Helping Children with Autism Become More Social: 76 Ways to Use Narrative Play

Contents......Page 8
Foreword by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D.......Page 18
Foreword by Margaret Bauman, M.D.......Page 20
Preface......Page 24
Acknowledgments......Page 30
Caveat......Page 34
Introduction......Page 36
Language......Page 46
Narrative......Page 47
Strategy 1: Experience What the Child Experiences......Page 48
Strategy 2: Move into the Child’s Play Space......Page 49
Strategy 3: Listen to Each Detail of the Parents’ Stories......Page 51
Strategy 4: Interrupt the Child’s Fixed Patterns of Play......Page 52
Strategy 5: Help the Child to Feel the Presence Others by Using the Environment......Page 53
Strategy 6: Show the Parents Details that Indicate a Child Wants to Play......Page 55
Strategy 7: Set Up a Plan for Play Practice with the Family......Page 56
Strategy 8: Move to the Child’s Eye Level......Page 58
Strategy 9: Teach Sound Combinations and Word Approximations for Speech Production through Play......Page 59
Strategy 10: Encourage the Family to Use Their Native Language......Page 63
Strategy 11: Create Play Narrative Themes Related to the Child’s Interest......Page 66
Strategy 12: Identify the Methods that a Child Uses to Retreat from Others......Page 68
Strategy 13: Change the Child’s Narrative to Encourage Flexibility with Peers......Page 69
Strategy 14: Be Direct and Teach the Child about the Other Child’s Feelings......Page 70
Chart: Progression of a Child with Autism from a Non-Social World to a More Social World through Narrative Play Therapy......Page 73
Language......Page 76
Narrative......Page 77
Strategy 15: Help a Child Visualize a New Idea to Disrupt Old Patterns......Page 80
Strategy 19: Reduce the Child’s Distractibility by Engaging Him in Sensory Breaks......Page 83
Strategy 21: Follow a Child’s Lead toward Things of Interest in a Natural Setting......Page 84
Strategy 22: Echo the Sounds and Point Out the Environment......Page 85
Strategy 23: Emphasize to the Child the Main Gestalt and Abstract Concepts of Natural Events Instead of Focusing on All the Tiny Details......Page 86
Strategy 24: Take the Child to an Event More than Once to Teach Abstract Concepts......Page 87
Strategy 25: Facilitate Language by Prompting One Peer First and Then Supporting the Other......Page 89
Strategy 27: Develop a Narrative with an Orientation, a Sequence of Actions, and an Ending......Page 90
Strategy 28: Help Both Children Plan a Play Sequence Together......Page 91
Strategy 30: Describe and Model a High Point Actions and an Ending in the Child’s Story Theme......Page 93
Strategy 16: Join the Child and Listen to His Complaints......Page 81
Strategy 18: Draw on the Child’s Interests in Visualizing Objects and Places......Page 82
Language......Page 96
Play......Page 98
Narrative......Page 99
Strategy 31: Connect with the Child’s Peer and Engage Both Children in the Ideas of the Play......Page 102
Strategy 32: Narrate in Detail the Child’s and the Peer’s  Actions within the Natural Play Interaction in Order to Reinforce the Child’s Intentional Play......Page 103
Strategy 33: Engage a Peer to Motivate the Child to Play, and to Move the Child Past His Repetitive Actions and Fixed Mental Images......Page 105
Strategy 34: Model Symbolic Play with Objects that Have Meaningful Relationships in the Child’s Life and that Relate to the Ideas in the Child’s Play......Page 107
Building Trust by Listening......Page 108
Strategy 36: Use Gesture and Body Language with Meaningful Language, Pointing Out What the Peer Is Doing, and Making Suggestions to the Child for Actions that Will Connect to the Peer’s Actions in Play......Page 109
Strategy 37: Once a Child Consistently Looks at a Peer in a Quiet Office Setting, Follows a Peer’s Point toward an Object, and Watches the Actions of a Peer, Take the Child to an Outside Location to Work on Joint Attention in Play......Page 110
Strategy 38: Coach the Child’s Parents, Teacher, and Aides to Run with the Child, to Move in His Rhythm, and to Point Out Actions in the Environment......Page 111
Strategy 39: While Watching an Artistic Event or Using Art Materials, Join the Child in What HeIs Experiencing by Describing the Feeling, Sounds, and Images of the Natural Situation; Encourage the Peers to Participate in the Conversation as Well......Page 113
Strategy 40: Use Child-Directed Conversation that Builds Trust by Remaining Calm and Attentive, Listening to the Emotional State of the Child, and Suggesting Language to Validate the Child’s Feelings......Page 117
Strategy 41: Listen, Wait, and Be Available to Respond in a Calm, Neutral Voice When a Child Expresses Anger and Disappointment, Offering Concrete Solutions Not Only to Validate the Child’s Feeling, But Also to Shift Her Focus on What to Do Next......Page 119
Strategy 42: Suggest Some Concrete Motor Activity that Not Only Encourages Eye Contact and Turn-Taking, But Also Involves a Simple Skill that the Child Can Perform with Ease......Page 120
Strategy 43: When a Child Feels Angry at Herself, Suggest Activities that Can Be Accomplished with Little Effort, Stay Close to the Child, and Remain Silent at Times to Allow the Child to Express Her Feelings......Page 121
Strategy 44: Introduce Simple, Concrete Games that Require Reciprocity and Provide Opportunity for Language and Conversation in Close Proximity......Page 122
Strategy 45: When a Child Cries, Stay Nearby and Be Patient, Sensitive, Calm, and Attentive......Page 123
Strategy 46: Select High-Interest Activities that Address Not Only Learning Difficulties—Such as Word Retrieval Problems and Memory Deficit—but Also the Child’s Sensory Needs......Page 124
Strategy 47: Listen to the Child’s Feelings in an Interaction with Others, Noting Ambiguous Terms or Figurative Language that May Be Linguistically Confusing to the Child......Page 126
Strategy 48: Shift the Focus in Therapy from Asking for Direct Responses from the Child to “Narrating” the Child’s, Peer’s, and Objects’ Actions and Feelings in Order to Motivate the Child to Express Spontaneous Ideas and to Notice What Is Happening in a Shared Event......Page 128
Strategy 49: Observe the Child in Social Interactions and Intervene Only When Needed by Suggesting Language Scripts that Include Supportive Comments to the Child while He Is Involved with Peers......Page 130
Bringing Language to Sports Activities......Page 133
Strategy 50: Teach Language Skills—Idioms, FigurativeLanguage, Word Retrieval, Retelling, and Sequencing—through Sports Activities on the Playground or at Parks with Visuals Called “Floor Maps” to Support the Child’s Understanding of Rules As Well As Abstract Reasoning......Page 134
Strategy 51: Model the Relationship between Tone of Voice and the Meaning of the Words in an Interaction for the Child with Autism so that He Can Experience How His Tone of Voice Affects the Meaning of Language; First, Use Play Figures Inside in a Quiet Setting, and then Role Play Outside with a Peer on a Playground......Page 137
Strategy 52: Model the Relationship between the Loudness of a Voice and the Distance between the Speaker and the Listener for the Child so that He Can Experience How Intensity Affects What a Listener Can Hear in Various Situations......Page 138
Strategy 53: Minimize the Number of Objects in a Play Set with Two Peers and Organize Play Activities with High Interest, Simple Themes, and Concrete Action......Page 140
Strategy 54: Use Concrete Activities such as a “Gertie” Ball to Teach Language Reciprocity and to Acknowledge the Child’s Need for Physical Activity......Page 142
Strategy 56: With the Child and a Peer, Create and Practice Social Scripts, Called “Options,” Which Are Language-Based and Solutions to Social Problems that Occur in the Child’s Home or at School......Page 143
Language, Play, and Narrative......Page 150
Helping the Child Fit In......Page 152
Strategy 57: Validate and Acknowledge a Child’s Feelings by Listening Attentively When She is Disappointed by Inappropriate Comments from Others or Feels Isolated from Peers......Page 153
Strategy 58: Join the Child in Reflecting Back on Her Initial Therapy Sessions to Understand the Progress She Has Made......Page 154
Strategy 59: Recognize the Child’s Awareness of Not Fitting in with a Peer Group; Talk Alone with Her about New Conversation Strategies As Well As Subtle Gestures She Can Use to Signal the Therapist that She Needs Help......Page 155
Strategy 60: Understand the Difficulties and Characteristics of the Language Disabilities that Accompany Autism and Impair a Child’s Social Interactions, Writing, and Perceptual Motor Skills......Page 157
Limiting a Child’s Monologues and Encouraging Listening......Page 158
Strategy 62: Stay Close with the Child on the Playground; as She interacts with Her Classmates, Function as Both a “Peer” and a Conversation “Coach” and then Fade Back to Observe......Page 159
Strategy 63: Model Language Facilitation for Specialists and Teachers by Joining the Child, Making Comments, and Using Gestures as Needed in an Outside Situation......Page 160
Strategy 64: Practice with the Child with Autism and One Peer the Technique of Using an “A B C Conversation” to Limit Monologues and Help Her to Respond with Relevant Conversation......Page 162
Creating Visuals to Redirect Repetitive Thoughts......Page 165
Strategy 65: Through Role-Play and Visuals, Practice Listening for “Key Words” with the Child and One Peer......Page 166
Strategy 66: Create Small Books with Photographs and/or the Child’s Drawings; Add Dictated Writings (Child Tells the Therapist What SheNeeds to Write Underneath the Photo/Drawing) to Help the Child Redirect and Eliminate Invading Thoughts about Unrelated Subjects......Page 168
Strategy 67: Develop Visual Materials to Preteach a Child about the Sequence of an Event or Field Trip; Use These Materials Later to Develop a Narrative about the Trip......Page 172
Strategy 68: Help the Child Watch Others Interact on the Playground by Pointing Out the Peers’ Behaviors in the Interactions; Later Create Drawings with the Child to Talk about How to Read Subtle Language Cues Such as Facial Expression, Gestures, and Body Language......Page 173
Strategy 69: Teach the Child about a Peer’s Perspective in an Angry Interaction by Creating a Visual List of the Peer’s Feelings As Well As the Child’s Feelings......Page 175
Strategy 70: Teach the Child with Autism to Interpret a Peer’s Discomfort and Pain by Comparing the Painful or Sensitive Situation to the Child’s Feeling in a Similar Incident......Page 176
Strategy 71: Help a Child with Autism Illustrate and Outline Steps that Will Logically Help Him Draw Inferences from Abstract Texts As Well As Ambiguous Words in Classroom Projects and Concepts Related to His Curriculum......Page 179
Strategy 72: During a Conflict or a Negotiation, Teach the Child with Autism to Identify Shared Interests with Others through Six Stages of Negotiation by Modeling and Questioning Both Children in an Interactive Play Situation......Page 181
Strategy 73: Introduce Creative and High-Interest Activities in Outside Settings that Are Linked to the Child’s Natural Experiences with Family and Friends......Page 188
Strategy 74: Create Natural Situations for Play-Dates/Free Time with Peers and Provide an “Overall” Structure that Is Predictable......Page 189
Strategy 75: Support the Sibling As Much As Possible in Natural Situations......Page 204
Strategy 76: Create Natural Situations for Ending Therapy with Children and Help Them to Look Forward to New Relationships......Page 211
Appendix 1: Facilitating Language in Play Dates for Younger Children: Suggestions for Parents, Specialists, and Teachers......Page 218
Appendix 2: A Playground Program for Peers at Recess in School: Suggestions for Teachers and Specialists......Page 222
Appendix 3: Working with Siblings: Suggestions for Parents, Specialists, and Teachers......Page 224
Appendix 4: Social Language Scripts for Unstructured Time in Situations at Playgrounds/Parks: Suggestions for Teachers, Specialists, and Parents......Page 226
Notes......Page 230
References......Page 252
Index......Page 262