Social stories provide a simple description of social situations from the perspective of an individual with ASD, aiding in understanding community use and safety.

Natural environment teaching (NET) focuses on teaching social skills within the client's usual routines and activities.

Behavior technicians use reinforcement and shaping principles in NET to teach and reinforce social skills.

Behavior Skills Training (BST) is a four-step method to teach new skills to children and adults, similar to skill streaming.

BST includes instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback to effectively teach new skills.

Generalization of skills from sessions to caregivers is crucial for maintaining and building upon learned skills.

Advocacy for clients with developmental disabilities involves understanding their needs, helping them make informed choices, and supporting their goals.

Person-centered planning focuses on the individual's goals and strengths, including family and community in the planning process.

Circles of Support are groups that meet regularly to help individuals with disabilities achieve their personal goals.

Essential Lifestyle Plans (ELP) are part of person-centered planning, balancing happiness and safety for the individual.

Collaboration among all involved parties is necessary to ensure consistency and stability for individuals with ASD.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) programs often provide services in clients' homes and community centers to facilitate relationship building and inclusion.

Transcripts

hello and welcome back in this next

video we will review how we can build

communities of support for individuals

with autism spectrum disorder

by teaching our clients important social

skills

teaching caregivers how to support their

loved ones

and helping our clients access valuable

resources

in their communities first we will

review some different social skills

interventions that we can use to help

individuals with autism spectrum

disorder

before we continue take a moment to

imagine what social

skills you use every day in your own

lives

and what challenges you would have to

overcome without these skills

social skills in an area of deficit for

all individuals with autism spectrum

disorder

as described by the triad of impairments

these deficits can include social

interaction

social imagination and social

communication

aba programs can address these deficits

and teach social skills in a number of

ways

including social skills groups

skill streaming social stories

and natural environment teaching we will

review

each of these strategies in more detail

over the next few slides

social skills groups are small groups

made up of peers within the same

age group it is important to include

some typically developing peers

in these groups to provide good models

for our clients

behavior technicians may help clients

during social skills groups when they

are in need of additional support

for learning the skills and or managing

challenging behavior

the group will cover various topics

related to social skills

and it will typically employ some sort

of skills training procedure

one such procedure is skill streaming

skill streaming is a teaching procedure

primarily used when working on social

skills

this teaching procedure was first

developed by dr goldstein

and dr mcginnis in 1973.

the goal is to develop alternative

behaviors to replace

problem behavior this procedure involves

four basic steps

modeling role playing performance

feedback

and generalization if a client does not

yet

initiate greetings the behavior

technician could teach the skill via

skill streaming by first modeling how to

initiate a greeting

role-playing the skill with the client

and then having the client

practice the skill as opportunities

arise

the technician could then provide the

client with some feedback

and then repeat these steps until their

client masters the skill

a social story is a simple description

of a social situation told from the

perspective of the individual with asd

they can also be used to describe

community use

and safety like crossing the street

these stories can be general or

individualized

individualized stories often describe

what is happening currently and the

consequences for

that behavior and what the individual

can do instead

to get a better outcome social stories

often need to be supplemented with role

playing

feedback and generalization to be

effective

sometimes social stories help our

clients better understand what to expect

regarding an upcoming event like going

to the dentist

or moving when teaching social skills

with natural environment teaching or

net behavior technicians focus on

teaching skills in the usual routines

and activities for that client

example of teaching social skills using

net

include teaching the skill of sharing

during free play on the playground

or in the classroom teaching the skill

of taking turns while playing games with

peers

and teaching the skill of joining play

at an after school program

nat follows the basic behavior

principles that we

have reviewed this far especially

reinforcement and shaping

if the client does not perform the skill

correctly feedback is given regarding

what they did well

and what they need to do better the next

time

rehearsal and role play is used as

needed to shape

up targeted social skills and all

correct responses are followed by

reinforcement

this reinforcement may be a token or

praise at first

and then later these forms are faded so

that the natural consequences

like getting to play with friends

reinforces

or maintains the behavior next we will

discuss

how to provide caregivers with important

training to help support

our clients in their homes and daily

lives

the most effective way to provide this

training is using a process called

behavior skills training behavior skills

training or

bst is a research-based four-step method

to teach

both children and adults new skills

the bst method is similar to the skill

streaming method

that we reviewed earlier the four steps

for

bst are instruction modeling

rehearsal and feedback instructions

is the first step in behavior skills

training

when providing instructions you need to

describe the skill in detail

if the task is complex you will want to

break it down

into smaller steps you will also want to

describe when to follow the steps

provided

this detail will finally help the

caregiver be consistent with the support

and teaching moments

they provide finally it's important to

describe the outcomes for following the

instructions

which can help provide caregivers with

motivation to stick with the plan

for example when teaching a parent how

to use a pecs

book you might say point to the textbook

when you see your son reaching for the

juice

and then provide him with juice after he

gives you the juice icon

this will teach him to use his textbook

when he wants something

you'll see him asking more for what he

wants rather than leading you

to the item or tantruming when you don't

understand him

the second step in behavior skills

training is modeling

when modeling you will demonstrate the

skill for the parent or caregiver by

showing them

exactly what they need to do you can do

this

live with your client or via role play

and you will want to ensure that your

model is simple and easy to follow

you will model the skill in the

appropriate context and provide multiple

opportunities to view the model

the great thing about this step is that

once

one caregiver masters the skill then

they can serve as a model for others in

that client's life

in our example of teaching a parent how

to use a pex book

you would demonstrate waiting until the

client reaches for the juice

pointing to the book and then providing

juice when the client hands the icon to

you

if providing this model by role playing

the parent could play the role

of the child while you model these steps

the third step in behavior skills

training is rehearsal

this is an opportunity for the parent to

practice the skill with you

or someone other than the client make

sure that they are comfortable and

willing to complete this step

this is also your opportunity to check

for mastery and provide feedback to help

shape the skill for that caregiver

you will once again rehearse the skill

in the appropriate context

and provide the multiple opportunities

for rehearsal

during this step immediately reinforce

what they did correctly

and provide information on what they can

change and why

you will continue to rehearse the skill

until they are ready to attempt the

skill on their own

in our example of teaching a parent to

use a pex book you would play the role

of the child with the parent

practice waiting pointing and providing

juice at the appropriate times

feedback is the fourth and final step of

behavior skills training

during this step you will have the

caregiver practice the skill with your

client

while you observe after they perform the

skill provide statements of praise for

any correct parts

and give informational feedback for any

steps that need work

make sure this feedback is detailed and

descriptive

if certain steps need more work you can

go back to rehearsal

and focus on those steps in particular

before returning to feedback

you will repeat the process of rehearsal

and feedback until the skill is mastered

in our example of teaching a parent to

use a pex book

this is when you would step back and

observe while the parent practices the

skill of waiting

pointing and providing juice with their

child

as a behavior technician you will be

involved in helping support parents and

other caregivers

and learning new skills to help the ones

they love reach their fullest potential

you will of course serve as good models

for how to respond to problem behavior

during your sessions but you will also

be responsible for generalization

but you will also be responsible for

generalizing skills from your sessions

to caregivers

this could be as simple as asking

parents to practice

mastered skills with their kids outside

of session

or it might involve assisting your

specialist with a step and behavior

skills training

in general the more you can get your

client practicing skills with family

members and caregivers during regular

routines

the more likely it is that they will

maintain these skills and build upon

them

in the future last but not least we will

discuss how to build skills

in a community of support to help our

clients access

important resources that will help them

to reach their goals

and thrive first when assisting

individuals with developmental

disabilities

it's important to understand what is and

is not helpful

our ultimate goal is to help advocate

for our clients

advocacy is taking time to understand

those we help

helping our clients understand their

choices and the possible outcomes

of those choices and helping our clients

achieve their dreams and goals

it is not making decisions for others

speaking for others without first

understanding

what they want to say or agreeing with

everything a person wants to do

when we advocate for others we want to

make sure that we are not

over helping or over speaking the

ultimate goal is that they are heard

understood and supported person-centered

planning is a system that helps build

advocacy

into the process this is a different

approach than more traditional models

that typically focus

more on the system's wants and needs

talking about the individual's diagnosis

and deficits and only involving the

family and community once the plans for

that individual are decided

instead person-centered planning focuses

on the person's goals

and strengths and includes family and

community in the planning process

one way person-centered planning

includes the family and community is by

building a lifelong circle of support

for each client

circles of support are groups of people

who meet regularly to help a person meet

their

personal goals in life this group is

made up of a community of people who are

committed to helping the person of focus

achieve what they want in life overall

the goal of this group is to minimize

obstacles and maximize quality of life

for the person they are supporting

when possible the focused person is the

one in charge of making decisions

but if they cannot make decisions then

the group chooses the person closest to

the focused person

usually a parent or a caregiver circles

of support include

non-paid family and community members

who are willing and able to be there for

the individual

these members could be parents siblings

friends

and community members professionals such

as doctors

teachers and behavior technicians are

considered a resource that the circle

helps the individual to access

but are not part of the circle

themselves essential lifestyle plans are

another important part of

person-centered planning

these plans involve finding out what is

important to the focused person

learning what health safety and risk

means to the focused person

and their loved ones and finding a

balance between happiness and safety

within what is possible for that

individual

and their community for example if a

person loves eating pizza but their

weight is causing expensive health

problems

the elp would balance this want

with the need of health perhaps there

are healthier alternatives that the

focused person also enjoys eating or the

focused person could have a pizza party

once a month last but not least it is

important to remember that a person with

autism spectrum disorder

often has many different people from

different circles in their lives

that means that everyone involved needs

to collaborate in order to ensure

consistency and stability for that

individual

this includes inviting members of the

circle of support and outside

providers to educational team meetings

and discussing plans and sharing

documents with everyone involved

and providing resources and services to

the individual

applied behavior analysis programs often

accomplish this by providing services

with the clients in their homes when

possible

you may also support your clients at

community centers like the ymca or boys

and girls club

to help facilitate relationship building

and inclusion

the more everyone works together and the

more inclusive the environment is

the more we can ensure a high quality of

life for all of our clients

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