The Importance of Social Skills for Autism

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The Importance of Social Skills for Autism
Lutfi Isni Badiah
Special Education Department
University of PGRI Adi Buana Surabaya
Surabaya, Indonesia
lutfiisnibadiah@gmail.com
Abstract—Social skills are one of the important aspects in
human life. The lack of social skills can affect a person's future
life. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or known as autism is a
development characterized by difficulties in social
communication and showing repetitive behavior. This causes
children with autism to have difficulty mastering social skills.
Therefore, children with autism need social skills interventions
that can help them to participate in the community. The article
will discuss the importance of social skills and procedures that
are useful for teaching social skills to autistic children so that
they can be accepted in community life.
Keywords— social skills; autisme spectrum disorder.
I. INTRODUCTION
Children with Autism Spectrum Disosder (ASD) have
experience developmental disorders by showing symptoms
such as learning disabilities, language and communication
problems, lack of attention, and hyperactivity [1]. According to
Hill and Frith, children with autism spectrum disosder have
experienced difficulties in planning, problems with initiating
new things, and are often trapped in the assignments given [2].
Meanwhile, according to IDEA, children with autism spectrum
disosder are mental disabilities that cause difficulties in
communication both verbal and non-verbal, and in interacting
socially which occurs before the age of three years. Children
with autism spectrum disosder usually show several symptoms
including repetitive activities, stereotypical behavior, resistance
to environmental changes or changes in daily routines and
unusual responses to sensory experiences [3].
The characteristics of children with autism spectrum
disosder as described previously lead to a lack of social skills
and social interaction. Difficulties in social skills and social
interaction are characteristic of children with autism spectrum
disosder although this level of difficulty depends on the age
level and the level of high or absence of autism. Social skills
are the ability of people to behave according to a particular
situation. According to Takahashi in reference [4], social skills
are defined as social acceptance, learning behaviors that allow
a person to interact effectively with others and to avoid
unacceptable social responses. A person who has high social
skills can be easily accepted by others in society.
Well-developed social skills can help children with
disabilities to develop strong and positive friend relationships,
succeed in school, and begin successfully exploring the role of
adults such as employees, coworkers/co-workers, and
community members. Social skills also support the positive
development of healthy adult relationships with family
members and peers. Hair et al. in reference [5] stated that a
teenager who has strong social skills is more likely to be
accepted by peers, develop friendships, maintain strong
relationships with parents and peers, are able to solve problems
effectively, foster greater interest in school and do better in
academic skill.
Social skills are an important aspect for children including
children with special needs, especially for children with autism
spectrum disosder. Children with autism spectrum disosder
also need interaction with people around their environment.
This is reinforced by the opinion of reference [6], which states
that it is important for each child to have a positive relationship
with peers in the middle and late childhood. For example,
engaging in positive interactions with peers, resolving
conflicts, and having a sense of friendship.
Young children with autism spectrum disosder often show
delays in social skills such as limited eye contact. Whereas
adolescents with autism often show difficulty in maintaining
interaction with others, difficulty understanding and using
nonverbal communication (gestures and facial expressions), as
well as difficulties in giving back to conversations [7].
Without assistance, they find it difficult to start
conversations, play with friends, join activities, and follow
games and understand the rules. According to reference [8],
lack of social relationships in childhood can lead to a decline in
employment, a decrease in independent life according to life
expectancy and severe mental health problems (such as
depression, suicidal desires, and anxiety). In addition, autistic
children are also vulnerable to be bullied by their peers.
This is supported by reference [4], that poor skills can
cause underprivileged children to establish relationships with
other people. Children who have poor skills tend to have
unpleasant relationships with others and get negative feedback.
Improving skills in children with autism spectrum disosder is
important because it can have an impact on low performance at
school and at work.
II. METHOD
The method used in this paper was the description analysis
of literature study. A literature study was done by finding the
relevant theory to the issues discussed. Primary and secondary
2nd International Conference on Indonesian Education for All (IC-INDOEDUC4ALL 2018)
Copyright © 2018, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 272
20

data were drawn from the various sources used as the main
data in this paper.
III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
A. Social Skills For Children With Autism Spectrum Disosder
The social skills that normal children have to get are generally
expressed by reference [4], which are adapted from Gresham
and Elliott (1990) as follows.
TABLE I. CHILDREN SOCIAL SKILLS
No
Aspect
Indicator
1.
Cooperation
Listen to the other people talking.
Get permission before using
someone else's property
Avoid behavior that causes
problems.
Do the assigments on time.
Maintain cleanliness and neatness.
Set free time.
Follow directions and instructions.
Use the right tone of voice.
Ignore interference.
Help with housework
2.
Assertion
Make friends easily.
Ask for help when you need it.
Confident in interaction.
Participate in several activities.
Give praise.
Receive praise.
Start a conversation.
Invite other people to participate in
an activity.
Volunteer in helping.
Express feelings correctly.
3.
Responsibility
Say good things.
Show concern for friends.
Express feelings correctly.
Follow directions and rules.
Waiting for your turn in an
activity.
Request permission when going.
Report something right.
Preferred by others / social
acceptance.
Answer the phone well
4.
Empathy
Understand the feelings of others.
Request help for the problem.
Say sorry for the bad things that
happen to others.
Listen to friends who tell stories
about their problem.
Smile.
Notify when someone is doing
good.
Defend friends who don't get fair
treatment.
Talk about a problem or opinion
with classmates.
5.
Self-control
Ignore temptations or distractions.
Express disagreement with
without anger.
Avoid things that cause problems.
Do something good.
Compromise with other people's
opinions.
Receive punishment from adults.
Control emotions.
No
Aspect
Indicator
Receive criticism without anger.
Respond precisely to the behavior
of others.
Reject something politely.
Speak in the right tone.
Social skills for children with special needs are certainly
different from normal children, according to the type of needs
and characteristics. According to reference [9], the social skills
of children with special needs with cognitive difficulties, social
or behavioral problems, and general delays in social and
cognitive functions tend to show low social skills. According to
reference [10], there are some social skills that must be
mastered by children with autism spectrum disosder in the
transition age as follows.
TABLE II. THE SOCIAL SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM DISORDER
Social Skills
Skills
Peer
Relati
ons
Self
Manageme
nt
Acade
mic
Obedie
nce
Aserti
on
Be On time
√
√
Use loudness and
the right tone of
voice
√
Encourage
everyone to
participate
√
Study people's
names
√
See people talking
√
Make eye contact
with others when
talking
√
Check someone's
understanding and
ask appropriate
questions
√
√
Describes
someone's feelings
when needed
√
√
√
Build other
people's comments
and ideas
√
√
Support others
both verbally and
nonverbally
√
Request direction
or help
√
√
Participate
appropriately in
small talk
√
Start and respond
to humor
√
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B. Social Skills Intervention Strategy For Children With
Autism Spectrum Disosder
TABLE III. INTERVENTION STRATEGY TO TRAIN SOCIAL SKILLS FOR
CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISOSDER
One of the efforts to help children with autism spectrum
disosder is by establishing cooperation between all parties,
namely parents, friends, teachers and schools. It is important to
give positive feelings to the interaction of children with autism
spectrum disosder. Schools must provide socialization to
children through interaction by providing support for a
conducive environment. In this case, the teacher plays an
important role to support the interaction between children with
autism spectrum disosder and peers.
There have been many interventions designed to overcome
the lack of social skills of children with autism spectrum
disosder. This intervention varies according to the child's age
and the severity of the autism. In choosing and implementing
programs to teach social skills for children with autism
spectrum disosder, according to reference [5], it needs to pay
attention to the following steps.
 Establish a steering committee
 Conduct a needs assessment and careful preparation
during coordination
 Choose the right program
 Develop plans for implementation in the first year
 Review, plan for expansion, and focus on development
 Monitor the implementation process and evaluate the
impact of the program.
In teaching social skills for children with autism spectrum
disosder, it is necessary to remove barriers to interaction and
help children understand social action functions. Following are
the types of social skills interventions recommended according
to reference [7].
TABLE IV. INTERVENTION STRATEGY TO TRAIN SOCIAL SKILLS FOR
CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
1) Peer Assistance
Normal peer assistance is a type of traditional social skills
intervention that is shared with normal children in regular
classes. In this model, normal peers are taught how to interact
with children with autism spectrum disosder to encourage the
development of social skills. Peers are taught for example how
to be good friends, how to play with children with autism
spectrum disosder, and talk with children with autism spectrum
disosder even if he does not respond. This model is appropriate
to use in the setting of inclusive education.
Furthermore, just participating in inclusive class settings is
not enough to increase the social interaction and social skills of
children with autism spectrum disosder. Because without
intervention, normal peers prefer other normal friends than
autistic children. But with training, usually normal children are
able and willing to interact with children with autism spectrum
disosder. Using this model in inclusive settings has proven to
be one of the most effective strategies for improving social
communication skills of children with autism spectrum
disosder.
2) Social Skills Group
This model is the most commonly used intervention for
school-aged children with autism spectrum disosder. In this
group, it consists of 4-5 children with autism who participate in
social skills lessons taught by the teacher or therapist. This
group usually meets at school or in outpatient clinics with
children with autism spectrum disosder from the other
community. This session topic includes greeting others, being
friendly, joining or starting playing with others, reading
nonverbal cues, and starting and maintaining conversations
with others. Here are some topics taught in social skills groups.
Social Skills
Skills
Peer
Rela-
tions
Self
Manage-
ment
Academic
Obe-
dience
Asertion
Support
others both
verbally and
nonverbally
√
Request
direction or
help
√
√
Participate
appropriatel
y in small
talk
√
Start and
respond to
humor
√
No.
Intervention
Explanation
Peer Assistance
Peers are trained to interact with
children with autism spectrum
disosder by encouraging the
development of positive social skills
in regular classroom settings
Social Skills Group
4-5 children with autism spectrum
disosder are included in lessons about
some social skills in schools and
clinics. In groups, it can also include
peers as models / mentors
Video modeling
children with autism spectrum
disosder watch videos that show
themselves or peers demonstrating
certain social skills, and then practice
them.
Social Stories
children with autism spectrum
disosder read short stories written in
the settings of the first person to use
the right social skills
Picture book
children with autism spectrum
disosder see a sequence of images
about social skills to learn how and
why to do those skills.
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TABLE V. DISCUSSION TOPICS IN SOCIAL SKILLS GROUP
Children Group
Teenager group
Know someone
Meeting new people / ask something
Body language (nonverbal)
Using body language
Controling emotion
Using body signals to express and
understand the emotion
Conversation
Positive thinking
Tease vs jokes
Teenager’s problem
Tips for making friends
Sharing the opinion
Another factor that can help in the success of social skills
groups is the inclusion of normal peers who have been trained
to encourage the social skills of children with autism spectrum
disosder. In this model, involving normal peers with strong
social skills and interest in helping children with autism
spectrum disosder voluntarily to serve as peer mentors and
receive training before participating.
Before involving normal peers in this social skills group,
they need to be given training and tips to deal with children
with autism spectrum disosder, as stated by reference [5] as
follows.
 As much as possible for concrete in children with
autism spectrum disosder, including explaining
sarcasm, dual meanings in jokes, and idioms
 Normal peers are expected to be direct, because facial
expressions and body language cues are not effective in
communicating with children with autism spectrum
disosder.
 Peers are asked to avoid using long sentences, and use
short and clear sentences because children with autism
spectrum disosder often have difficulty finding the
subject
 Peers need to know that some children with autism
spectrum disosder are sensitive to sounds, smells,
sights, or other feelings that can make them unable to
concentrate on other things.
 Peers are expected not to be easily offended by the
behavior of children with autism spectrum disosder who
sometimes say inappropriate things that might hurt their
feelings. However, children with autism spectrum
disosder need to be guided to understand the feelings of
others.
3) Video Modeling
This model is a type of intervention in which children with
children with autism spectrum disosder disosder see a
demonstration of videos about themselves or others who
successfully perform appropriate social skills, then imitate the
skills modeled in the video. According to research, this type of
intervention is effective for children and adolescents with
autism to learn many types of skills, including social skills.
This model is most effective when combined with other
interventions to teach social skills.
4) Social Stories and Picture Books
Social stories are short and individual stories written to
teach skills or social behavior, or about concepts, or events.
This procedure for making social stories involves parents or
teachers in writing short stories about children with autism
spectrum disosder.The stories are about skills, activities, or
events, and aims to let children know what, when, where, why,
events that will occur, and the expected response from children
with autism spectrum disosder. For example, parents and
teachers can write social stories about certain social skills such
as greeting others, participating in activities, or giving praise.
Social stories about greeting others can depict children shaking
hands with other children, asking questions, and explaining
why children need to do this and the results.
According to research, this intervention through social
stories proved effective when used as part of a more
comprehensive social skills program. The use of picture books
is also similar to social stories in teaching social skills. It is just
accompanied by photos or children's comics that show various
social skills and explain why they use these skills.
IV. CONCLUSION
Lack of social skills is characteristic of children with
autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This lack of social skills
certainly gives negative impact on autistic children to hang out
in the school and community environment. Without assistance,
children with autism spectrum disosder find it difficult to start
conversations, play with friends, join activities, and follow
games and understand the rules. Lack of social relationships in
childhood can lead to a decline in employment, a decrease in
independent life and life expectancy, and severe mental health
problems (such as depression, suicidal desires, and anxiety). In
addition, children with autism spectrum disosder are also
vulnerable to be bullied by their peers.
Teachers need to pay attention to the social development of
each student, including students with special needs, including
children with autism spectrum disosder. It is expected that
teachers can help students with special needs to be able to have
and develop good social skills with friends and the community.
There are various social skills intervention strategies that can
be used to help children with autism spectrum disosder,
including involving normal peer assistance, forming social
skills groups, using video modeling, social cheerfulness and
picture books to make it easier for children with autism
spectrum disosder to do social skills. Students with special
needs need to interact and socialize with others. Creating an
environment that supports the development of social skills of
students with special needs can also have a positive impact on
students.
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