Jaime Tan (Class A)

Case 1: Annie

(i) The intervention – Social skills Social Stories and Visual support systems

Delays in speech and language development can significantly affect a child’s social skills and can impede appropriate interactions with their peers. Children with speech and language delays can become frustrated and conflicts can frequently occur due to misunderstandings. “Studies of preschool and school-age children with language delays indicate that deficits in language are associated with increased problem behaviors” (Irwin, Carter & Briggs-Gowan, 2002, p.1324) as cited in Fisher and Haufe, (2009).

Educational literature review suggests that the use of Social Stories and visual

supports improve social skills in children with disabilities. “A Social Story is one positive behavior intervention for students with autism. A Social Story is a short, simple story

written from the perspective of the child that delivers instruction on appropriate social

behavior” (Crozier & Tincani, 2005, p. 150). “They focus on describing and explaining

the cues in that situation as well as teaching appropriate responses (Scattone, Tingstrom

& Wilczynski, 2006, p. 211).

(ii) Its effectiveness (as reported in the journal article)

In this journal article, two teacher researchers from two different schools did an action research project to improve the social skills of a small number of preschool, first grade and second grade students through the use of Social Stories and visual supports. This research was done over a span of 12 weeks. The objective was to create a more positive learning environment. The teacher researchers wanted to increase the social skills of students who had been diagnosed with learning difficulties and special needs which encompassed eight preschool children. The children had difficulties with knowing how to appropriately interact with their peers- reading and understanding non-verbal cues and body language, turn-taking, sharing and conflict resolution. Having difficulties in these social skills areas hindered the children from sustaining and maintaining positive peer relationships which was a similar case to Annie’s.

The intervention consisted of with a pre-assessment, post-assessment and six intervention tools which involved the children, peers and parents- Parent Social Skills Rating Scale, Teacher Social Skills Rating Scale, Sharing Checklist, Turn-Taking Checklist, Journal Reflection Template-Sharing, and Journal Reflection Template -Turn-Taking. In addition, visual supports and modeling were done and a Social Story on a different area of difficulty (e.g. turn-taking, sharing) was told daily.

Through the reflective journals of the two teacher researchers, it was evident that the intervention showed gradual improvements. The overall intervention showed positive results as the children displayed more tolerance in turn-taking and that there was a drastic improvement to their impulse control and cooperation in groups. On top of that, they were able to express themselves using appropriate social skills.

(iii) Personal evaluation how the child will benefit from this intervention

From the examples of tools used in the journal article, I strongly believe that Annie will benefit from this intervention. I feel that even though she has speech impairment, the illustrations in the social stories can help her to understand the appropriate social behaviors towards friends. Also, she can learn from the conflict resolutions in the stories and model the behaviors illustrated. This will prevent her from biting her peers when she gets agitated or frustrated.

Further, the use of social stories will help the other children understand that everyone is different and that they should accept diversity. This will help children to be receptive towards interacting with Annie instead of mocking her due to her facial deformity. I also like how the intervention involves parents as well. This provides additional support for both teachers and parents. On top of that, I feel that Annie will gain an increase in self-esteem and sense of belonging through the small group activities.

Lastly, the use of visual support system can aid Annie in expressing herself or needs in ways which are discernible by her teacher and peers. Thus, I believe that the use of social stories and visual cues will not only benefit Annie but also her teachers and classmates.

(iv) Suggestions on how you can make adjustments to cater to the needs of the
child and to facilitate integration of the child / the intervention activity into
your classroom

- Modifying the plot of the social stories to suit the needs of the child or address certain specific areas of concern (e.g. bullying).

- Involve other children in the intervention (e.g. dramatization of the story)

- Using non-verbal forms of expression such as pantomime and charades.

- Extend the intervention by getting children to art or write their thought and feelings after the social story.

Reference:

Fisher, K., & Haufe, T. (2009, May 1). Developing Social Skills in Children Who Have Disabilities through the Use of Social Stories and Visual Supports. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED504818) Retrieved September 6, 2009, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/43/dc/73.pdf.