Do-Watch-Listen-Say Social and Communication Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder Second Edition

by
Kathleen Ann Quill, Ed.D., BCBA-D
The Autism Institute
Essex, Massachusetts

and
L. Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan, Ph.D.
University of St. Thomas
Baltimore·London·Sydney

Excerpted from DO-WATCH-LISTEN-SAY: Social and Communication Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Second Edition

Contents

About the Online Materials.....vii
About the Authors.....ix
The DO-WATCH-LISTEN-SAY Approach to Assessment and Intervention.....xi
The Emotional Needs of the Child.....xv

1. Understanding the Complexity of Autism.....1
   Historical Overview and Contemporary Implications of Autism.....2
   Identifying and Diagnosing Autism.....5
   Cognition in Autism.....9
   Summary.....22

2. Understanding Social and Communication Development and Challenges.....23
   Core Skills for Social and Communication Development.....23
   Social Skill Development.....33
   Communication Skill Development.....46
   Restricted, Repetitive Behavior in Autism.....58
   Summary.....62

3. Assessing Social and Communication Skills.....65
   Understanding Educational Assessments.....66
   Assessment of Social and Communication Skills in Autism.....66
   The Assessment of Social and Communication Skills for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Revised (ASCS-2).....69
   Summary.....99
   Appendix: Assessment of Social and Communication Skills for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Revised (ASCS-2).....101

4. Designing Intervention.....141
   Intervention Planning: An Overview.....142
   Framework for Targeting Skills.....145
   Framework for Intervention: Core Skills.....151
   Framework for Intervention: Social Skills.....155
   Framework for Intervention: Communication Skills.....175
   Framework for Intervention: Community Skills.....186
   Framework for Intervention: Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors.....188
   Summary.....191

5. Selecting Evidence-Based Practices to Enhance Social and Communication Skills.....193
   Evidence-Based Intervention Practices.....194
   Intervention Approaches.....197
   Summary.....207

6. Instructional Strategies to Enhance Social and Communication Skills.....209
   Teaching Opportunities.....210
   Explicit Instruction and Interactions.....219
   Summary.....237

7. Instructional Supports to Enhance Social and Communication Skills.....239
   Organizational Supports.....240
   Social Supports.....251
   Communication Supports.....259
   Behavioral Supports.....266
   Summary.....272

8. Activities to Promote Skill Development.....273
   Activity Strategies.....274
   Using the Sample Activity Sheets.....276
   Core Skills Activity Sheets.....279
   Social Skills Activity Sheets.....289
   Communication Skills Activity Sheets.....304

9. Collecting Data to Measure Authentic Progress.....323
   Overview of Progress Monitoring.....324
   Monitoring Skill Emergence, Mastery, and Generalization.....328
   Data Collection Forms.....328
   Using Data to Make Intervention Decisions.....355
   Summary.....365
   Appendix A: Progress Monitoring Forms—Quantitative Data Collection Forms.....368
   Appendix B: Progress Monitoring Forms—Qualitative Data Collection Forms.....376

References.....391

Index.....409

About the Authors

Kathleen Ann Quill, Ed.D., BCBA-D

The Autism Institute, Essex, Massachusetts
Kathleen Ann Quill, Ed.D., BCBA-D, is a compassionate professional who has spent 40 years supporting individuals with autism spectrum disorder. She is a developmental psycholinguist, educator, and board certified behavior analyst (BCBA-D). Dr. Quill promotes innovative solutions that bridge the gap between research and practice in order to sustain quality education for all students with autism. She is the author of two seminal texts, numerous publications, and online resources on the topic.

L. Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Teacher Education, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, Minnesota
L. Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan, Ph.D., coordinates the autism spectrum disorder certificate, license, and master’s program. She was honored as the 2012 Autism Society of America Professional of the Year and has served on numerous boards and committees related to autism education.

CHAPTER 6

Instructional Strategies to Enhance Social and Communication Skills

Learning Goals:

1. Learn how to use instructional strategies to enhance social and communication skills and meet the needs of students with autism.
2. Describe how to set up a learning environment and use intervention strategies to provide optimal teaching opportunities.
3. Describe how to plan activities that promote optimal engagement in social interactions and communication and provide opportunities to teach skills.

This chapter examines a range of specific instructional strategies for students with autism, focused on building social and communication skills.

Teaching Opportunities

Planning optimal teaching opportunities for social and communication skill instruction includes arrangement of the learning environment and selection of specific activities.

Universal Design for Learning

• Provides flexibility in how learners are engaged, how information is presented, and how learners demonstrate knowledge and skills.
• Reduces barriers in instruction, provides needed supports, and maintains high expectations for all learners, including students with autism.
• Provides a blueprint for designing instruction that creates opportunities for access, participation, and progress in the classroom for all students.

Environmental Arrangement

The principles of UDL can be used to design learning environments that support all learners. Every social context, setting, activity, and instructional moment has the potential to include opportunities that enhance social and communication skills.

Select Social Context

Considerations:

• Social communication is more likely to occur in one-to-one interactions.
• Group expectations (not size) determine the probability of success.
• Skills are generally acquired first with adults and generalized to peers.

Motivating Activities

Motivating activities can be defined as purposeful and meaningful activities in which social interactions are most likely to occur. Motivation is linked to personal interests and understanding the purpose of an activity.

In summary, intervention must take into account the settings, activities, and interactive partners that offer positive social experiences for the child with autism. These positive characteristics need to be duplicated across as many social contexts as possible to enhance comfort and facilitate social–communicative competence.