A Quest For Social Skills For Students With Autism Or Asperger S

Why start a social skills program? The question is not why, but why not? With inclusive education becoming the norm in schools nationwide, teachers often struggle to address students' non-academic needs--but teachers need ready-to-use lessons that won't interfere with their curriculum. QUEST (Questioning, Understanding, and Exploring Social Skills and Pragmatic Language Together) is a social skills program created to help middle school students with ASD who struggle with pragmatic language and social skills. Developed by a school social worker and speech language pathologist, the program uses an intensive, proactive approach to teaching social skills, combining written instruction with games, activities, and student interaction. Six helpful units--School Survival Basics, Understanding and Managing Emotion, Communication Skills, Making Friends and Interacting with Peers, Personal Safety, Vocational Readiness--can be implemented either chronologically or on their own. Evidence-based research supports the methods used and students have a great time learning-by-doing, through role-play and real-world experience. Parents are kept in the loop with email updates and evaluations. Everyone wins with this program! Best of all, the book includes a CD of printable worksheets, letters, forms, and more! QUEST covers: Greetings, Paying Attention, Daily Hygiene, Asking for Help, Understanding Feelings, Getting Angry/Calming Down, Managing Stress, Starting a Conversation, Making and Keeping Friends, Gossip, Bullying, and Teasing, Resisting Peer Pressure, Dating, Internet and E-mail Safety, and many more!

Finally a social skills program that covers all the bases! Whether it's learning how long one can look at somebody without being accused of staring; how to shift topics, despite one's desire to stick with that all-consuming special interest; how to say no to peer pressure; or dealing with a sensitive topic - it's all here... and more. In this comprehensive and user friendly book, the author translates years of experience working with students wiht Asperger Syndrome and social-communication difficulties. After brief introductory chapters on skills to target, instructional strategies, behavior management, promoting generalization, etc., as well as a special chapter by Brenda Smith Myles on relevant characteristics of autism spectrum disorders, the reader is presented with the essence of this must-have resource: 70 of the skills that most commonly cause difficulty for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and social-communications problems. The presentation of each skill consists of a reproducible skill handout, as well as activity sheets listing ways teachers and parents can demonstrate, practice, and reinforce the skill in the classroom and at home. A concluding chapter on promoting peer acceptance offers sensitivity training programs for both students of various age groups and school staff, making this a complete social skills training package for students of all ages.

The only evidence-based program available for teaching social skills to adolescents with autism spectrum disorders Two nationally known experts in friendship formation and anxiety management address the social challenges faced by adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The book helps educators instruct youth on conversing with others, displaying appropriate body language, managing anxiety, initiating and participating in get-togethers, and more. The book is filled with helpful information on ASD to aid teachers who have received little training on the topic. Extremely practical, the book includes lesson plans, checklists, and sidebars with helpful advice. Based on UCLA's acclaimed PEERS program, the only evidence-based approach to teaching social skills to adolescents with ASD Contains best practices for working with parents, which is the key to helping kids learn social skills The authors discuss the pros and cons of teaching students with ASD in educational settings like full inclusion (good for academics but bad for social skills) and pull-out special day classes (where the reverse is true) Provides a much-needed book for teachers at all levels for helping students develop the skills they need to be successful.

Presents a series of games and activities that parents and teachers can use to develop and enhance the social skills of young children with autism spectrum disorders.

Forming healthy, solid relationships with their typical peers is a major challenge for most children with autism spectrum disorders. This comprehensive social skills curriculum has the dual purpose of helping educators develop appropriate social skills in children with pervasive developmental disorders while also fostering understanding and tolerance among typical peers and school staff. The curriculum includes built-in booster lessons, so the child receives multiple presentations of the material, thus reinforcing the lesson for better understanding and generalization.

Why start a social skills program? The question is not why, but why not? With inclusive education becoming the norm in schools nationwide, teachers often struggle to address students' non-academic needs, but teachers need ready-to-use lessons that won't interfere with their curriculum. Quest Program II is a social skills program created to help middle school students with autism who struggle with social skills and pragmatic language. Developed by a school social worker and speech language pathologist, the program uses an intensive, proactive approach to teaching social skills, combining written instruction with games, activities, and student interaction. Six helpful units include: School Survival Basics Understanding and Managing Emotions Communication Skills Making Friends and Interacting with Peers Personal Safety Vocational Readiness These can be implemented either chronologically or on their own. Evidence-based research supports the methods used, and students have a great time learning-by-doing, through role-play and real-world experience. Parents are kept in the loop with email updates and evaluations. Everyone wins with this program! Best of all, the book includes a CD of printable worksheets, letters, forms, and more!

The co-author of "Asperger's and Girls" presents a no-nonsense guide to teaching children with Asperger's or autism the life skills they will need to function as an adult.

The QUEST Primary Model was developed to address the needs of children pragmatic language and social skills weaknesses. The program uses an intensive proactive approach to teaching social skills, combining written instruction with games, activities and student interaction. The goal of the program is to help students gain a better understanding of human behavior and interaction, and to provide them with opportunities to become familiar and comfortable with the social skills and pragmatic language necessary to be successful at school and in the community.Students with social skills deficits benefit from regular instruction and practice in order to maximize generalization of skills outside of the classroom. Unlike their peers, these students do not typically interpret social cues, nuances and rules of interaction, even when provided with an inclusive education in a general education setting. Often children with social skills weaknesses become overwhelmed or anxious around their peers. QUEST students learn about social skills through experiential stories, role play, games, activities, discussion, friendly feedback from peers and real-world experience.