Learn More About Autism Spectrum Disorder ASD And Social Skills

A Quick Guide

How an individual may be affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) varies. But common aspects of social skills that are frequently impacted include how people communicate, maintain connections, and develop them. In accordance with a study, nonverbal behaviors, or the way people often communicate without using words, account for 60% to 65% of human communication. For many neurodivergent individuals, social skills like communication and engagement can be tough, therefore it can be difficult for people with ASD to maintain conversations, participate in group activities, and establish relationships. In this article, we will thoroughly discuss the relationship between Autism and social skills.

What Are Social Skills?

Social skills are the norms, practices, and abilities that direct how we interact with others and the environment. People typically “take up” social skills the same way they “pick up” language abilities: effortlessly and without effort. They gradually develop a social “map” of how to interact with people and situations. People with ASD may find it more difficult to learn and develop these skills, which forces them to make assumptions about how the social “map” should appear. ASD-related social skill development includes:

• “Teachable situations” involve explicit or direct instruction, along with experience in real-world circumstances.
• A means of enhancing language and cognitive abilities.
• Learning the habits that influence significant social outcomes like friendship and satisfaction.
• Pay attention to timing.
• Support for improving sensory integration and communication.

Why are they important?

All kids who lack social skills struggle to know how to behave in a variety of social circumstances, such as playing with classmates at school or conversing with grandparents.

Your child can build their social skills to make friends, learn from others, and find hobbies and interests. These abilities can improve family ties and make your child feel like they belong. Additionally, a child’s mental health and general quality of life depend on their ability to interact with others.

Who Can Teach Social Skills?

Many different individuals may teach social skills in many contexts, including at home, school, and in the community, because there are many of them to learn. A “social skills group” may be led by a special education teacher, speech therapist, or other clinician and comprise direct, explicit instruction as well as chances for practice and generalization in settings that are more realistic. So it pretty much becomes real-life practice with peers! Other specialists that support social skills for children with ASD include:

• Behavioral therapists
• General education teachers
• Health and PE teachers 
• Many other direct care staff
• Occupational therapists
• School psychologists

Why Do Autistic People Have Issues with Social Skills?

Social dysfunction is one of the main characteristics of ASD. This can appear in a variety of behaviors, ranging from completely avoiding any type of human engagement to completely monopolizing conversations on a specific issue that no one else seems to be very interested in.

Social dysfunction has no set pattern, although it is virtually often one of the key characteristics of ASD and frequently the first thing that stands out when engaging with an individual on the spectrum.

These social skill deficiencies may be so slight in high-functioning autistic people that they go unnoticed in everyday conversation. HFA (high-functioning autism) individuals frequently develop coping mechanisms or have the capacity to pick up social skills to better fit in.

With the right instruction, which frequently incorporates elements of applied behavior analysis, they are often able to make substantial advancements in social interactions. However, even high-functioning autistics frequently experience some discomfort or incompetence in social situations.

Low-functioning autistics typically experience rapid and overt social challenges. They do, however, have a benefit over HFA people in that they frequently have more internal focus and feel less concern over not being able to fit in during typical social circumstances. Despite the fact that they also benefit from ABA therapy targeted at enhancing social skills, they will always struggle with observable weaknesses and will probably always find it difficult to integrate fully into typical social contexts.

Understanding the Connection Between Social Skills and Autism

All of these social skill issues have their roots in some of the fundamental characteristics of ASD:

• Adherence to a rigid schedule and repetitive or obsessive actions.
• Delays and challenges in learning verbal communication techniques.
• Excessive sensory stimulation.
• Inability to interpret nonverbal cues in conversation.

Individuals with ASD find it extremely challenging to learn the fundamental social skills that most others take for granted. The majority of people with ASD desperately want to interact with others, but they lack the skill set to do so effortlessly. This deficit is frequently misinterpreted as a desire to avoid people or social settings, but nothing could be further from reality.

This might then lead to frustration, which just stokes the fire. As a result of their inability to either grasp their place in a social environment or make themselves understood by others, individuals on the spectrum may have outbursts, throw tantrums, or express themselves poorly in social contexts.

On the other end of the spectrum, but also due to social skills deficiencies, some people with ASD struggle with understanding their own communication difficulties and frequently fail to realize how their manner of speaking might be insulting or uncomfortable for others. These kinds of social mistakes show up as obliviousness, monopolizing conversations, refusing to chat about subjects unrelated to one’s current topic, or basically blocking out all other cues.

Strategies for helping autistic children develop social skills

Children with ASD can learn social skills, and with practice, they can become more adept at them. The following tips and techniques can assist you in fostering social skills in your child:

• Practice play
• Praise
• Role-play
• Social skills training
• Social stories
• Video-modeling
• Visual supports

Practice play

By acting out scenes with toys, you can help your autistic child practice play skills. You could, for instance, cuddle a teddy, feed it, and then put it to bed. You could host a tea party with several teddies. Or you could make up a tale using a play set, like a farm, gas station, or airport.

Exercise games like hide-and-seek, tag, Simon Says, and red light/green light may be enjoyed by younger kids. You might also simply kick, roll, or bounce a ball or toy between you. Children who are older could like playing card games, Connect Four, or Jenga.

Your child will learn by being encouraged to share, follow rules, and receive praise when they do so. You may say “My turn” and “Your turn,” for instance. Say “Good taking turns” or “Well done for saying, Uno!” when your child gives you a turn or adheres to a rule.

Your child will learn to utilize a skill more extensively if they practice it in a variety of play settings. You can practice taking turns, for instance, by kicking a ball to one another, feeding a stuffed animal, assembling puzzles, playing games like Connect Four or card games like Snap or Uno, or putting together puzzle pieces.

Praise

When you observe your autistic child engaging effectively with others, be sure to compliment and support them. For instance, if you observe a child giving a toy to another child, smile and exclaim, “Wow! That is very friendly. Thank you for sharing your blocks with your friend.”

Role-play

Before social outings and other special occasions, role-playing might be used. You and your autistic child could, for instance:

• Perform a role-playing exercise in which your child offers games that they could play with the other child.
• Practice discussing topics like what you’ve been viewing on TV or your weekend activities.

You may also try creating scenarios for older kids that incorporate a social issue, such as having one slice of cake left over for two people. Then you might act out potential solutions, like having everyone share the cake. Other social issues can include disliking the meal that was prepared, waiting their time on the computer, or losing a sibling’s toy.

Visual supports

Your autistic child may benefit from visual assistance to remember previously learned social skills or to learn new ones. Images, text, checklists, or prompt cards can all serve as visual aids, depending on your child’s learning requirements.

You may, for instance, use words or images as conversation starters, such as a picture of a cat to remind your child to ask their grandparents about their cat. Or you may use visuals to teach your kid how to play a specific game. Pictures could, for instance, represent the various actions that would occur in a restaurant play sequence, such as taking the order, preparing the food, serving it, clearing the table, and settling the payment.

Social Stories

An element of society is present in a social story. These narratives will provide additional examples of social interaction and the most effective methods for problem-solving with others. If you want a child with autism to improve their social abilities, social stories are fantastic (sharing, asking for help, saying thank you). It can help them in the following: 

• Adapt to unforeseen developments.
• Control their emotions.
• Recognize one’s own emotions.
• Understand the feelings of others.

There are numerous books available that help children with autism spectrum disorder ASD learn social skills. This strategy is the best choice if your child enjoys reading a lot. Additionally, parents can learn how to create their own social stories using the actions of their kids. To accomplish this, parents should become familiar with the fundamentals of writing social stories, such as selecting the appropriate sentence patterns to employ, developing characters, and determining the story’s goal.

Social Skills Groups

Social skills groups give people with ASD of all ages the chance to regularly practice their social skills with one another and/or average peers. Many organizations use social skills curricula that are sold commercially. A review assisted in defining the characteristics of a successful social skills group.  Appropriate Social Skills groups should:

• Collaboration and teamwork are encouraged as you work in pairs or groups.
• Encourage self-awareness and confidence.
• Ensure order and predictability.
• Give practice opportunities so that abilities are put to use outside of the group in actual contexts.
• Group kids based on linguistic proficiency and simplify the language.
• Offer a variety of learning opportunities.
• Transform abstract social concepts into actionable steps.

Watch videos or observe others

You can play videos of people or kids while your child is having their teeth cleaned if they are nervous about social situations or coming to the dentist. It is beneficial if you let the child know what to expect when they get to the clinic. Additionally, it can aid the child in understanding basic manners, such as how to greet a doctor and how to follow directions.

Keep in mind

ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, therefore people with it navigate the world and social relationships differently. It may impact communication and responses to sensory information. Instead of presuming that people with ASD lack social skills, it’s crucial to keep in mind that difficulties in communication and relationship building can originate from any side, independent of neurodiversity (or lack thereof.)

There seems to be disagreement over the appropriate way to tackle social skill challenges for an individual with ASD. Professionals believe that the ideal workplaces are secure ones where self-advocacy is prioritized. If you or your kid are interested in obtaining support, think about talking to a few medical experts for different perspectives on how to start.

Outlook

The likelihood of improved linguistic, communicative, and other abilities for autistic children is higher through these various interactions and activities. The autistic child could start making friends, participating in group activities, and eventually interacting socially if they practice and use their communication, play, and emotional skills.

Children with ASD have a chance at building close relationships when they learn how to deal with social difficulties and improve their social skills in everyday life through interactions with peers and other students who are usually developing. Making friends is one possibility, but it need not end there.

These abilities can be improved by parents, instructors, and students by using visual supports, role-playing, and peer mentors. The purpose of these interventions is to give autistic children the opportunity they might not otherwise have to practice social behaviors.

To assist the autistic child to develop confidence, these new abilities must be consistently exercised. They could then find it simpler to understand how to respond and act in social circumstances and situations as a result. In order to build and cultivate these talents, parents, educators, and service providers might start by teaching social skills and incorporating other treatments.  With the help of these therapies, the autistic child can acquire the social skills required for interaction and the ability to establish lasting friendships, conversations, and interactions.

We hope you found this article useful in learning more about what social skills are, how and why they are affected in Autism Spectrum Disorder ASD, and strategies to help children with ASD enhance their social skills.