Rising Stars Experience Social Success

With all participants receiving their invitations for a party in the mail, our first ever Social Stars met for their final group on March 23. Everyone gathered to celebrate their success and practice the skills the children learned over the previous five weeks. While similar to a typical party for 14 elementary-aged children, there were also some very unique aspects that allowed the children opportunities to shine. Within a fun party atmosphere, each individual exhibited many of the social skills taught over the previous five weeks.

Over a six week period of time, our Social Stars participated in two groups of seven led by Connie Erbert, director of CARE and autism outreach, Lindsay Salomon, director of school therapy & applied technology, and Attie Pelnar, program facilitator of CARE and autism outreach.

The Social Stars groups began their six-week session working on basic rules of engagement, expected and unexpected behaviors, and self-regulation skills. Creating an understanding and helping individuals make the connection that people actually notice other people’s behavior helps develop a foundation for appropriate social interactions.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulty recognizing the unwritten social rules, which can lead to inappropriate or unsatisfying interactions with others. Many of our Social Stars quickly understood concepts such as “expected” and “unexpected” behaviors. When an individual is observed exhibiting “expected” behaviors, it elicits a feeling of pride, happiness and positive feedback, while “unexpected” behaviors results in feelings of frustration and anger. Individuals are more likely to work toward making others feel good when they are aware of their own impact, even if they won’t admit it. Watching friendships unfold as understanding and comprehension increased was very rewarding.

By the third and fourth session, the children were working on lessons specific to observational skills and problem solving. Teaching observational skills allows the individual access to a tool that can be difficult for children with ASD. Social cues, rules and information can frequently be missed, and is due to a lack of observational skills and the ability to organize these observations and translate their meaning. Problem solving can also be difficult as it requires us to sort out and analyze the situation as well as determine the size of the problem. Problems also require different reactions, emotions and solutions based on their size.

A structured scavenger hunt at the end of group helped to facilitate teamwork and collaboration between peers while working on their observational and problem solving skills.

As the party signified the end of our six-week group, the significance of these experiences is immeasurable. The CARE program will continue to offer Social Stars groups as well as other opportunities for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. For more information, please contact Connie Erbert at cerbert@heartspring.org