Social Skills and Autism; A Top 10 How-To Go-to List

 Imagine this:

“Hi. My name is Sam, what’s yours? How are you today? I’m fine. Where do you live? How many pets do you have? I have seven. They are goldfish. The first goldfish is named Swimmy. The second goldfish is named Fin. The third goldfish is named Goldie. The fourth…”

By now, Sam is so caught up in his monologue that he hasn’t noticed his new friend’s eye rolls, lack of attention, or even that they’ve walked away.

Or take Ned, who starts every conversation with:

“Hi. I’m Ned. What’s your name? How old are you? Are you married? How many children do you have?”

His well-meaning but intrusive questions don’t exactly help him make friends.

Then, there are students who repeat phrases out of context, don’t pick up on tone of voice, or laugh at moments that don’t seem appropriate.

Social communication challenges like these are common for students with autism. From struggling with greetings and conversation flow to unintentionally saying things that come across as rude, social skills can be an area where extra support is needed.

The good news? There are evidence-based strategies that can help. The National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder highlights ten approaches for teaching social skills effectively:

1. Social Narratives

Social Narratives use short stories to describe social situations, direct expected behaviors, and explain the perspectives of others. These are intended to aid students in understanding and navigating social interactions. Social Stories, comic strips, and “power cards” are all examples of using social narratives, ranging from use of a simple visual to use of a demonstrative story, to actively engaging in processing conversations, social cues, and appropriate responses.

These short stories describe social situations, explain expected behaviors, and provide insight into others’ perspectives. Social Stories, comic strips, and “power cards” are great ways to help students understand and navigate social interactions.

2. Social Skills Groups

Social Skills Groups are structured groups where students can practice their social skills with guidance. Students participate in role-playing, direct instruction, and get constructive feedback. 

These structured groups offer students a safe space to practice social skills with guided support. Role-playing, direct instruction, and constructive feedback—often led by a speech-language pathologist or special education teacher—help students develop real-world social skills.

3. Naturalistic Intervention 

Naturalistic Intervention embeds instruction into naturally occurring everyday situations. Embedding social skills instruction into everyday activities makes learning feel more natural. By following the student’s desired activities, social skills can be learned during a motivating activity. Games students enjoy are a good activity for this, as are topics of preference. For example, a teacher might prompt a student who loves trains to ask another student to play with trains with him.

4. Video Modeling

Students watch videos of appropriate social interactions before practicing the skills themselves. Whether they see themselves or others demonstrating the behavior, video modeling provides a clear example to follow. A student might watch a video of 2 students greeting each other and making small talk before practicing the skill himself.

5. Peer-Mediated Intervention

Neurotypical peers can model and reinforce social skills, helping students with autism build friendships and practice interactions in natural settings like recess or lunch. This helps to build connections with others, as well as being able to practice during naturally occurring activities. These peer models receive training to provide helpful prompts and encouragement.

6. Prompting and Reinforcement

Students receive cues (verbal, visual, or gestural) to guide their social behavior. Fading of prompts and time delay prompts can be effective. A teacher might provide a specific visual cue that reminds the student what to do/say, then reinforces successful responses.

Over time, prompts are faded to encourage independence. For instance, a visual cue card might remind a student to take turns in conversation.

7. Scripting

Providing students with pre-written or rehearsed phrases gives them a starting point for conversations. Scripts can be gradually faded as students become more comfortable using social language independently. Easy scripts for simple conversations have long been effective. A script may be as simple as providing two steps; 1. approach another student, 2. ask them if they want to play with you, 3. if they say “no,’ ask if maybe another time.

8. Visual Supports

Visuals help reinforce expectations, routines, and conversational rules. Providing visuals that show expectations, routines, and rules aids students in remembering what to do/not to do. They may be as simple as using symbols for talking, listening, and asking to encourage appropriate conversational turn-taking.

Whether it’s a chart showing turn-taking or symbols for asking and answering questions, visual supports can make social interactions easier to navigate.

9. Cognitive Behavioral Interventions

These strategies help students in understanding emotions, problem-solving, and perspective-taking. They are particularly helpful for managing anxiety in social situations, turning negative thoughts into positive coping strategies.

10. Self-Management

Teaching students to monitor their own social behaviors fosters independence. Checklists, self-reflection templates, and apps can help students assess whether they’re using appropriate social skills in different situations. They learn to think through a list of behaviors to determine if they acted appropriately.

Finding the Right Approach

Every student is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. The key is to identify the approach that best supports each student’s individual needs. By focusing on social skills, we help ensure our students can build meaningful relationships and fully participate in their communities.

Want to dive deeper into these strategies? Join me at the Wonderyears Summit, where I’ll be sharing practical intervention ideas and resources to support social skills development in students with autism.

Register at wonderyearssummit.com

Until then...........keep on talking!