Wednesday, 10 March 2010

• Social Skills Therapy for those with Autism

  Meeting new people is difficult enough for most people.  You make a mental check list:  shake hands, smile, remember their name, make small talk.    But for teens with autism, it is downright disarming.  That’s why many school districts and psychologists are now offering social skills as a type of autism therapy in their arsenal of autism therapy,  autism education, and autism information.
  
  Some social skills therapists are working with kids in break-out sessions.  Offering neuro-typical children the option of being “social skills coaches” while helping their autistic peers.  They meet once or twice a week and role play. This autism therapy is helpful not only for the child/teen with autism (as they see how their peers behave) but is also helpful for neuro-typical children as it teaches them compassion.  Something I have seen first hand. 
  

  
  

  Another way social skills therapists are working with children with autism is teaching them social etiquette.  Things that we take for granted:  please, thank-you, offering their guests more beverages, etc.  Generally, people with autism don’t think about such things.  They need repetitive social skills therapy in order to train them.  To help them see the importance of simple manners that we take for granted.

  There’s a great article from USA Today that talks about social skills training:

  http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-08-21-autism-socialize_N.htm

  Social skills are so vital to our every day world.  The subtleties of verbal and non-verbal communication are complex and difficult enough for someone who is neuro-typical to understand.  Someone with autism needs extra autism therapy, autism education and autism information to help in every day life.  Social skills therapy is just another vita tool in the autism therapy arsenal.

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