| Children with Autism usually display a severe | | | | children with Autism and role play or video taped |
| socialisation deficit. This means that they lack social | | | | scenarios are good tools for teaching these skills. |
| skills and the ability to interact appropriately with others | | | | Children can be involved in a guided discussion about |
| on all social levels. | | | | what worked and what didn't when trying to be |
| Children with Autism usually fail to develop social | | | | included or make a friend. |
| empathy or Theory of Mind - that is they don't see | | | | While children with Autism are thought to lack empathy |
| anyone else's point of view and they can't guess what | | | | towards others, this doesn't mean that they lack |
| you might be thinking. E.g. if you kick your toe and start | | | | feelings of their own. They seem to know when they |
| to cry, they won't understand why you're crying. | | | | make a social "faux pas" but don't have the social or |
| At times they might appear rude because of their | | | | emotional ability or the communication skills to repair |
| inability to use the more subtle aspects of social | | | | the situation. Often they'll retreat, hide or meltdown to |
| interaction. We must remember though that for | | | | cover their anxiety over making such a social mistake. |
| children with Autism social interaction is a cognitive | | | | If your child with Autism displays:- |
| process, rather than being intuitive as it is for the rest | | | | Inappropriate behaviour choices with unfamiliar |
| of us. | | | | people |
| However this doesn't mean that children with Autism | | | | Rude/inappropriate language |
| lack the desire to have friends or be included socially. | | | | Difficulty taking turns |
| They do, they usually just don't know how to go about | | | | Aggression in an attempt to be social |
| making friends or being included. Often children with | | | | Being on the "fringe" of activities |
| Autism can be observed on the "fringe" of social | | | | Confusion with social "rules"then direct coaching of |
| activities - observing the interactions/play but not | | | | social skills and social play may need to be taught. |
| physically or verbally joining in. | | | | Start with one simple concept and slowly build their |
| These friendship skills need to be directly taught to | | | | social "vocabulary". |