Wait! What Did I Do? Teaching Students Social Language Skills

I wrote last week about developing social skills and directly teaching aspects of the “hidden curriculum” to our students.  It is, as you would expect, difficult to teach social skills to some students who do not speak and have limited language skills.

The best way to teach language skills - including pragmatics - is in context. We tell communication partners all of the time to engage AAC users in genuine communication interactions, and to practice both functional linguistic and “real” social linguistic skills.

I have encountered difficulties in middle and high schools with creating genuine social interactions between students.  Sometimes it’s teachers raising objections, and other times peers just don’t want to be bothered with helping out, or can’t find a time and place to provide some support.

Whatever the obstacles, do your best to find - and create - social interactions among students.

One way I have been able to make peers unwitting partners is by taking the student with whom I am working and hanging out in the Quad - the Southern California version of the cafeteria.  Watch interactions among his fellow students.  Middle and high schools are full of drama.  It is pretty easy to discover pairs and small groups being happy, angry, sad, excited, etc.

Observe briefly with your student, and then ask what they think is going on. Did they see the facial expressions and body language? Did those support the words they might have heard?  What might be going on.

If you have a small group of students, try some role playing.  Simulating experiences is fairly easy. The hard part is thinking of all of the situations you might need to address.

Judy Endow, in the article I sited last week, gives the example of taking “Free Cookies,” without realizing that really meant ‘1 per customer.’  Your students might be able to recall situations that left them baffled or feeling badly without knowing why.  Other students might be able to offer some suggestions, as well.

I have a set of questions and problems I created a number of years ago for use with some high school students and young adults.  They have worked well with a number of groups, and are available in my TpT store here.

A number of years ago I heard Barry Prizant speak. He said that, for young children with ASD, if they knew the “right things” to say on the playground - could run around yelling, “I’m He-Man; King of the Universe,” for example - they were accepted as a part of the playground group.

There are so many skills we need to teach our AAC users. Answering and asking questions, commenting, explaining feelings, and informing, among others. Let’s not forget those skills that help them to fit in.

Do You Understand the Hidden Curriculum?

Many of our AAC users become competent communicators, but fewer become effective language users. There is a difference. To be a competent communicator means to be able to exchange messages with other persons.
But to use language effectively requires deeper understanding and use of the specific method of the exchange. While the two are often used interchangeably, they are different. Language is more the system used to communicate, with specific conventions, while communication alone means the transferring of a message from one person to another.

There is a much greater emphasis on social skills now than ever before, however, I don’t see sufficient attention paid to understanding the subtle cues in social interactions that are a part of the “hidden curriculum.”

The hidden curriculum has been broadly defined as “…. the lessons that are taught informally, and usually unintentionally, in a school system. These include behaviors, perspectives, and attitudes that students pick up while they're at school” (The Glossary of Education Reform)

Our social skills are the compilation of how we understand and navigate through the world of social engagement. For most of us neurotypicals these skills are automatically picked up and used without thought. But for many with Autism and some other disabilities or differing abilities the brain does not pick up this information and use it effectively. These individuals become confused and isolated when they “don’t get it” (Endow, 2010). In fact, Ms. Endow says that, growing up, she often felt an “alien.”
She further reflects that “Many times I never have a clue as to what I did, other than figuring out I must have committed yet another unforgivable social sin.”

Ms. Endow goes on to talk about how this curriculum is not taught directly to most students who need it, and yet without direct instruction they will not learn it.

Now think for a minute about those students who do not speak and need to communicate with AAC. We have not even reached the point where AAC users universally - or even nearly - are taught to be competent communicators, let alone are they additionally taught social language skills that help them access this hidden curriculum.

How can we expect that to happen when even neurotypical persons do not routinely use adequate social skills? I can point to countless examples in my own life even now where I uncover duplicitousness that I do not always understand, or discover other “mature adults” who cannot match their speech to their actions. If my well educated peers cannot use adequate social skills how do we expect it of our students?

Endow, Judy; (2010), Navigating the Social World; Autism Advocate

How Do You Know if This is for You?

Collaboration between school and home is a significant concept for students who use picture-based communication.
Without both partners - school and home - working consistently to provide the student with the opportunities and strategies needed to become competent communicators it won’t happen (unless you have a bright kid with strong support in one or the other of those environments).

There are so many opportunities that cross over both environments, particularly in routines that are common.  Children perform routines tasks like washing hands, eating snack or a meal, even brushing teeth in multiple environments.  The vocabulary is consistent, the sequence is consistent, and the language used is consistent.
Additionally, there are situations, routines, and activities that are unique to either home or school, but are also highly engaging opportunities for communicating.

When it was suggested I write a book, I had envisioned writing a how-to manual for parents; who often get little or no information about how to work with AAC with their children.
But then it was also suggested that I write for SLPs who may be new to AAC. So, this book is my attempt to provide information for both of those groups of communication partners, so that they can understand and implement AAC strategies and systems.

Parents find themselves in a few distinct situations:

• they have a nonverbal child and they don’t know where to start with building communication skills
• they have bought or been given an iPad with an AAC app, but have had no training in implementation; including programing, operational functions, vocabulary organization or how to teach their child to use it
• they have bought or been given an iPad with aac app but school staff say the child isn’t “ready” and refuse to implement
• they borrow a device from a loan program (such as the CATE program which, locally, includes ATEC and SDATC) but the trial “fails” because nobody has known how to implement a successful trial.

What this book offers to parents and clinicians with limited knowledge/comfort with AAC:

1. AAC terms and verbiage explained
2. AAC myths dispelled
3. What vocabulary to consider and what organizational structures exist to explore while ‘feature matching”
4. A brief introduction to a few of the systems available
5. Explanation of some access methodologies
6. Brief explanation of AAC considerations for “special” populations (e.g. ASD, Rett Syndrome, CVI. C.P., etc.)
7. Providing sufficient vocabulary; robust core + fringe
8. Begin with single words
9. Increase functions of communication beyond requesting
10. Expanding responses beyond single words
11. Implementation strategies that can (and should) be provided in home and at school, with good collaboration between the two environments (including ALgS, core use, planning, temptations, use of routines, etc)
12. Sample activities to provide examples of how to plan and prepare for implementation sessions; both individually and in the usual environments

Best of all, the Kindle version is free today! (Monday, October 8, 2018).  So go and grab your copy.  Let me know how you like it. 
If you prefer paperback, find it here.

If Fall is Here, Can Winter be Far Behind?

I know, I know!  Don’t shoot the messenger!  Many of you are not at all ready for Winter. I know when I lived in New England I dreaded Winter.  But Fall was my favorite month.  

Here in Southern California we don’t get snow except in the mountains.  And we do get a little bit of crispness and a few changing leaves.

But, since Winter is coming, students will be moving from harvesting to hibernating in their Science lessons.  

Some students are simply learning the cycle of seasons, from Fall to Winter to Spring to Summer. 

And within each of those seasons are more cycles. Students learn about life cycles of apples, pumpkins, and flowers. In farm units, they study the birth cycles in Spring.

There are so many great children’s books out these days, on every topic imaginable.  So, no surprise that it’s hard to choose just one or two - or even 3 - for any given season.  

I introduced a couple of books for Back to School season. Now I’d like to make the transition from Fall to Winter with “Hibernation Station.”

This is a fun book with a familiar structure.  First one animal, then another and another, end up on Bear’s train as hibernation season begins, and they cause quite a commotion.  There are a lot of good vocabulary words in the book, as well as great sequencing and retelling possibilities.  And the book is a perfect gateway to information to about hibernation.

And, as a tie-in to reading foundational skills, the book contains heavy use of rhyme!  How much more fun can you get?

The book also offers an opportunity to talk abut what is real and what is make-believe.  Do animals really wear pajamas?  Do they take trains? Do they talk?  Do they hibernate?

Just for fun, here is a rhyming worksheet you can use right now, along with an answer key. Just drag and drop onto your desktop.

Have fun, stay warm and dry, and…….. keep on talking!

p.s. If you're interested in my book companion resource for this book, you can find it here.

Make the Connection! Getting Parents and Speech Pathologists to Work Together.

It's a book! Seriously, I do feel like I've just given birth to a really big baby.  A 240+ page baby.
I'm not going to say a lot about it here; you should just go check it out.   (affiliate link)
If you prefer paperback, find it here.





But, if you want to know what others are saying, here are just a few quotes from parents:

"This book is the tool that allows you to shorten your learning curve and better serve your clients or children who use AAC, a must for anyone expanding communication through technology."

 
"In one book Susan gets you from barely knowledgeable to comfortable with AAC. This is a book for every professional and parent working with a student using Ipads and other technology to communicate."

 
"Feel comfortable giving competent advice and recommendations about AAC.  Understand the breadth and depth of the resources available as well as their use and shine at your next IEP."

"As a parent embarking on a journey to support your child with communication needs, this book will guide you through a deep understanding of AAC, its use and its implementation. A must for every parent trying to shorten their learning curve!"
"Even seasoned professionals will find jewels of information in Susan’s book, a much-needed resource to round out your knowledge as you work with students on AAC."

Be sure to share it with friends, family, SLPs, and parents of AAC users - or those who should be.

Keep on talking!

An InLinkz Link-up

What's in a Theme? An Awful Lot, Actually.

Thematic teaching is used extensively in education in general and speech-language therapy in particular.  Using books and activities that revolve around a single specific topic allows for focused intervention on a specific group of vocabulary and concepts and provision of multiple opportunities for learning.  

Given that our AAC users need many more opportunities for learning and receive far fewer life experiences, thematic activities can provide activities that relate to real life experiences and and build on what they know.  Themes can help make connections between what students read and hear with what they do.  Keeping the vocabulary consistent is much more strategic than providing students with random word lists. And making activities interactive keeps students more engaged.

One of my most recent ventures in resource creation is thematic resources, which fcus on core words and relevant fringe vocabulary for common themes and topics.  I began with a Summer-Beach theme, and moved on to Fall and Winter, and am currently working on Fire Safety.

Each resource has vocabulary cards featuring both core and fringe for the theme, practice with finding said vocabulary in the AAC system, extending the vocabulary practice with a variety of games and printables, and using the words in writing activities, flip books, and a lap book that ties it all together.  Also in the resource are Wh questions, BINGO cards, and sentence building activities.

But obviously, even multiple activities using the same vocabulary repeatedly can’t offer all that is needed for students to “own” the words.  

So, what can parents and other partners do to help?  Here are some simple Fall activities for extending the learning:

1. Look at or gather a variety of leaves. “Look!”  “I like that.”  “Do you see?”  “Pick up.”  “Make pile.”  “Jump in!” These are all core word phrases that can be modeled.
2. At this time of year, you might see all sorts of great colors, depending on where you live. “What color?” “Red.” (etc.) “Look at that.”  “Pretty.”  “Different.”
3. Headed to the pumpkin patch?  “Which one?”  “That one.” “Big one.” “Little one.” “Different.”  Also: round, bumpy, rough, smooth, orange.
4. Thinking about going apple picking? You can even do that at the grocery store. Or try painting some. Again, you can talk about colors, about being the same or different. About being hard or soft, big or little, mine or yours, and having more or less.
5. Drive or walk around the neighborhood looking at Halloween decorations. Are they funny or scary? Spooky or pretty? Do you like them or not?
6. Practice sentences where ever you go for Fall fun. “I see big pumpkins.”  “I see apples.” “She is jumping.” “Do more!”

Enjoy this wonderful season and………keep on talking!

What Are You Reading? Back to School Read Aloud and Shared Reading Ideas

It’s official. Everyone is back to school.  Many have mixed feelings about school starting.  Staff have a crazy starting routine, with getting to know new students, organizing schedules, and making lesson plans.  

When I was working for a school district, I had 78 students in 4 different schools, and scheduling was a nightmare.  Fortunately, so much of what I did was working with stories, that I could pull out the relevant books and get going.

Books are amazing therapy resources, and perfect for any classroom.  Use the required reading list, the books teachers are using, or select your own.  My collection was divided by grade and “theme.”  Some were typical themes; like food, family, and seasons.  Others, however, focused on point of view, voice, and prediction.

For back to school, there are 2 books in particular I’ve been using the past couple of years; “I’m Your Bus,” and “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.”  

“I’m Your Bus,” by Marilyn Singer, is perfect for back to school time.  The book focuses on what the school bus does, but it’s simple to extrapolate once the bus arrives at school.  Create sequences for your school’s routine.  Discuss the people and places the bus passes  on its way to school.

The book is also great for phonological awareness skills, as it contains rhyme. And use the long list of vocabulary words found in the story to segment syllables.  You can download that worksheet here, just drag and drop the image onto your desktop.

The other book I love is “How I Spent My Summer Vacation,” by Mark Teague. He’s a great author for kids.  And this story allows you to dig deep into some aspects of real/not real and hyperbole, or exaggeration.  It’s a modern “Tall Tale.”  And, it also uses lots of rhyme, so keep on working on those phonological awareness skills.

The boy’s story is this: His parents wanted him to have a quiet vacation but he was captured by cowboys (wherein all sorts of things happened).  So, he got to his aunt’s house finally but the cattle stampeded, so he used a tablecloth like a matador and saved everyone.

That’s the really, really condensed version.

Both of these books, which are wildly different from each other in terms of structure and complexity, both offer many opportunities to work on building language skills.  Enjoy these 2 free phonological awareness worksheets and, if you’re interested in language-based materials for these two books, ride on over to my TpT store for the full resources.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation language rich resource.

I'm Your Bus language rich resource.

And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, where I’ll be giving away books and other goodies as I clean out my office after 40 years as a SLP.