Circle of Friends Workshop CEUS available for SLP's

[Guest guest]

Register here:

http://elija.org/Circle2006.html

Circle of Friends (Socialization Program for Children with Autism in

Mainstream enviornments)

CEU's AVAILABLE for SLP's (.5)

March 10th 2006

Location:Plainview NY Marriott Residence Inn Media Center

Time:9-4

Cost:75 members/100 Non members/125 late-walkin

Presented by Dr.Holman received her Doctorate in Educational

Psychology at USC. She received her BA in Psychology from UCLA,

where she worked with Dr. Ivar Lovaas for the Young Autism Project.

Dawn is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a Masters in

Clinical Psychology. Dr. Holman has worked in the field of

behavioral therapy as a Senior Therapist and Clinical Supervisor for

the past ten years.

Description: Overview of " Circle of Friends " Social Skills Training

for Professionals

I. What is Circle of Friends?

Circle of Friends is a social skills program developed by Autism

Spectrum Consultants in 2002 to serve the needs of many of our

clients. We found that although we had success teaching isolated

skills to even the highest functioning autistic and Asperger's

Syndrome clients, they needed the opportunity to develop and

practice these skills in a group setting. The concept for C of F has

been to keep a high adult to student ratio, and to provide a small

group setting where students can learn new skills, generalize

mastered responses, and more than anything else, have fun!

II. What are the core deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorders that

require intervention in the socialization arena?

The core deficits that are associated with high functioning autism

and Asperger's Syndrome that impact their social functioning include

Theory of Mind and Executive Functioning deficits. Research has

found that up to 80% of even the most intellectually able children

and adolescents with autism fail simple first order Theory of Mind

tests – they are simply not able to take the mental perspective of

others. This includes perspectives relating to emotion, intention,

belief and desire. In addition, most people with an Autism Spectrum

Disorder will have a deficit in Executive Functioning, or the

ability to plan and monitor goal-directed behaviors. This impacts

attention, organization, and often motivation for tasks that can

vary from academics to social interactions.

III. How to intervene – some developmentally appropriate models

We have found that the children do not need to be matched by exact

age, but rather by social maturity and language ability. Despite

this, we have found that as the children get older, their

preferences for play activities, reinforcement, and group work is

different. Therefore, we attempt to set up groups along the

following categories.

a. Preschool group – Children between the ages of 3 and 5 are

grouped together to learn basic play skills, including some parallel

and interactive symbolic play. A visual reinforcement system, and

increased one to one support for the group setting is beneficial.

Parent involvement, as well as parent training, is a crucial

component.

b. Early Elementary group – The majority of groups are in this age

range. Topics will vary every six weeks, with a combination of role

plays, worksheets, activities and food! A token system for a Reward

Day is helpful with this age-range. Parents receive weekly Goal

Sheets, as do participants, and the children bring home a written

summary of activities, concepts, and `homework " activities to review

with parents.

c. Middle School group – As students mature, we found that they

needed a smaller, more intimate group of same-aged peers. The visual

token systems are dropped, and the emphasis shifts to more autonomy

and to group cooperation. Age appropriate topics are introduced,

(e.g. bullying, peer pressure, after-school activities, dealing with

emotions).

d. High School group – In San Diego County, there is a new group

called teen Jam, which is mentored by Dr. Holman. The group was

founded by three " neuro-typical " teens, who have become involved and

friendly with some high-functioning autistic and Asperger's

children. The group is a teen activity group, rather than a social

SKILL group.

e. Summer programs – Summer can be difficult for parents to keep

their children occupied, and many feel that typical summer camps are

not feasible for their children. We have created a variety of

summer " day-camp " programs, which are week-long activities that

focus intensely on a different skill each week. The emphasis is more

on outings and community-based activities.

IV. Format of groups: Although the groups differ somewhat depending

on the age of the participants, the general model for the Circle of

Friends group is as follows:

a. Greeting: All participants are " encouraged " to greet each other,

regardless of what the topic of the session is. As such, a variety

of token systems are often put in place, and once introduced, the

children are not prompted, but rather are reinforced for the number

of appropriate greetings they offer to adults and peers.

b. Weekly target skills: Given the 6 week model, the target skills

will change, depending on the topic for the particular session. Each

week there is at least one target skill which is introduced at the

beginning of the session, and then worked on in smaller groups and

with role-play activities.

• Lesson plans (see handout)

• Role-plays (in vivo examples)

c. Use of Token Economies: (see samples)

d. Food/meal skills: Dinner-time! Food consumption is a social

activity in our culture. It is also generally a time when children

on the spectrum sit quietly and focus on their food. So we try and

make activities around food more lively. Each week's meeting ends in

dinner, so the children all get jobs at the start of the day, from

pizza Caller to table setter, drinks, etc.

e. Good-byes: Same as greetings, but each child is sent home with

their Goal Sheet (see sample) and discussion time with parents when

they come for pick-up.

V. Curriculum

a. Thematic approach – Social skill instruction can and should be

lifelong for most students, constantly changing to reflect their

changing needs and environmental and biological situations. By

identifying a theme, and presenting related information in short

periods of time, the participants will be able to be introduced to

new subjects, have time to practice, and hopefully generalize their

newly acquired skills. It also helps with acquisition of skills in

that repeated exposure is constantly variable. That is, while a

particular theme may be on " dealing with anger " , there can be

several different approaches introduced and reviewed.

b. The 6 week session – In order to help students feel that they are

mastering concepts, each theme is presented for 6 weeks. (see sample

outline).

c. Where to find appropriate curriculum to adapt (see handout)

d. How to create your own curriculum from scratch (group activity)

VI. Question and Answer

Register here:

http://elija.org/Circle2006.html