Tag Archives: safety skills

5 Tips on Teaching Safety Skills to Children with Autism

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By Sarah Kupferschmidt, MA, BCBA. Reposted from the Different Roads Archives

I am passionate about empowering children with special needs and their families with skills and knowledge that they can use to improve their quality of life. This is why I am super excited to be sharing tips and strategies that relate to keeping your child with autism safe on the street. Learning to navigate the real world involves a lot of complex skills that we sometimes take for granted. For example, learning to determine when it is safe to cross the street requires the ability to attend to your environment, the ability to identify moving cars from cars that are still, the ability to identify the signal at the cross walk that lets you know it is safe to cross, among many, many, more. In some cases even more advanced problem solving is required because if the sign says it is safe to cross and a motorist continues through the intersection we need to be able to identify the moving car is approaching and that we need to wait for it to pass before crossing the street. So where do we begin?

Tip #1: The Learner is Never Wrong

I love the saying “the learner is never wrong” because of what it implies. Whenever considering teaching a new skill to a child or student we need to focus on that unique child’s strengths and weaknesses. Where do we need to boost up their skills and what do they already know so that we can capitalize on those strengths. Before going out to teach your child with autism how to cross the street safely, they should have some imitation skills, be able to respond to instructions and attend to you or a teacher amidst a lot of distractions (e.g., cars, background noise and pedestrians, just to name a few). Once you have determined they are ready to learn this important skill you would want to use things that are of interest to them and that you know align with their learning style. For example, are they a visual learner and if so, how can you incorporate visuals to maximize their learning potential in how you go out and practice crossing the street safely?

Tip #2: Simplify the Complex Skills

As mentioned earlier in the post, many of the skills that we use actually have many components, something we take for granted. In this case, teaching how to cross the street might involve the following steps:

  1. Stop at the curb/crosswalk
  2. Look at the crosswalk signal
  3. Decide if it is safe to cross (e.g., does it say ‘walk,’ or does it say ‘stop’)
  4. If the sign says walk, then look both ways
  5. Decide if it is safe (e.g., is there a car moving or not)
  6. Walk safely across the street (e.g., this means walking not running, perhaps holding your hand)

It is important to remember that these steps are just an example of what you might teach. You would individualize this based on the environment in which you live (e.g., if there is a crosswalk sign or crossing guard, or not) and the expectations you have as a family (e.g., to hold the hand or not). Teach this using tools that you know are effective with your unique child. For example, you may decide to print out a visual depiction for each of the steps and show them as you talk about it and practice. This depends on your child’s unique learning style. As with every skill that that we teach, it is never enough to just tell someone or show someone how to do it. We need to actually go out and practice.

Tip #3: Practice, Practice, Practice

Use every opportunity that you have to go out and practice this very important skill. I would also recommend that you set up specific times to go out and practice. You can use the visuals that you printed and go through each of the steps while you are out. If you notice that your child is struggling on a particular step, then practice that particular step at home even more. For example, if your child is not identifying the walk signal when you are out on the street, set up times to go over that at home.

Tip #4: Monitor Progress

In order to see how your child is doing on each of the steps it is a good idea to record how they do on each of the steps. You might print off a checklist with each of the steps that looks something like this:

Street Safety Chart

You would calculate the number of times you recorded a Y over the total number of steps (e.g., in this case 6). For example, if I worked on this with my child and he did all of the steps he would get a 6/6. If he missed a step his overall score would be 5/6 or 83%. This score can then be used to monitor progress. I would also suggest that anytime you go out and practice you highlight whichever step(s) that they missed, if any. This will allow you to see if you need to work on something a little bit more before you go out and practice.

Tip #5: Notice the Good Stuff

Feedback is critical when you are teaching a new skill. Otherwise how is your child going to know how they are doing? This means that when they get it right we need to notice it and we need to be specific about what it is they did well. You can even use the visuals if you have them. You might say something like “I love the way you followed all of the steps of what to do when crossing the street safely! You stopped at the curb, looked at the signal…etc.” You may point to the visual as you tell them. If they missed a step remind them that next time they should try to remember what it is that they missed. Anytime they do one of the steps spontaneously, point it out to them and give lots of praise. Over time we can fade the praise out but it is really important when teaching a new skill, especially at the beginning.

About the Author

Sarah Kupferschmidt, MA, BCBA, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who has worked with hundreds of children with autism and their families across Ontario. She has had the privilege of supervising ABA programs and training clinical staff in those programs.  Currently Sarah offers parent coaching and workshops to teach parents but also educators on the most effective ways to teach children using the principles of ABA.  She is also a part-time faculty member at Mohawk College in the Autism Behavioral Science program, in the social sciences program at McMaster University, and an Adjunct Professor at Sage Graduate School. Sarah has appeared as a guest on CP24, CHCH news, Hamilton Life and the Scott Thompson radio show as an authority on autism.

Teaching Safety Skills to Adolescents

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This month’s ASAT feature comes to us from Shannon Wilkinson, M.ADS, BCBA. To learn more about ASAT, please visit their website at www.asatonline.org. You can also sign up for ASAT’s free newsletter, Science in Autism Treatment, and like them on Facebook!

I am a Special Education Teacher at the high school level. A young man with autism is transitioning to my caseload from our middle school. Although there is much talk about “safety skills” amongst my colleagues, I would like to target this skill area effectively and comprehensively. Any suggestions?

Safety skills are important for learners with autism and should be addressed comprehensively over the course of the learner’s schooling and across the lifespan. The type of safety skills taught at any given time will vary depending on the learner’s age and functioning level. For example, younger learners can be taught to walk appropriately with an adult so they do not run into the street while older learners can be taught to cross the street independently. Regardless of age, safety skills should be included on the learner’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and reflect the goals of the individual and their families. In addition, data collection on the targeted skills is essential to ensure the learner is acquiring the skill and that the skill maintains over time.

An effective method to teach safety skills is Behavioral Skills Training (BST). BST is a comprehensive teaching method which includes delivering instructions to the learner, modeling the correct response, rehearsing the correct response in both pretend and more naturalistic environments, and delivering feedback to the participant regarding their actions. If the learner is having difficulty acquiring the skill, an additional teaching component known as In Situ Training (IST) can be added. In IST, the trainer provides immediate and direct training in the learner’s environment and allows for additional practice of the skill. Within the literature, BST and IST have been shown to be effective for teaching a wide range of safety skills such as abduction prevention skills (Beck & Miltenberger, 2009; Gunby, Carr & LeBlanc, 2010; Johnson et al., 2006) and how to seek assistance when lost (Pan-Skadden et al., 2009).

There are a number of safety skills that that could be targeted for an adolescent with autism. Targeting those that also increase independence should be a priority if appropriate, based on the adolescent’s level of functioning. Teaching him to use a cell phone is one such skill, as it can be used to improve his safety and overall independence (Hoch, Taylor, & Rodriguez, 2009; Taber, Alberto, Seltzer & Hughes, 2003). First, you will want to ensure the learner has the basic skills associated with cell phone use including: answering the phone, following directions on the phone, answering questions on the phone and negotiating all of the mechanisms associated with initiating a call. Once these basic skills are mastered, specific safety skills involving the phone can be taught. For example, a learner can be taught to answer his cell phone and provide a description of his location in the event he is separated from his caregiver or group. He could also be taught to follow instructions to seek assistance from a community member if lost (Hoch, Taylor, & Rodriguez, 2009; Taylor, Hughes, Richard, Hoch & Coello, 2004) or to call a trusted adult.

A major safety concern for most parents is abduction. Although abduction may be more likely with a young child, adolescents with autism should still be taught to identify “safe people” such as police officers, fire fighters and security guards, in the community. Many learners with autism are not able to distinguish safe or familiar people from unsafe or unfamiliar people. As a result, they cannot determine whom they can speak to or make a request for help. Learners can first learn to identify safe people, such as those noted above, in pictures. Once they can reliably do so, they should be taught what to do if a stranger approaches them. Multiple scenarios should be practiced so the learner becomes familiar with potential lures such as a stranger offering candy to get in a car or telling the student that his mom told the stranger to pick him up. Behavioral skills training and In Situ Training may be beneficial in teaching these skills (Beck & Miltenberger, 2009; Gunby, Carr & Leblanc, 2010; Mechling, 2008). In this scenario, the learner would first be provided instructions on what to do in each stranger situation. The learner should then model the correct response. If he does so successfully, a mock scenario can then be set up whereby a confederate approaches the learner and the learner has the opportunity to demonstrate the skills he has learned (i.e., do not go with the stranger, run away and tell an adult). If the learner performs the correct actions, he receives praise. If the learner does not demonstrate the correct response, the instructor immediately provides him with additional training.

Additional safety skills to target could include:

  • navigating and using community resources appropriately and independently;
  • exiting a car and crossing a parking lot or busy street safely;
  • responding appropriately in emergency situations such as a fire or earthquake;
  • addressing potential household hazards such as responding safely to cleaning chemicals, using appliances properly, or answering the doorbell when it rings;
  • identifying a need to dial 911;
  • using basic first aid procedures;
  • interacting appropriately with pets and other animals;
  • using the internet safely; and
  • managing teasing and bullying

 

There are many others that can be addressed based on the learner, his individualized goals and his future educational, vocational and residential placements. Involving the learner’s parents in the planning process will help you to identify which safety skills are most important and relevant for the individual to learn, particularly if the parents have specific concerns or if there has been a history of unsafe behavior. Finally, as you go through this program planning process, it’s helpful to keep in mind that the essential goal in teaching these skills is to promote greater independence by ensuring the learner has the tools he needs to be safe and to protect himself in his environment.

References

Beck, K. V., & Miltenberger, R. (2009). Evaluation of a commercially available program and in situ training by parents to teach abduction-prevention skills to children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42, 761-772.

Gunby, K. V., Carr, J. E., & Leblanc, L. A. (2010). Teaching abduction-prevention skills to children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 43, 107-112.

Hoch, H., Taylor, B. A., & Rodriguez, A. (2009). Teaching teenagers with autism to answer cell phones and seek assistance when lost. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2, 14-20.

Mechling, L. C. (2008). Thirty year review of safety skill instruction for persons with intellectual disabilities. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 43, 311-323.

Pan-Skadden, J., Wilder, D. A., Sparling, J., Stevenson, E., Donaldson, J., Postma, N., et al.(2009). The use of behavioral skills training and in-situ training to teach children to solicit help when lost: A preliminary investigation. Education and Treatment of Children, 32, 359-370.

Taber, T. A., Alberto, P. A., Seltzer, A., & Hughes, M. (2003). Obtaining assistance when lost in the community using cell phones. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 28, 105-116.

Taylor, B. A., Hughes, C. E., Richard, E., Hoch, H., & Rodriquez-Coello, A. (2004). Teaching teenagers with autism to seek assistance when lost. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 37, 79-82.

About The Author 

Shannon Wilkinson, M.ADS, BCBA is a Supervising Therapist with TRE-ADD program at Surrey Place Centre in Toronto, which is a comprehensive day treatment program that provides services for children and youth with autism and related developmental disorders and their families. Shannon has worked in the field of autism for 13 years, starting as an Instructor Therapist. She is particularly passionate about working with adolescents and has taught many vocational and life skills over the years. Shannon has a Masters in Applied Disability Studies from Brock University and is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst.