By: Katie McKenna, MS, OTR/L (originally posted on The Autism Helper)

It is so hard to believe that summer is upon us!  Summer can bring about many different experiences and emotions.  On one hand, it can be exciting to take a break from the intense schedule of the school year.  However, on the other hand, summer often brings less structure and routine, which can be hard for our learners.  As I wrap up the school year, I like to provide my families with some therapeutic activity ideas that not only maintain or build skills throughout the summer but also are fun and easy to implement.  Here are some of my tips for putting together a summer therapy home program!

1. Embrace the Outdoors

Summer is the best time to truly embrace outdoor activities.  Kids NEED to be active.  Check out my blog post here about why outdoor play is so vital.  Additionally, many summer activities that families naturally do may include amazing outdoor motor and sensory experiences, such as swimming, going to the beach, hiking and bike riding.  Even just playing at the playground can be so beneficial – check out this post for more!  When recommending summer activities for families, I always include outdoor play ideas as they tend to be easy to setup and free or low cost, but full of amazing opportunities for students.  

2. Encourage Hands On Activities

Early in my career, I used to send home a lot of paper packets that contained prewriting and drawing practice worksheets.  I have since stopped.  Why?  So much learning comes from experiences that do not involve pencil and paper and summer is the perfect time to explore that!  Kids NEED to experience more hands-on activities and play in order to have strong muscles for pencil and paper tasks.  Instead of completing writing worksheets, try suggesting students use sidewalk chalk or draw shapes and letters in the sand.  You can also recommend families try some of these easy gross and fine motor activities using household items!

3. Focus on Life Skills

Summer is the perfect time to work on various household tasks and life skills, such as cooking, cleaning, and even community outings.  For sensory sensitive kids, some of these tasks can be very overwhelming.  One of the pros of a slower summer schedule is there may be more time and flexibility to gradually build confidence and skills to be able to engage in some of these tasks.    

4. Make it Routine

Routines and themes help me stay on track during the school year, and I like to suggest the same to my families for the summer.  Depending on your student, you may recommend a few activities for families to focus on consistently in daily or weekly routines.  Some years, I have recommended daily ‘themes’ and corresponding activity ideas such as Movement Monday, Fine Motor Tuesday, Sensory Wednesday, Cooking Thursday, Community Outing Friday.  Families can choose one activity per day based on the daily theme.  Or, you could collaborate with a family to choose 1 or 2 daily routines to target and recommend a therapeutic spin on it.  For example, when reading books at bedtime, have the student lay on his tummy.  During the morning routine, try to encourage decreased verbal prompts.   This way, activities don’t feel like ‘extra’ work because they are already embedded into activities that happen in the family on a daily basis!

5. Keep it Simple

This is probably the most important tip of all.  Let’s face it.  It has been a long school year!  While some families may be looking for very detailed activity plans, others may be looking for a few practical ideas.  In general, I like to recommend simple, actionable ideas that can be easily implemented and don’t require a lot of preparation and planning.   Like everything, touch base with your families and see where they may be looking for support and you can tweak your plan from there.  I recommend starting simple and adjusting as needed to meet individual needs.

About the Author:

Katie McKenna, MS, OTR/L is an occupational therapist working with students in the school setting. Katie has worked with students of all ages, from early childhood up to high school transition. Before she was an OT, Katie worked as an in-home respite worker as well as an inclusion aide. Katie earned an undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Saint Louis University, and a Masters degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. 

By: Rosemarie Griffin, SLP, BCBA, originally posted on ABASpeech.org

Play is this fascinating tool that allows children to absorb information, learn, engage, socialize, and communicate. Play is vital to children’s development. Play is a natural way to bring children into an exciting new adventure each day. When discussing play skills development, caregivers and providers often need a refresher on what play skills are appropriate for various ages. Play can give children a sense of closeness when playing, build social skills, problem solving skills, and of course learn language. Understanding the stages of play skills development can help with knowing what play is appropriate and when! 

Milestones of Play

6-12 months- In this baby stage, play is simple, but so rewarding for the child and parent! Imitation is a huge deal at this age and children love to imitate anyone they are playing with. Think of games like “so big” or simply waving. Playing peek-a-boo is so much fun and a great way to engage in play with little ones. Songs with silly words are wonderful at this age also. Remember communication and play starts well before language, so nonverbal play is hugely important too!

18 months- Here comes the pretend play! Toy kitchens are all the rage for our blooming toddlers because pretend play is blossoming and imaginations are growing. Our toddlers begin to use tools like hammers or spoons to imitate real life actions in their pretend play. Feeding our baby dolls is another big one at this stage! Often this age group engages in solitary play and will build blocks alone or complete a puzzle by themselves. They often don’t even notice if other children are around them!

2 year olds- Now that our children are a bit bigger, they are ready to engage in even more developed pretend play. Now children may imitate household chores like pretending to sweep or wash the dishes. This would be the perfect time to play house and use their world in their pretend world! 

Onlooker Play- When children are preschool age, they may begin to watch other children play and this is called onlooker play. Onlooker play is when children watch other children play! During this time, children are building their social and emotional skills and also learning how to engage in situations. They are even learning from other children and boosting attention and memory!

Parallel Play-This is another play development around ages 2-3 when children are playing next to each other, maybe with the same toys, but not engaging with one another. The children influence each other and may even copy each other! Think of this as a precursor to learning how to truly play together! 

Associative Play- Between 3-4 children begin to play together by using the same materials and doing similar activities, but they are still a bit independent. Think two children sharing crayons, but drawing sepapare pictures. The children like the company of the others, but aren’t ready to actually make a game together yet. 

Cooperative Play- Lastly, between 4-5 children start to interact with one another and play together! They want the interaction and they want to do the activity together. This is where pretend play really takes off and children pretend to be the mom and dad and take care of a baby or serve each other dinner at the pretend restaurant! 

Play and Therapy

The most important idea to remember when it comes to play in therapy is that it is all about the mindset. Don’t be afraid to get silly. Loosen up! Make silly faces, use silly sounds, and make those genuine connections. Toys aren’t as important as human connections, so don’t worry about all the toys and just be you! If you are looking for a few toys though, bubbles, balls and markers are great ideas! Puppets can be a ton of fun too! Stay away from anything that needs batteries because that takes the play away from the child. The toy does all the work! The more content that is introduced while playing, the more the child will remember and absorb from you!

When it comes to play skills development, it is so important to understand the age of the child and the impact play will have on them. It is also so important to know what to expect in terms of play from a child at different age groups. Play is such a huge stepping stone in learning, engagement, social skills, and communication. Play skills development is a great topic to delve into if you are a parent or a SLP! 

Rosemarie Griffin, SLP, BCBA is dedicated to helping SLPs and other professionals provide systematic language instruction with ease. Working with students with autism and other complex communication disorders can be challenging. Rose has dedicated herself to helping by providing professional development and real life examples of what she does in her daily practice. See her podcast, blog, and collaboration opportunities at www.abaspeech.org

By: Sam Blanco, PhD, LBA, BCBA

As adults, we’re fairly accustomed to contracts for car loans, new employment, or updates to our smartphones. But contracts can also be beneficial in the classroom setting. A contingency contract is defined as “a mutually agreed-upon document between parties (e.g., parent and child) that specifies a contingent relationship between the completion of specified behavior(s) and access to specified reinforcer(s)” (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). There are several studies that indicate using a contingency classroom can be beneficial in the classroom setting.

Cantrell, Cantrell, Huddleston, & Wooldridge (1969) identified steps in creating contingency contracts:

Interview the parent or guardian of the student.

This allows you to work together to identify problem behaviors to be addressed, identify the contingencies currently maintaining these behaviors, determine the child’s current reinforcers, and establish what reinforcement or punishment procedures will be used.

Use this information to create a clear, complete, and simple contract.

The authors provide examples of how these contracts might look. You can vary the contract based upon the behaviors you are addressing with your student and the student’s ability to comprehend such contracts.

Build data collection into the contract itself.

You can see an example from the article below. For this example, it is clear how points are earned and how the child can utilize those points, and the contract itself is a record of both the points and the child’s behaviors.

There are clear benefits to utilizing such contingency contracting: building relationships across different environments in which the student lives and works, addressing one or more challenging behaviors simultaneously, and providing opportunities for students to come into contact with reinforcement. You can read the entire article here:

Cantrell, R. P., Cantrell, M. L., Huddleston, C. M., & Wooldridge, R. L. (1969). Contingency contracting with school problems. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2(3), 215-220.

And much more has been written about contingency contracting. If you’d like to learn more, we suggest taking a look at one or more of the following:

Bailey, J. S., Wolf, M. M., & Phillips, E. L. (1970). Home-based reinforcement and the modification of pre-delinquent’s classroom behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 3(3), 223-233.

Barth, R. (1979). Home-based reinforcement of school behavior: A review and analysis. Review of Educational Research, 49(3), 436-458.

Broughton, S. F., Barton, E. S., & Owen, P. R. (1981). Home based contingency systems for school problems. School Psychology Review, 10(1), 26-36.

Miller, D. L., & Kelley, M. L. (1991). Interventions for improving homework performance: A critical review. School Psychology Quarterly, 6(3), 174.

About the Author:

Sam Blanco, PhD, LBA, BCBA is an ABA provider for students ages 3-15 in NYC. Working in education for twelve years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam utilizes strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals. She is also an assistant professor in the ABA program at The Sage Colleges. You can read more of Sam’s posts for Different Roads To Learning by clicking here!

By: Caitlin Reilly Lostan, PsyD, BCBA, NCSP (Breakthrough Learning Group) and Marcia Questel, MSEd, BCBA (Association for Science in Autism Treatment)

(The following is an excerpt from Lostan, C., & Questel, M.’s “How can I structure playdates for success?” featured in Science in Autism Treatment. The full article can be found here.)

Given the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, many families may still be limited to distanced interactions with others. Generally, the guidelines reviewed thus far can be used as a blueprint for both distanced and in-person social skills sessions or playdates; however, the following summary addresses accommodations that may be necessary to maintain health and safety. Families and professionals may also consider these recommendations during the flu season or whenever they deem necessary.

1. Consider your comfort level. Now that infection rates are relatively low and restrictions are lifting across the United States and across the globe, many families feel comfortable socializing in nearly pre-pandemic fashion. However, during previous waves of the pandemic, when infection rates were high, some families created “pods” with neighbors, family members, or close friends, where all individuals within a household quarantined/safely social distanced so that typical social interaction could take place when the individuals gathered. Note that, for that to have been possible, families would have already agreed that socialization was an important part of their lives. To be sure that you are paired up with families that your child socializes with successfully, consider proactively getting involved when infection rates are low. In contrast, if risk factors are very high, you may only be comfortable holding socially distanced sessions in the form of video conferences to eliminate all risks related to COVID-19. While telehealth has been proven effective, there is a learning curve to working with this technology in meaningful ways. More on this option can be found below. The increase in vaccines being offered to children may also offer some assurance of safety, although many families are wary of vaccination in general and specifically with the latest COVID-19 vaccines. This is a personal choice, but rest assured that no matter which format you are comfortable with, your child can continue to develop their social skills with peers!

2. Teach your child to wear a mask and/or face shield. It may be necessary to include “tolerating a mask” in your list of prerequisite teaching targets. Tolerating a mask will likely open more playdate and social activity options for your child. If your child will be hindered by the inability to view another person’s face, consider investing in a face mask with a clear plastic mouth cutout, or a face shield.

3. Plan for teaching socially distanced peer interaction skills. Social distancing does not have to get in the way of teaching social and play skills. Socially distanced activities that may be incorporated into social skills sessions include arts and crafts (potential teaching targets might include giving and receiving compliments, asking and answering questions, showing and describing art), baking/cooking with separate materials, playing video games online, or playing other games that do not involve physical social interaction (e.g., charades).

4. Hold social skills sessions outside. Outdoor playdates may be a helpful strategy to allow your child to continue learning social and play skills. Scavenger hunts, playing organized sports games, or going to an activity such as the zoo are suggestions that may be useful for an outdoor playdate. Do keep in mind safety precautions when considering outdoor playdates (e.g., proactive plans for children who tend to wander, elope, or don’t recognize/respond to their name, etc.).

5. Hold virtual playdates. Using Zoom or Facetime to help your child practice peer social skills may be appropriate for some children and their families. It eliminates any COVID-19 risk, is a low investment, and allows each child to remain in the comfort of their own environment. Tele-playdates may be especially helpful if your child can only tolerate short periods of social play demands (based on his increased comfort and confidence, the length of the session can be gradually extended). Tele-social skills sessions can be especially helpful for working on fundamental conversational skills. For example, the peer could work on helping your child learn to imitate, follow simple directions, or engage in various types of conversations. Because driving is eliminated, these sessions often go uninterrupted by harsh weather (storms, snow, etc.), and can be done from virtually anywhere.

6. Educate your child on COVID-19. If appropriate, explaining the safety measures for interacting with peers may be helpful. Your child may be more willing to wear a mask, keep a safe social distance, and tolerate other safety measures if they understand why they are necessary.

While the COVID-19 pandemic may require some creative planning and execution, it does not have to prevent your child from continuing to develop their peer social and play skills.You will find a mock example of a progress monitoring sheet below that can track your child’s progress. Should constructing a social skills program feel daunting, consulting with a BCBA or another suitable professional may be helpful for planning and implementing effective playdates. However, remember, you are your child’s first teacher! Equipping yourself with the instructional skills to help your child develop social skills will bring long-term payoffs for you both. In addition, your child will be afforded opportunities to enjoy new friendships and play activities!

About the Authors:

Caitlin Reilly Lostan, PsyD, BCBA, NCSP is a NJ licensed psychologist, board certified behavior analyst, and NJ-licensed/nationally certified school psychologist. Dr. Lostan obtained her MA in psychology in education from Columbia University, and her PsyD in school psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Dr. Lostan’s dissertation focused on the components that contribute to autism awareness. She is the founder and director of Breakthrough Learning Group, a pediatric therapy practice providing ABA and psychological services for young children.   

Marcia Questel is a BCBA with a Master’s degree in Special Education (Concentration – Autism) and Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis from Long Island University. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Developmental Psychology with a focus on autism and other developmental disorders, where her passion for researching executive functioning (EF) and Theory of Mind  (ToM) began. Her journey in this field started 20 years ago while volunteering in an early intervention center. It was at that time that autism became a part of her and her family’s lives, with a family member’s diagnosis. Since then, 3 other members of her extended family have received diagnoses of autism, and she has remained dedicated to the autism community. Previously, Marcia provided 1:1 instruction, managed an autism center in New York, and taught piano to children with autism and their siblings. Marcia is currently working in private practice, providing consultation to families and school faculty, and is a Content Editor for ASAT’s monthly publication, Science in Autism Treatment. She is also the Externship Co-Coordinator for ASAT. In response to the current climate, she is conducting research regarding access to telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, engaging in telehealth and in-person services through ABAskills, LLC, and is creating supportive content for parents and professionals. Marcia is also a research assistant at the Affect Regulation and Cognition (ARC) Lab at Yale University. 

Citation for full article:

Lostan, C., & Questel, M. (2022). Clinical Corner: How can I structure playdates for success? Science in Autism Treatment, 19(5).

By: Caitlin Reilly Lostan, PsyD, BCBA, NCSP (Breakthrough Learning Group) and Marcia Questel, MSEd, BCBA (Association for Science in Autism Treatment)

The following is an excerpt from Lostan, C., & Questel, M.’s “How can I structure playdates for success?” featured in Science in Autism Treatment. The full article can be found here.)

For many children with autism, exhibiting appropriate, functional social and play skills with peers is hard. To set your child up for success during social skills teaching, here are 10 tips to help you plan accordingly. While this roadmap is applicable to any social skills program, it was written for playdates organized within the home; and individual differences will exist within programs based on your child’s strengths and needs, as well as any restrictions necessary due to the COVID-19 pandemic (which is addressed more later in this article).

1.Identify target social skills. The best way to identify what to teach is to collect “baseline” information: observe your child’s social behavior with adults, peers, and toys/games under typical conditions (e.g., outside with a peer, using Facetime with a peer, playing at home with a sibling, participating in an organized community activity, etc.). What activities will your child enjoy most during a playdate? Can you think of very small next goals for them? For example, if they can say “Hi,” and often do respond to that opening greeting, can they add “Let’s play” while beginning a game on their iPad? If they hand over the iPad when someone says, “My turn,” can they wait while the person plays? For how long? Can they learn “My turn” before taking the game back? Be sure that you understand what is developmentally appropriate and that you have individualized expectations for your child (Chang & Shire, 2019).

Create a list of things that your child often does on their own, followed by a potential list of “target skills” for teaching, such that simpler skills are to be taught first (e.g., greetings, staying near peers, passing a ball back and forth a small number of times). Then, once simpler social skills are mastered, more complex social skills (Barton et al., 2019) can be addressed (e.g., turn-taking, adding more social phrases, engaging in loosely structured play, playing a game). Additionally, taking note of activities that your child will enjoy most during a playdate will help create motivation and a positive attitude toward peer play. To develop strategies to teach these smaller steps and build momentum, consult with your BCBA if possible. Again, this person can be found through the BACB website, or there may be certified professionals available to provide ABA parent training through your school district.

At this point, your focus is on identifying a professional who can provide you with teaching strategies of your own (parent training), recognizing the strengths and preferences of your child, and taking small steps towards increasing their practice of skills close to what they can already do. Your BCBA, or professional consultant, can help you to identify which targets are developmentally appropriate, what prerequisite skills are needed for the target skills you hope to teach, and strategies for teaching those skills.

2. Teach skills with an adult first. Ensure that your child has opportunities to gain experience with target social skills before playdates to set everyone up for success. It is often beneficial to teach a skill first with an adult, as an adult is more likely to respond to your child reliably and favorably when they are displaying target responses that a peer might otherwise miss. An informed adult is acutely aware of what the child is working towards, and what behaviors to reinforce. For example, if one parent is teaching a child to play a game with the other parent, one adult acts as the facilitator and the other as the peer. The “teaching” parent will provide prompts and reinforcement, and the “peer” parent will behave as a child ideally would. Further, you can help your child to maintain and generalize learned skills by having him practice the skills with other people. Helping your child become fluent in these foundational social skills will help him feel more comfortable and confident, minimize frustration, and will allow you to focus on teaching advanced social and play skills more efficiently during live social skills sessions with peers. It also increases the likelihood that a successful playdate with be a reinforcing event for your child and may lead to their increased desire to play with peers.

3. Select peers carefully. Identifying a peer for social skills sessions is paramount to the success of your social skills program. Effective social skills peers are enthusiastic, responsive, and understanding. That is, they initiate opportunities for your child to respond, they reliably respond to your child in a favorable way, and they exhibit patience as your child practices socializing. A peer’s response should serve as reinforcement for your child’s response, so it is important that they reliably respond to help your child learn the positive consequences of social interaction.

To find suitable peers, ask your child’s teacher or other school staff for children that your child gets along with; ask the parents of other neighborhood children; or search among a support group online. You may be surprised to find parents looking for peers right in your neighborhood through Facebook groups! Make your needs specific and clear (e.g., playdates will be a few times per week/ month, the peer will need to read from a script, etc.), particularly if health concerns are in play at the time (e.g., both children will wear masks, sessions will be via Skype from time to time, etc.). Some considerations you may have are finding peers with similar interests; finding peers who have exceptional social/empathic skills (they can wait patiently, don’t mind compromising, etc.); and those who have parents who understand and accept neurodiversity.

Set a schedule to ensure consistent opportunities for learning. For younger children, it may be more appropriate to refer to these sessions as playdates (as we have throughout), but be clear and honest to the peer about his or her responsibilities (e.g., that they must follow the playdate activity list; that they must wait for their peer to respond to any social initiations as it might take a little longer; that their job is to help a friend practice talking; or that they get to earn a prize at the end for helping their friend practice). Remember that the structure for social skills sessions will look quite different across both learners and peers depending on the unique abilities, needs, personalities, and preferences of both participants. Some children may need more practice to learn to play the games that your child is already good at; others may start off seeming apprehensive; or some may not feel sure of what they are expected to do. Try to be patient and provide several opportunities for the peer to warm up, feel comfortable, and practice the expected responses before moving on to someone new. While this may take time, remember that this peer may grow to become a wonderful part of your home-based efforts.

4. Use evidence-based methods. Once you have identified teaching targets and potential peers for playdates, it is time to really get started! As exciting as this is, it is important to guide these social skills sessions by using evidence-based methods, choosing and measuring appropriate goals, individualizing those goals, and learning to teach them. Depending on the structure of your session and your child’s needs, these methods may take different forms, but generally should include the use of motivational systems (like token boards) and the use of systematically faded prompts to foster independence (e.g., removing your verbal prompt of “Hi” when your child sees his peer, as he is reliably saying “Hi” each time you use this prompt). Evidence-based methods also call for the collection of objective data to monitor progress (more on that below). If any of this sounds confusing or overwhelming, consult with your BCBA as you plan; ask for help from school staff; or find videos (such as Playdates: Real Life Tips for Kids with Autism or How to Plan a Successful Playdate for Your Child with Autism) of others using these techniques to bolster your skill set and help increase the effectiveness of your playdate program. Additional resources have been provided at the end of this article to support your program development

5. Ease into demands. Take care to ensure the social skills session is a positive experience; neither you, the peer, nor your child should feel overwhelmed with the plan. Working on a few goals effectively is better than attempting to conquer an overwhelming list of too many targets. When starting out, keep sessions very short and consider prompting more heavily for their success, so that your child gains confidence and comfort with his peers. Keep the rate of reinforcement very high in the beginning, and as your child and the peer demonstrate increased comfort and success, you can stretch out the requirements necessary for earning those intermittent rewards. Make every effort to end the session on a high note (e.g., a highly preferred activity for both the peer and your child, a video game, a make-your-own sundae activity).

6. Maximize motivation through preferred activities. Motivation is essential for keeping both children engaged, and for maximizing your child’s learning. Your child will be more likely to ask his friend to play a game if he enjoys it. Taking turns in selecting activities or using a choice schedule of activities may help keep both children motivated to participate. If motivation is lacking, think of ways you might increase it by modifying session activities or implementing a reward system. Remember: have fun! It is important that joy is evident (smiles, laughter, silliness, or that the children are calm and engaged). If it is not, something should change. Stick to your plans and schedule but take opportunities to change things up if something is not working. If you planned a game of tag that is not working out, feel free to say “You know what? This isn’t super fun, is it? Let’s move on to the next thing in the schedule.” If the children agree, move on. But beware, you do not want to overdo this as it will degrade the worth of having the schedule in the first place. Instead of skipping an activity, try making it shorter, finding a silly way to get to the end faster, or pairing it with something fun or even a tasty treat alongside it.

7. Try using a reward system. Reward systems can take on many different forms (token boards, sticker charts, points), so consider what has motivated your child in the past. You might use small pieces of a favorite snack alongside tokens; provide access to a favorite toy; or use a token board where your child is given stickers for desired behavior. You may even have a group reward system where both children earn rewards for social interactions and prosocial behaviors, such as sharing, turn-taking, complimenting, waiting, etc. It is best to save these special snacks or other rewards for playdates only, as this will likely make your child more eager to earn them. Children do not always have to earn a specific thing; they could just earn a break. Locating a place to take a break on their own, or doing an isolated activity for a few moments, decompressing, breathing, etc., may be helpful. In the early stages, the effort needed to learn new skills may not be inherently rewarding, so the hope is that a reward system will maximize motivation and cooperation for your child and their play partner.

8. Provide effective prompting and support for ultimate independence: Prompt fading, reducing rewards, and considering using schedules. You and your BCBA, consulting professional, or certified school staff may decide that your child may require significant prompting initially, so think about how you can fade that assistance as your child’s skills improve. When your child demonstrates a target skill, provide a reward and praise for what was done correctly. As your child demonstrates these skills reliably with a certain level of help, you should fade your assistance until the child is ultimately independent. Similarly, as the child exhibits a skill with more ease, decrease how often that skill results in a reward. Eventually, the goal is for your child’s behavior to be rewarded by playing and talking with his friend, rather than your delivery of contrived rewards and praise.

Structure will help a social skills session move along efficiently and successfully. It also helps both children anticipate what will be happening and when, in what order. Therefore, it may be worthwhile to make a picture or textual schedule of activities to follow (Hampshire & Hourcade, 2014). You may also embed textual prompts for verbal exchanges in this schedule of activities or create a full script for your child to practice interacting with a peer. As your child learns, you can gradually fade out the schedule so that the social interactions become more natural.

9. Develop a plan for managing problematic behavior. If your child exhibits behaviors that may interfere with a successful social skills session, plan for how to manage these moments and be sure to follow through. This plan may be one that you are carrying over from what school staff do during the school day (a Behavior Intervention Plan, or BIP). It is important that this is discussed with your team, consultant, your spouse or partner, and any other members of your family that may take part. Your plan may include preventative strategies, such as limiting the duration of the playdate, using visual supports (e.g., the schedules described above), providing breaks, providing frequent rewards, or minimizing activities that are a source of frustration. Consistent consequences are essential to decrease disruptive behaviors and to help your child successfully relate to his peers

10. Collect data to monitor progress. Taking data on your child’s target skills (those identified earlier in this process) during social skills sessions is essential to monitoring progress (Barton & Pavilanis, 2012). This process will help you set goals, monitor changes objectively, and alter your teaching methods if progress has stalled or declined. For example, if your child is not saying “Hi” to his peer after teaching this during several playdates, you may need to increase motivation; increase your level of assistance (such as providing a verbal model of the greeting); or consult with a BCBA for other suggestions.

The following is a mock example of a basic data sheet that can be created to track your child’s progress during each social skills session. The skills that you teach and the data you collect will vary depending upon your child’s individual needs and abilities.

About the Authors:

Caitlin Reilly Lostan, PsyD, BCBA, NCSP is a NJ licensed psychologist, board certified behavior analyst, and NJ-licensed/nationally certified school psychologist. Dr. Lostan obtained her MA in psychology in education from Columbia University, and her PsyD in school psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Dr. Lostan’s dissertation focused on the components that contribute to autism awareness. She is the founder and director of Breakthrough Learning Group, a pediatric therapy practice providing ABA and psychological services for young children.   

Marcia Questel is a BCBA with a Master’s degree in Special Education (Concentration – Autism) and Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis from Long Island University. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Developmental Psychology with a focus on autism and other developmental disorders, where her passion for researching executive functioning (EF) and Theory of Mind  (ToM) began. Her journey in this field started 20 years ago while volunteering in an early intervention center. It was at that time that autism became a part of her and her family’s lives, with a family member’s diagnosis. Since then, 3 other members of her extended family have received diagnoses of autism, and she has remained dedicated to the autism community. Previously, Marcia provided 1:1 instruction, managed an autism center in New York, and taught piano to children with autism and their siblings. Marcia is currently working in private practice, providing consultation to families and school faculty, and is a Content Editor for ASAT’s monthly publication, Science in Autism Treatment. She is also the Externship Co-Coordinator for ASAT. In response to the current climate, she is conducting research regarding access to telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, engaging in telehealth and in-person services through ABAskills, LLC, and is creating supportive content for parents and professionals. Marcia is also a research assistant at the Affect Regulation and Cognition (ARC) Lab at Yale University. 

References

Barton, E. E. (2015). Teaching generalized pretend play and relation behavior to your children with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 81(4), 489-506.

Barton, E. E., Gossett, S., Waters, M. C., Murray, R., & Francis, R. (2019). Increasing play complexity in a young child with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 34(2), 81-90.

Barton, E. E., & Pavilanis, R. (2012). Teaching pretend play to young children with autism. Young Exceptional Children, 15(1), 5-17.

Blackman, A. L., Jimenez-Gomez, C., & Shvarts, S. (2020). Comparison of the efficacy of online versus in-vivo behavior analytic training for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 20(1), 13–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/bar0000163

Chang, Y. C., & Shire, S. (2019). Promoting play in early childhood programs for children with ASD: Strategies for educators and practitioners. Teaching Exceptional Children, 52(2), 66-76.

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Citation for this article:

Lostan, C., & Questel, M. (2022). Clinical Corner: How can I structure playdates for success? Science in Autism Treatment, 19(5).

By Jen Knott, BS Recreation Therapy

Swimming is a whole-body skill and oftentimes challenging for individuals with autism to master. It requires the use of your arms, legs, core, breathing, spatial awareness, sensory regulation, as well as strength, endurance, motor planning and coordination.

When designing swim lessons for swimmers with autism, working on all the skills listed above via structured activities allows the swimmer to enhance their brain/body connection in many different movements. This approach assists in skill mastery at a faster rate. Specifically, it allows the individual to practice motor planning and strengthening skills such as crossing midline, coordinating arms and legs at the same time, and using arms in a reciprocal motion.

The more individualized, creative, and motivating you can make the activity, the better! Below are some specific actions that can be taken to help acclimate your autistic learner to the basics of swimming!

For example, floating in supine position (on your back) is an essential safety skill that all swimmers should learn. There are many creative ideas to work on this skill, and some can even be done at home! Laying on your back can be an unpreferred skill at home and while sleeping due to the changes in the position in the inner ear. Floating can feel very different to swimmers with autism and they often demonstrate a resistance to the position. Taking small steps in a variety of settings to introduce this skill is key.

These techniques can also be used for submerging under water and floating in prone (on your stomach) position, taking it slow, using motivating items to look for under the water, slowly introducing water to body parts, singing songs or counting, providing tactile support and fading it out when the swimmer is ready. Other activity ideas to complete in the water to develop and practice planning and strengthening skills would be jumping jacks, toe touches, jumping and splashing at same time, swinging a tennis racket or barbell across midline under water, reaching across body or reciprocally overhead for items, and pushing barbells reciprocally. Providing adaptations, creativity, and flexibility is key in all swim sessions for success. Using motivating items, playing games, providing a picture schedule, video modeling, accommodating for any sensory needs, and making the skills fun can help your swimmer succeed with even the most challenging swim skills! 

Jen Knott, CTRS (Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist)

Jennifer is a graduate of Kent State University with a degree in Leisure Studies, with a concentration in Recreation Therapy and a minor in Psychology. Jennifer began Rec2Connect in 2009 with 2 clients. She launched the Rec2Connect Foundation in 2014. Her previous experience includes: Classroom Behavior Therapist at Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism, Job coach at Goodwill Industries, Volunteer in Aquatic Therapy at Hattie Larlham in the Physical Therapy Department and Recreation Therapist at the Cleveland Clinic.

By: Michelle Zeman, MA, BCBA

Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) often work with the Autistic community. However, you may not often run into an Autistic BCBA. There are Autistic BCBAs who support and have a career in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), and as one I would like to share my perspective.

This field gets a bad reputation for many reasons. It’s claimed that ABA “masks Autistic behaviors” as well as “teaches children to be robots”. I hate the reputation that proceeds today’s ABA; however, if you look back at how ABA was conducted in the 1960s, there’s enough rationale to support.  We must condemn the actions of rigid and uncompromising ABA while changing current stands, as I attempt to do in my practice. Therefore, my perception of ABA is taken into 3 points: (1) using a trauma-informed lens, (2) actively listening and validating our clients, (3) individualizing care.

1. When we use a trauma-informed lens, it means that we are not just looking at behaviors from the 4 functions. Rather, we look at behaviors that happened because of traumatic experiences. In my own life, I got into a car accident when I was 16 years old. I was already semi-emotional, and I was driving in the rain (it was sprinkling). I was turning left at a green light and overcorrected, thus hitting another car. I was so traumatized by the experience that I couldn’t stand the thought of going behind the wheel for 4 years. What motivated me to get behind the wheel again was the fact that I was sick and tired of my mom and my friends having to drive me around. If anyone would have forced me to comply by making me drive from place to place, there’s a not insignificant  chance that another car accident would take place. Likewise, when we force clients to attempt things they are not ready for, we risk traumatizing them.
2. Active listening and validating our clients, as well as their caregivers, is vital in this field. Practitioners are not always right (even Autistic ones!), and we must approach in situation with humility and compassion. RBTs implement ABA therapy at their full ABA therapy hours. BCBAs go out anywhere between 5 and 20% of an RBT’s direct therapy hours per month. Then, we have our caregivers, who are with the client when we are not. When emphasizing compliance over collaboration, active listening and validation is thrown to the wayside. We have many elements that we must consider when implementing services, such as trauma, culture, environment, and feasibility of interventions. If we run into issues, we accommodate while doing our due diligence.
3. Perhaps the third point is the most important – individualizing care. When I was a Clinical Director, I was strict when report reviews. However, I was strict because I wanted to make my analysts place themselves in their client’s shoes. For instance, I have seen vocal and motor stereotypy in several reports with a function of automatic reinforcement. Granted, each of these behaviors are different across each client we work with, but I still ask for rationale for how these behaviors are socially significant to reduce. If I notice the rationale does not fit the criteria, I will say “remove this behavior as it is not socially significant, does not impede the client’s ability to access contingencies, and it is not harmful to themselves or others”. I’ve also had clients ask me to write in specific goals they want to work on in their treatment plans too – for instance, I had a client who told me “Michelle, I want to work on becoming organized.” I wrote in a goal that fit the medical necessity model, but also targeted what the client wanted to work on.

These 3 areas have shaped me into the BCBA that I strive to be. Though I am one Autistic human being, I strive to ensure that I can be a compassionate practitioner. That’s what our clients deserve.

About the Author:

Michelle Zeman, MA, BCBA is an Autistic Board Certified Behavior Analyst based out of Orlando, FL. She has been in the field since 2013, and a BCBA since 2016. She has worked with Autistic clients between ages 2-17, providing client-centered, trauma-informed, and compassionate care to all families. Michelle has worked in-home, in school, in center, and in the community with clients to help achieve her clients’ goals. In her free time, Michelle likes to spend time with her two pugs (Milo and George), ride rollercoasters, go to drag shows, and binge watch RuPaul’s Drag Race.

By: Tameika Meadows, BCBA from I Love ABA

Impairments in social communication are a key deficit of Autism, and can be seen across the varying range of the spectrum.

Social communication is a big word that can include many difficulties, such as making friends, maintaining friendships, being appropriate near peers, sharing or turntaking, empathy or perspective taking, initiating peer play, joining ongoing peer play, responding to peers, self-advocacy, conflict-resolution, getting AND keeping a job, etc. 
When clinicians throw around the term “social skills”, we are really talking about a lottttt of skills!

Some people have the mistaken belief that ABA therapy only focuses on 1:1 instruction, and therefore isn’t appropriate to target peer social interaction. Nope, not true.
ABA therapy can absolutely include targeted social skills instruction. Depending on the age of the learner and their specific social deficits, that will impact how social goals are assessed and selected. 

Parents of very young children usually want to work on: sharing, playing with peers instead of isolating, playing with toys instead of hoarding toys, reducing aggression towards peers, etc.

Parents of teens or young adults usually want to work on: initiating conversation, increasing MLU (jargon translation= you want your child to use more than 1-2 words to make a statement or answer a question), buying items in the community, talking to community helpers (e.g. a police officer), going on job interviews, assertiveness, dating, etc.

There are also many ABA programs that offer formal social skill groups to families, where learners are grouped together based on interests, abilities, age, or other factors, to participate in games and activities as a group. But the games are far more than just “games”, they are actually carefully designed to target specific social skill deficits. If you are already receiving ABA therapy services, ask if your child can participate in a social group with other clients.

Behavior Analysis has many empirically validated strategies to add to the social skills conversation, and also (depending on the funding source) the ABA provider can target social skills in a group format, at school, or out in the community, to ensure proper generalization. For example:

*Resources:

Mission Cognition
Crafting Connections (I love this book!)
Social Skills Training for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Otero, Tiffany L. et al. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, Volume 24, Issue 1, 99 – 115
A Review of Peer-Mediated Social Interaction Interventions for Students with Autism in Inclusive Settings, Watkins, L., O’Reilly, M., Kuhn, M. et al. J Autism Dev Disord (2015) 45: 1070
Making & Keeping Friends
Baker, J.E. (2004). Social Skills Training: For Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Social-Communication Problems. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Co.

About The Author: Tameika Meadows, BCBA

“I’ve been providing ABA therapy services to young children with Autism since early 2003. My career in ABA began when I stumbled upon a flyer on my college campus for what I assumed was a babysitting job. The job turned out to be an entry level ABA therapy position working with an adorable little boy with Autism. This would prove to be the unplanned beginning of a passionate career for me.

From those early days in the field, I am now an author, blogger, Consultant/Supervisor, and I regularly lead intensive training sessions for ABA staff and parents. If you are interested in my consultation services, or just have questions about the blog: contact me here.”

This piece originally appeared at www.iloveaba.com.