LISA: Tag Anna Rubinshteyn

I just got a new kid on my caseload – his mother is concerned with his social skills. From what she described I noted trouble with social inference, understanding body language and facial expressions, joining in games. He told me he has friends but couldn’t name a best friend and didn’t give any names in particular. In conversation he sometimes ignored my questions and kept talking about previous question or off topic. He is a 4th grader.I am pretty new to the field so my question is basically where to start with social skills altogether, how to develop sequence of goals and how to track progress. Good resources and ideas for “not boring” therapy would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and I see him alone. Perhaps, I can sometimes bring someone with him but can’t rely on it at least for now.

Goal One: Topic Maintenance

Overall Goal: Student will maintain a topic of conversation (not of his choosing) for at least 5 conversational turns per person during structured therapy sessions on 3 of 4 observed opportunities.

Benchmarks:

1. During a staged conversation with the therapist, Student will identify when the therapist’s comments are off-topic with 80% accuracy.
2. Student will maintain a topic of conversation of his choosing for at least 5 conversational turns per person during structured therapy sessions on 3 of 4 observed opportunities.

Goal Two: Non-Verbal Communication

Overall Goal: Student will correctly identify 8 emotions (angry, sad, happy, excited, scared, bored, confused, thoughtful) based on body language and facial expressions in photographs and/or videos of other people with 80% accuracy during structured therapy activities.

Benchmarks:

1. Student will describe at least 4 body language or facial expression features for each of 8 different emotions during structured therapy activities.
2. Student will correctly identify 8 emotions based on body language and facial expressions of pictures of cartoon characters with 80% accuracy during structured therapy activities.

Goal Three: Social Inferencing

Overall Goal: During a staged conversation with the therapist, Student will correctly read the therapist’s body language and behavior to determine when the therapist has lost interest in the conversation within 1 minute of the therapist beginning to act disinterested on 3 of 4 observed opportunities.

Benchmarks:

1. Student will list 5 signs that a person is no longer interested in a conversation on 3 consecutive data collection days (examples: short, non-specific responses; looking away; looking at a clock; walking away; turning body away; trying to change the topic; making excuses like needing to leave)
2. After a staged conversation with the therapist during which the therapist signals that she is not interested, Student will correctly identify at least 3 signs that the therapist used to signal disinterest on 3 consecutive opportunities.