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Using Social Emotional Learning Interventions to support Autistic Learners.
Putting in support for STUDENT S.
Autism Specific Goals and the N.Z Curriculum - How do SEL interventions link with the N.Z Curriculum?
Focus Student: S - Strengths Based Thinking
Strengths:
S's oral language is strong, She knows amazing facts and she can cleverly weave these facts into her stories. She can demonstrate empathy to others and she is inclusive, creative, kind and giving. S loves reading and Inquiry. Her general knowledge is really strong. Current academic levels (YR.5) are: Maths level 2, Writing level 3, Reading at 11 -12 years . S enjoys school and she enjoys learning. S is articulate and eager to share. Scientific knowledge is an area of interest.
S identifies herself as being different to others which she sees as being positive. S is able to identify a lot of things that she really loves doing. is friendly, patient, chatty, entertaining and engaging. S is collaborative and inclusive with her peer group. . She is kind and giving and she engages well in reciprocal social interaction. S puts a lot of value on her friendships and she is sensitive about problems that can occur. Friendships can sometimes be compromised by misunderstandings of her intentions.
What's hard and what can we do to support what's hard?
S can be very focussed on certain activities at times and this can sometimes confuse or upset her peers. S's attention seeking behaviour or lack of work output can upset her friends and peers at times. Can become overwhelmed and seeks solitude but continues to seek attention when she is on her own.Hiding and running away at times .S tends to go to the bottom of the stairs. places a lot of importance on her friendships and she can become very upset and sensitive when there are difficulties with her friends. S wants to please her friends but sometimes her friendships are affected by her peer’s misunderstanding of her well intended actions or plans. At other times, her friends may become frustrated about attention seeking behaviours which can become difficult for them. Not respecting personal space which alienates her from her peers.
What needs support at this time?
Social Skills to interact positively with peers to maintain and maximise friendship opportunities.
Learning goals should target the core characteristics of autism using the key competencies. Source: ASD for Teachers (2011)
Relating to others:
Communication: All students need some form of communication to be able to express needs, thoughts, feelings and intentions
Social Interaction: To enjoy reciprocal relationships with adults and peers, students need to learn to understand the feelings and motives of others
Thinking: To be able to use a range of strategies to help understand the perspective and intentions of others
Managing Self:
Communication: When students are not able to express their needs and concerns they can become anxious or frustrated and need to use other behaviour to get attention or get their needs met. They need support to find strategies to self regulate.
Social Interaction: To understand and show their emotions, students need to learn about what they like and how they feel and be able to communicate these to others in an appropriate way and learn some strategies to deal with stress.
Thinking: To be able to follow instructions and work independently, we need to support their thinking with structures (such as visuals and checklists) to plan for the day, organise equipment, complete tasks and manage time.
Using SEL Interventions effectively in school to support Social Skills with Autistic learners.
Key Competencies /strands -Linking to the N.Z Curriculum
Relating to others/
Contribution
Socialisation strategies
Social Narratives
Social Skills Training
Peer-mediated interventions
Strategies linked to the key competencies for children and young persons with ASD. (Source :Ministry Education website)
RELATING TO OTHERS:
Socialisation strategies • Help students to learn to observe others so they can learn from them. • Provide opportunities for social engagement with adults and peers. • Teach specific social understanding skills. • Coach peers to understand the perspective of the student with Autism Spectrum Disorder ASD. • Structure social supports, particularly for situations where the ‘rules’ or conventions are not clearly spelled out, such as at break times.
MANAGING SELF:
Environmental and emotional supports • Adult change • Positive behaviour support • Assist with sensory regulation (not being over- or under-aroused by sensory experiences). • Adapt the student’s learning environments. • Teachers and other adults change their initiations and responses. • Carry out functional behaviour assessments.
Intervention: Circle of Friends.
Frederickson, Warren & Turner (2005) explain that “Circle of Friends is an intervention that involves peers in helping a child change their behaviour and, at the same time, has the potential to change peers’ behaviour and attitude towards the child experiencing difficulties”. This was an ideal intervention and we were able to successfully include another student who receives ORS funding who tends to not contribute in class.
Circle of Friends Group.docx
Circle of Friends Presentation : Cluster 7 Shared Drive, presented to the Kaiako and ILE team teachers in an after school hui.
Key aspects to setting up the Intervention:
The intervention was discussed with S and mum at the Collaborative Planning Meeting when we were setting goals to support her social skills.
The process was discussed with mum and S and with the key kaiako within the ILE
It was agreed that the intervention would compliment the established YR.5 Girl's group within the ILE to support friendships
S understood that the first session with all the Year 5 girls would not include her and why this was. S was in agreement that this was being done as part of the process to 'train' the other students and to harness their support. S was pleased with this idea and she liked the idea of everyone talking about her in a positive and dedicated way which appealed to her need for attention.
The Process:
Collect student voice from S
RTLB to have a one hour dedicated session with the other YR.5 girls with the key teacher to talk about and brain storm all of S's positives and also some of the things people have noticed about what's hard. Honesty was encouraged within a positive framework of sharing. RTLB set the scene by putting a whiteboard up to collect positives /tricky things noticed about S. The board was surrounded with a tangled bunch of colourful flashing Christmas tree lights.We talked about how this visual representation related to S. Once the positives were collected, I turned the lights off and explained why. Then we talked very carefully and sensitively about the things that are tricky and hard. Idea's were collated on a second large sheet of paper to share with S later.
The Circle of Friends Intervention was discussed and each student given a piece of paper to write their name on.
At the end of the session, students were asked to either write a YES or a NO next to their name before handing it in to a box. Emphasis on 'no pressure' and not an indication of 'true friendship', but a desire to help each other to support S as a collective.
RTLB held a 1:1 session with S to show her the amazing comments we collected about her from everyone else, including the RTLB and the teacher. She was delighted.
RTLB met with key teacher one morning to go through the names and select 6 girls who the teacher felt would compliment the initiative. This was the difficult part. We wanted to be as inclusive as possible but it was essential to get the mix right.
Once we selected the students, letters were sent home explaining the intervention and the benefits for all the students who would be involved. We included a student who was receiving funding through ORS.
SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS: How to help each other to support S.
As a group, we decided on the key areas to support S and those ideas informed the weekly themes to discuss and set goals around. The group gave themselves a name.
At the start of each session, we reviewed the goals - what worked? What did you notice? What was hard? We shared the positives from the week with their observations and evaluations as well as honestly discussing the challenges. S was an active participant.
We did role plays, hot seating and tried some social scripts to model skills
We evaluated and shared
A letter to parents of volunteers
Dear …………………………………………………..
G.L School has become involved in a project to set up and run what are called Circle of Friends. These are made up of six to eight children who have agreed to help one of their classmates. Usually the Circles help someone to get on with other children. It involves the group meeting once a week for 20 -30 mins during class time with a teacher and the focus child to come up with solutions and ideas for sorting out any difficulties and supporting the focus child.
The idea is being used in other parts of the country. As well as helping the focus child, it has been found to have benefits for all the young people in the Circle. In particular, it seems to help them to develop their ability to think through problems and helps with their understanding of themselves and others.
………………………………………………………….has agreed to be part of the Circle (though of course may opt out after an agreed time). We are very grateful for …………………………………………………………’s willingness to become involved and we hope that you are happy with this.
If you have any concerns or questions, please let us know as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
How did we know that the intervention was effective?
Teacher's voice (key teacher) Weekly check ins with the kaiako and feedback from the Review meeting indicated that S was participating in all lessons. Still 'dipping in and out' with sensory seeking behaviours but arriving to sessions on time and managing self much better. Improved sense of self and purpose with maturity and the Circle strategies still being used after the intervention finished.
Group participants voice - The initial 'setting up' session to collect voice. S was described as being unique, always protecting others, never shy, has superpowers , shows empathy, can always see the good in people and " A poppy in a daisy field".
Actively seeking their voice weekly during sessions. On completion, a number of group participants voluntarily wrote letters and cards of thanks explaining the value of the Circle initiative.
Focus student's voice . " Thank you so much for helping me and giving me support. The Circle of Friends is amazing. Thanks for using your time on me. "
RTLB observations during the sessions as well as during class time and break times.
Observations and voice of other teachers in the Learning Space. " I'm not sure what you and A (Kaiako) have done, but it's worked!"
Inquiry topic based on the programme of support delivered to support Student S.
Presentation.
Student Voice collected at Initial session of Circle of Friends Intervention and shared with S. .
References:
Readings:
Frederickson, N., Warren, L., & Turner, J. (2005). "Circle of Friends"--An Exploration of Impact Over Time. Educational Psychology in Practice, 21(3), 197–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/02667360500205883
Ministry of Education. (2011). Supporting children and young people with autism spectrum disorder (Asd). Education in New Zealand. Retrieved from : https://www.education.govt.nz/school/studentsupport/special-education/supporting-children-and-young-people-with-autism-spectrum-disorderasd/
Ministry of Education. (2011). IEP guidelines. Retrieved from: https://seonline.tki.org.nz/IEP/IEPguidelines
Newton, C, Wilson,D (2003) Creating Circles of Friends: A Peer Support and Inclusion Workbook.
Schlieder, M., Maldonado, N., & Baltes, B. (2014). An investigation of “Circle of Friends” peer-mediated intervention for students with autism. The Journal of Social Change, 6(1), 27-40. doi: 10.5590/JOSC.2014.06.1.0
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