JACKSON — Learning social skills is the master key to success for children with autism spectrum disorder, according to the clinical director of Autism New Jersey.
“Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is truly a public health concern and a complex issue,” said Dr. Suzanne Buchanan, speaking at the Jackson Branch of the Ocean County Library April 17 on behalf of Autism New Jersey, a nonprofit agency that provides information, advocacy and various services.
“Across the country, one in 150 children have autism [according to a 2007 report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control] and in New Jersey that figure is one out of 94 children [today],” she said.
Buchanan said autism is inherently a social disability but is often viewed as a puzzle or a mysterious disorder. It is primarily a disorder of how people perceive different actions and how they act in social situations.
There are other related characteristics, but the social deficits are the most recognizable, she said.
Those with autism can have logical reasoning and verbal skills but they may not know how to act or carry on a conversation.
“We know within a few seconds of meeting someone if we want to continue the conversation and if we like this person in some way,” Buchanan said. “It’s very complex.”
Areas that are predictors of success include good early-communications skills.
“Social skills have to be systematically planned and explicitly taught to individuals with ASD,” Buchanan said. “We can’t assume that an idea is being learned.”
Skills may not be picked up through observation like typically developing peers may be able to do. Individuals with autism have a difficult time understanding social rules, she noted.
Parents and teachers need to promote social skills throughout the day during recess, lunch, play dates and family games. These are important opportunities and need to be facilitated, Buchanan said.
In a PowerPoint presentation, a list of play skills was noted, including asking someone to play, joining others to play, sharing, playing the game, and dealing with winning and losing.
During the presentation, Buchanan pointed out various levels of socialization in play, citing Weiss and Harris, 2001.
These are solitary play, where a child plays by himself or herself; parallel play, where a child plays near another child, may show interest or may occasionally exchange toys, but is not really interactive; associative play, where several children are engaged in the same play and interact; and cooperative play, where children work together toward a common goal or share a fantasy theme that requires a give-and-take to build the scenario.
Buchanan listed some of the social skills to be learned: saying hello and goodbye, starting a conversation, joining in a conversation, maintaining a topic of conversation, asking questions, and understanding slang and figurative expressions, such as it’s raining cats and dogs.
Other areas and topics covered in the presentation included: appropriate social behaviors, expressing frustration, waiting appropriately, proximity to others, eye contact and body language.
It was also noted that children with autism must also learn assertiveness because they may be victims of bullying if they don’t learn to respond assertively.
Buchanan said children with ASD do not necessarily understand why something is happening.
“Autism is a social deficit, and one of the biggest challenges is to find ways to motivate kids to be interested in social action,” she said.
For further information call the Autism New Jersey helpline at 1-800-4AUTISM or go to www.autismnj.org.
Autism New Jersey provides professional development workshops, free parent training, an annual conference (next one will be Oct. 7-9 in Atlantic City), referral lists of service providers, parent support groups, a sibling pen-pal program, and advocacy at the state-government level.
Dr. Buchanan may be reached at 609- 588-8200, ext. 42, or email her at [email protected].