Social Skills Training for Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Social-Communications Problems

By Jed Baker

Book Overview

Whether it's learning how long one can look at somebody; 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 sensitive topic - it's all here. In this comprehensive and user-friendly book, the author translates years of experience working with students with Asperger Syndrome and social-communication difficulties.

Brief introductory chapters cover: skills to target, instructional strategies, behaviour management, promoting generalization, and relevant characteristics of autism spectrum disorders. The book then focuses on 70 of the skills that most commonly cause difficulty for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and social-communication 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.

If you've been searching for a social skills curriculum that really works, you've found it! Jed Baker's long-awaited, much anticipated how-to manual is based on his enormously successful social skills training groups. The book covers everything from assessment and strategies for social skills training, to generalization of those skills, to behavior management, to the often-overlooked importance of promoting peer acceptance through sensitivity training. The core of this book, however, is the inclusion of individual skill lessons and activities (seventy in all) that address practically every social situation you can possibly think of. This book is a MUST-READ and should be part of every parent and professional's AS resource library!

- Lori Shery, president and cofounder, Asperger Syndrome Education Network (ASPEN(R))

This very user-friendly book provides a wealth of ready-to-use activities for both parents and educators. The centerpiece of the book is a series of 70 specific skills found to cause problems for individuals with autism spectrum and other social-communication disorders. Each skill is presented in a handy format, with the skill to be learned on one page and related activities on the facing page. The last chapter on sensitivity and awareness training makes this a complete social skills training package.

- Diane Adreon, assoc dir., Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, University of Miami

Dr. Baker's clinical expertise and personal concern for individuals with Asperger Syndrome is evident throughout this wonderful book. The chapters contain many easy-to-use strategies to make and keep friends, specific examples for various age groups, and clear direction for assessment and intervention. This book is an essential resource for professionals who want to increase all students' social and coping skills within individual and group sessions and in everyday life.

- Suzanne Buchanan, Psy.D., BCBA, and Jenna Miller, M.A.T., The New Jersey Center for Outreach and Services for the Autism Community (COSAC)

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 193128220X
• ISBN13: 9781931282208
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Aapc Publishing
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.5" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

Great for Social Skills Training

This book is an excellent resource for those who want to assist children and young adults with social skills training. There are clear cut lessons and activities that cover a variety of topics from how to greet others to asking someone on a date. Very valuable for those who need concrete examples of the correct way to approach many different social situations. Could be used for children on the autism spectrum, but also for any child who could benefit from practice in social interaction, even those who are shy. Anyone who lives and works with students who have social skills defecits would find this book useful.

Easy reading, understanding, and easy to use lessons

This book is not only good to help those in the autism spectrum with lacking social skills, but they can also be applied easily to teaching any children without autism. It is straightforward easy to use, to the point. Definitely worth the money, and was recommended to me by several mothers with more than 2 children with autism. Thanks!

A must for all kids with social skill issues

Jed Baker has done it again. This is a nice follow-up to his social picture book. This is done nicely because you can pick and choose which areas you need to work on. Most children could use help with social skills to reduce anxiety, regardless of whether they have issues. My son does not have aspergers and his social skills issues are minimum but with practice the skills he has have been greatly refined.The program can be used in parts at home by parents with minimal training or in a school environment with speech therapists etc.

Most practical book out there.

After researching most of the books on the market for Aspergers children and teens, this is surely the most practical source on social skills training. It's not a theoretical treatise, but a user-friendly way to quickly teach relevant skills to students with AS. I recommend to parents and teachers alike.

The best social skills book for our family

As a parent homeschooling a child with Asperger Syndrome, I?ve bought about a dozen books to help me teach my child social skills. This one is the most useful I?ve found. Most books on this topic are aimed only at teachers and are hard to adapt to use at home with one child; that?s not the case with this book. While the book includes instructions for school personnel and describes how to teach the skills in classrooms and small groups, it is relatively free of educational jargon and doesn?t waste too much space on things that useless to me, like reproducible handouts for the children to take home to their parents.The skills are broken down into small steps and are very specific, which is helpful with my literal-minded child. As a socially adept adult, I sometimes have trouble finding ways to explain social conventions, like the ?Two-Question Rule,? as Baker calls it: ?When others as you a question and you answer it, you can ask a similar question right back.? I?m sure I do this every day (?How are you?? ?Fine, how are you??), and yet it would have taken me ages to find a way to sum this up for my child.The skills are broken down into six categories: Conversational Skills, Cooperative Play Skills, Friendship Management, Self-Regulation, Empathy, and Conflict Management. The skills range from ?Maintaining Appropriate Physical Distance from Others? to ?Giving Criticism in a Positive Way?. Each skill is covered on two pages. One page lists guidelines for following the rule, and includes a small fill-in-the-blank space where children can plan when they will try out the skill and later report how it worked. The facing page lists suggested activities for teaching and reinforcing the skill.I was also pleased to find that Baker?s The Social Skills Picture Book covers many of the skills in Social Skills Training, so I have been using the picture book as a companion to this book. Actually seeing photos of children using the skills (or making mistakes) helps to fix the rules in his mind.