Archive for the ‘Social Skills and Development’ Category

Training Peers Improves Social Outcomes for Some Kids with ASD

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who attend regular education classes may be more likely to improve their social skills if their typically developing peers are taught how to interact with them than if only the children with ASD are taught such skills. According to a study funded by the...

Learning Style Preferences of Students with Autism and How They Align or Differ from Their Typical Peers

Developing successful educational opportunities for students with autism has long been a challenge for educators. This challenge may well be due to the fact that students with autism have unusual intellectual and academic skills profiles making it difficult for teachers to accurately assess...

ASN Fall 2011 Issue

"Understanding and Addressing the Unique Needs of Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome and High Functioning Autism"   Articles in This...

Do Parents and Teachers Get Children with AS/HFA? These Children Lack the Insight or Social Skills to Explain Themselves

Many teachers and parents miss the connection between the diagnosis of children with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) or high functioning autism (HFA) (and nonverbal learning disabilities) and the behaviors of the child in day-to-day life. When adults don’t get this connection, they can’t communicate...

Early Motor Experiences Give Infants a Social Jump Start – Study Indicates Infants at Risk for Autism Could Benefit from Motor Training

In a new study published on September 9, 2011 in the journal Developmental Science (Epub ahead of print), researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Vanderbilt University found that early motor experiences can shape infants’ preferences for objects and faces. The study findings...

Focus on Video Modeling Techniques for Inexpensive, Fast and Customized Solutions for Improving Social Skills

When my sister and I began Social Skill Builder in 1999, we were looking for a way to bridge the social language gap to help kids with ASD, Asperger’s and other learning disabilities achieve success in social situations. Social Skill Builder has created a series of learning tools that use videos...

Welcome to My World – A Mother’s Annual Letter to New School Teachers

After seven years of parenting a child enrolled in the local public school system, I’ve come to understand that, at least in our neck of the woods, each new grade begins with an automatic and inherent “do-over” mechanism in place. Regardless of how many copies of reports, summaries of...

Computerized Health Games to Promote Social Perceptual Learning in Autism

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) struggle to read nonverbal social cues, such as facial expressions, and often have difficulty recognizing a person's identity from their face. New computerized video games being developed by the Center for Autism Research (CAR) at The...

Early Intervention for Children with Autism Improves Social and Communication Skills

Research Pinpoints Early Signs of Autism and Develops Key Intervention Programs for Toddlers   Autism is the nation’s fastest growing developmental disorder, with current incidence rates estimated at 1 in 110 children. This year, more children will be diagnosed with autism than AIDS,...

Social Coping and Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Power Combination of Psychology and Speech Language Interventions

Throughout our years working with the ASD population, parents often inquire about whether their child should be receiving speech-language or psychological services. The answer is frequently “both.” Research demonstrates that individuals with ASDs are at great risk for developing significant...