Effective Leadership Skills Intervention Designed Improve Social Behavior

Autism is a developmental disorder, which is characterized by a dyad of difficulties in a) communication and social interaction and b) restricted interests and imagination (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might find it challenging to understand what other people think or what the reasons for their behaviours are, as their ‘theory of mind’ may not be well developed (Schuwerk, Vuori & Sodian, 2015). It is possible that this is why they might behave in socially inappropriate ways, being unable to differentiate between different contexts, while they might also find it difficult to make friends. Moreover, it is likely that they are fond of routines, repetition and structure (Carnahan, Musti-Rao, & Bailey, 2009), as they might be nervous with unknown, new situations. In addition, some of them might not do eye contact with other people, whereas some others might not endure to be touched and might have a difficulty developing speech (Jordan, 2005). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might sometimes be prohibited to initiate conversations and might struggle with finding different ways to play and behave, due to the possible deficit of imagination, which in some cases might result in them having a narrow sphere of interests. Nevertheless, it should be noted that this group of people is rather heterogeneous, as characteristics of autism may differ from one individual to another (Gwynette, 2013). Another point is that people with Autism

Socialization deficits are a major source of impairment regardless of cognitive or language ability for individuals with ASD. Furthermore, social skill deficits do not remit with development. Indeed, impairment and distress may increase as children approach adolescence because the social milieu becomes more complex and the child becomes more aware of their social disability” (White, 2006, p. 1858) As Dr. White mentioned social deficiency is not a situation that goes away with age and can have lifelong effects if not addressed by an intervention to help the child to learn acceptable and expected social behavior. These social impairments manifest themselves in many varying ways and degrees such as “speech, linguistic conventions and interpersonal interaction.” (White, 2006, p. 1858) Problematic areas include impairments in turn-taking in conversation and the ability to understand other’s perspective, proper use of pitch and inflection in their speech, obsessively dwelling on certain topics, difficulty in expressing and understanding emotions, and difficulty with nonliteral language uses such as metaphor and sarcasm. These impairments make communication with others difficult and uncomfortable for the ASD child and can cause a cascading effect, causing them to withdrawal from social situation out of frustration with their inability and embarrassment, or cause peers to distance themselves from the ASD child because of this seemingly awkward behavior and

Autism is a spectrum disorder with a wide range of symptoms and degrees of impairment. A person with autism lives for the most part in an isolated world unaware of the impact their behavior has on the immediate environment. Even though some may be high functioning, the majority (around 70-75%) has some amount of associated learning disabilities and about 50% score below 50 on the IQ scale. When there are profound cognitive impairments, adequate speech development is not likely, and additionally the incidence of aberrant behavior increases (Howlin, 1996). Aberrant behaviors are behavioral excesses that interfere with interaction opportunities within an individual’s environment (Matson, et al., 1996). Another high impacting area of deficiency is socialization skills. This area includes decreased responding to verbal initiations of others, inappropriate affect or facial expression during communicative interactions, eye contact and preservation on the same topic even when cues are given by the partner for a topic shift (Koegel, & Frea, 1993). Social skill impairment has some relation to the language impairment. Expressive and receptive language difficulties occur in a high percentage of autistic individuals. Difficulties in expressing thoughts and ideas can lead to outbursts of anxiety, aggression, and self-injurious behavior in those with low ability and therefore it is often incorporated into treatment approaches for

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be portrayed toward critical impairments in social interaction. It also includes restricted repeated behaviors, interests and activities. (Mayo Clinic staff, 2014)

Over the years, more people are becoming aware of Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD. The growing number of individuals who are affected by ASD have been increasing over the years. This could be do to the new DSM development of what is considered ASD or simply more children are being born with ASD. Either way, ASD is more predominate in our society today. ASD is defined in the DSM 5 as having abnormal social aspects, lack of social skills, non-verbal communications skills, deficits in development, lack of understanding of relationships, and self-stimulation through repetitive behaviors (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Although these are not all of the symptoms caused by ASD

Autism is categorized by deficits in maintaining social relationships and difficulty communicating. The number of children being diagnosed with autism is steadily increasing. Therefore the need incorporate effective interventions that focus on the development of the individual child has become an imperative component for their success. The key for children with Autism to achieve academic and social success depends upon the collaborative effort that is shared among all parties involved: family, teachers, peers; mental health professionals and the community.

The common traits of ASD, which include anti-social and often disruptive patterns of behavior, can make children with autism challenging for typical learning children to approach. Though the issue of including children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms is a complex one, peer-mediated interventions can promote the growth of social skills at every level of education. By educating the general population of typical peers and empowering them to be a part of the process a dent can be made in the social exclusion often experienced by the ASD children in mainstream settings. Implementing these interventions enriches the lives of all of the children involved, “possibly developing sustainable social relationships” expanding the effects of the program beyond the academic setting (Hughes et al., 2013). Also, these methods provide teachers an unobtrusive method of teaching that has benefits for the entire class. These methods could be helpful to other student populations that have intellectual

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is found to be affecting more people every day. Autism spectrum disorder is a term used to hold many levels of autism under it from high functioning to non-verbal. To fall in the spectrum there is certain criterion that must be met part of which is a common set of behavioral and cognitive impairments. These behavior impairments, much of which are restrictive and repetitive along with being too focused or channeled on one thought, idea or activity. Acting out with meltdowns because of the lack of social skills and ability to know what is or isn’t acceptable. The lack of eye contact or staying connected as communicating. One of the medical disorders that has been noted with in some of the most

After eleven intervention sessions, he was interacting, verbally and non-verbally, with his companions seven percent of the time (Gena, 2006). The interventions are not just effective for young children; a physical education instructor in a high school study observed that post-interventions the target children were more likely to, "...socialize with their peers more than with the aide” (Hughes et al., 2013, p.11). Using methods such as peer-to-peer, small group or class-wide interactions enriches the ASD child’s school experience by teaching them social skills in a natural environment and allowing them to make meaningful connections with their classmates while learning which behaviors are appropriate.

Autism is a developmental disorder and its frequency rate has risen significantly over the past decade. ASD (Autism spectrum disorder) is a disorder that can emerge in the development of the brain and can be characterized in varying degrees such as repetitive behaviors, impaired social interaction, and also verbal and nonverbal interactions. Social skill discrepancies are a key features within the spectrum of autism disorders. Interacting with one's peers can have a substantial positive impact on the lives of individuals with such disabilities. Interaction allows individuals on the autism spectrum to participate and build in their communities. Individuals having better social skills are more likely to be accepted in

Autism spectrum disorder hinders a child’s capability to interact and communicate with others; “ASD is now defined by the American Psychiatric Association 's Diagnosis

Children with high-functioning ASD (HFASD) demonstrate difficulty initiating and maintaining conversations, deciphering how others feel from nonverbal cues, interpreting the intentions of others, asking/responding to questions, and interacting in games or other activities (Bray et al., 2010). Children with HFASD may appear insensitive, and self-centered, or socially disinterested (Waugh & Peskin, 2015); and typically demonstrate average cognitive abilities, yet have significant social deficits (DeRosier et al, 2010). Social skills interventions aim to teach children the social pragmatics necessary to interact and build relationships. There are many different treatment options to improve social skills in children with HFASD such as social skills groups, social skills training with parent implemented intervention, and social stories/social narratives (Cappadocia & Weiss, 2011). This literature review will discuss these three different interventions used for improving the social skills of children with HFASD. All of the articles that were looked at were peer-reviewed.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by qualitative impairments in social interaction and communication, and restricted, repetitive behavior (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013), and is associated with impairments in executive functions. Autism Spectrum Disorder is also defined as a group of disorders that impair an individual’s ability to understand and engage in the give-and-take of social relationships. (Boyd, 2015) Autism is a well-known disability in the world today. Autism statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identify 1 in 68 American children on the Autism spectrum. There has been a prevalent increase in the cases of autism in the past 40 years. Over 3 million people in the United States alone are affected by autism. Government autism statistics suggest that the prevalence of autism has increased 10 to 17 percent annually in recent years. There is no established explanation for why there is such an increase in autism in the recent years, but more people being aware of it and environmental factors could be a factor to the increase. (Jenson, Steinhausen, Lauritsen. 2014)

Autism is a developmental disability, that over the past few years the numbers of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder have been growing at a fast pace. It is estimated that children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder are one in 88 children (Cardon, 2012). Children diagnosed with autism face difficulties in developing daily living skills independently (Rayner, 2011) Also children with autism may lack of motor skills, which can be addressed by the participation in physical activities, as well as play (Yanardag, Akmanoglu, Yilmaz 2013). The absence of social skills in children with autism, resembles in the lack of social interaction; as well as the failure to normal social development with the same age group peers (Sani-Bozkurt,

People with Autism are presented with difficulties with social interactions, in particular, establishing and maintaining relationships. There is a lack of responsiveness to non-verbal forms of communications, like facial expressions, physical gestures and eye contact. Often, they are unable to fully express needs due to being unable to interpret and understand others needs. These lack of social interactions effect their ability to share others interests and activities, which gives the appearance that they are socially distant. The cause of their inability to understand non-verbal forms of communication which causes them to become withdrawn socially; is due to a delay in speech.