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are social skills playgroups
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Anonymous
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This started out as an interesting thread but turned convoluted and contentious - if anyone has any more on-point input I would really like to hear it because I'm considering a social skills group for my non-ASD almost 4 year old. I've talked to Parenting Playgroups about the one they have and am considering one other, but it is perplexing to figure out if it is right for my child. The especially tricky part is that you essentially have to sign up w/o knowing the issues the other children in the group will have.
My son is hesitant in social settings and doesn't seem to do well at really getting himself involved in the play - maybe anxiety, it's not entirely clear. He clearly wants to play with the other kids more than he does, but seems unclear about how to do it. We do playdates (and he goes to preschool), but my thought is that a small group - smaller than his preschool class, but bigger than a one on one playdate -- with some facilitation (unlike a group get together at the park or something with all the moms chatting on the side) might help him bridge the gap. But...I do wonder if I'm going to be doing more harm than good if there are kids in the group with behavioral issues, etc...(my son is not aggressive at all, well-behaved, shares, takes turns, etc...one of the things he needs to learn is how to deal with kids who are less well-behaved, aggressive and so forth, but I'm not sure this group is the right place for that). Any thoughts??? I'm not sure what else other than a social skills group is the right kind of intervention. I've considered OT, which might be helpful in that I think he has some sensory defensiveness (doesn't like loud settings for example), but OT doesn't seem like it will directly address the situation. |
Anonymous
Poster who was unfairly dubbed the 'thread infector' here: So long as you have the finances and the therapy is totally fun for your child, there is no harm in getting her an addl eval and possibly addl therapy too. A friend of mine in the health field attended the ICDL conferences a couple of weeks ago and said Greenspoke himself spoke at one conference. He said his next book will be titled, "I never met a kid who couldn't be smarter." I guess he's referring to the notion that only the seriously affected need therapy as somehow flawed. He said that treating even smaller issues results in a smarter child. All is good for the child. So if DD has an issue, but you wonder whether playgroups would be beneficial for her also, I would ask Greenspan or see Jake at DIR Support Services in Bethesda, MD. |
Anonymous
Greenspan says to start with one on one play dates and work up to two play dates and so forth. I, too, did not want social skills group for this reason (this was my second reason) - I did not think it was wise to place my child with other children who had similar, if not more serious, issues. I wanted him to be around extroverted, friendly, neurotypical children because he would learn social skills through the power of observation better than if he observed other children with issues. We started meeting at playgrounds and parks with one or two children. I was picky in choosing play dates. They had to be NICE, no meanness. They had to be nonaggressive because I didn't want DC to become intimidated and withdrawn. The playground provides a wide open space where kids tend to feel safe. But if it's too crowded it can all backfire so be careful. I took the kids on picnics too and we brought a soccer ball. We took the kids to museums. Eventually they became familiar and comfortable around one another. Then we moved the play dates indoors. |
Anonymous
Sorry, I meant to write "PP here." Maybe I should just henceforth refer to myself as 'thread infector'?? Again, and again, and again, I DID NOT berate anybody for not following Greenspan's views. I berated them when they pulled old threads I commented on to discredit me on this topic. I berated them when they dragged my five year old into this argument and used him to get a dig into me (by saying he must have serious challenges). I berated them when they said they hoped I was not in charge of any children for their sake. My old posts, my little child, and whether I am in charge of other children has no bearing on my point in this discussion. Those are personal attacks and, yes, I will berate those who attack me personally rather than argue on the merits of the discussion of social skills groups versus natural playgroups. |
Anonymous
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Greenspan fan, thread disrupter, absolute advice giver,
Step away from the computer. Stop posting. Spend more time with your family, and less time defending yourself to random people. Your arguments are offensive and you are hijacking a thread that others might benefit from. |
Anonymous
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Oh that's right, I forgot! You're allowed to throw personal attacks, even if you use my five year old child in one of your digs. But, I, on the other hand, have no right to even defend myself because that would hijack the thread. Oh my gosh, what was I thinking?
Speaking in absolute terms may alienate some people but the last time I checked (especially check the political forum) that isn't a violation around here. This particular thread was also for the purpose of discussing, and yes, even debating, contentiously if need be, social skills groups. It is not a thread created for the purpose of providing emotional support for you, the parent, or their choices. So long as I didn't personally attack you, I had every right, and arguably a duty to special needs children in my opinion, to disseminate the foremost expert's view on this particular issue...even if it was done with a little too much confidence. It was YOU who threw the first punch. I only agree with you on ONE point and that is to get this thread on track again. I think that in all this distraction, Greenspan's article might have gotten lost. It is imperative that parents read and understand for themselves why Greenspan thinks social skills groups are not good for teaching social skills IF they involve rote memorization. At the bottom of this post is, once again, the article where Dr. Greenspan explains exactly what is wrong with many social skills groups. I'll paraphrase it. If you don't have time to read all of it, at least read pages 3 - 4 where he explains why structured programs do not allow a child to attach FEELINGS to a rehearsed action. Dr. Greenspan says that in healthy development of children, it is the INTERNAL FEELINGS that select the behavior. For example look at what provokes a hug: a warm feeling precedes a smile and a smile precedes a hug. Dr. Greenspan's approach does not focus on the discrete behaviors of shaking ones hands and looking at someone's eyes like Parenting Playgroups or other social skills groups do. His approach focuses on development in the way healthy children develop these skills naturally. So he says why do healthy developing children say 'hello'? How do they learn it? They aren't explicitly taught to say 'hello.' They learn it because they observed their parents or they feel that warm feeling in their gut the way others felt that warm feeling before they greeted the child. Greenspan says (I'm paraphrasing here): Now the problem with structured programs that use rote memorizaton is that they externally teach greetings with an external prompt to get it going. And then everybody hopes that that greeting will eventually take on meaning and pleasurable feelings and emotion for the child because if it doesn't get hooked up with emotions, it will not generalize. Case in point - Parenting Playgroups relies on rote memorization in teaching kids how to greet other kids. This is no criticism of Parenting Playgroups only, lots of social skills groups do precisely that. So when that other child from Parenting Playgroups hugged my child upon seeing him he wasn't attaching feelings to his action of hugging my child. There was no affect. He scarcely knew my child. There was no warm feelings. There was no smile. It was robotic. His mom was proud of him. But my child was bewildered. This child was just taught that thats what he's supposed to do when he see's a peer. So Greenspan's point is that these social skills groups or any structured groups begin by teaching discrete behavior rather than focusing first on what is the core deficiency - missing pieces in their foundation of healthy development. In order for children with autism spectrum disorder or development challenges (sensory regulatory issues) to have healthy development, we need to build it from the foundation up, he says. He says they need to learn social skills the exact same way healthy developing children learn it - with affect, heightened emotions, or tailoring the interactions to your child's specific nervous sytem. If you do this, children learn to connect pleasurable feelings, warm feelings to their behaviors. So eventually you will get a greeting that doesn't look or feel unnatural or rehearsed. It comes with pleasure and it is truly natural, the way it is for healthy developing children. And then these social skills will become generalized - to other situations - and they will be able to respond naturally and with warm feelings. I suspect that eventually many social skills group will follow Dr. Greenspan's view and incorporate his philosophy into their programs because they'll eventually realize the failing of their own approach. Just wait and see! Here's the article: http://www.icdl.com/distance/webRadio/documents/3-3-2005.pdf Check out ICDL's web site to read more of his articles. http://www.icdl.com/ I wish all your children the best! |
Anonymous
You write reams about the specialists you've seen, how no one was able to give you any hope for your DC except Dr. Greenspan, you take every opportunity to expound on how much time and resources you've invested in your DC yet when someone summarizes your tomes by saying it sounds like your child has a lot of issues, you feel someone is dragging your DC into this and making a personal attack. You're a freakin nut case. It's not your DC who has issues, it's you! And I do mean that personally. You've done more to discredit yourself than anything you imagined other posters have. Why don't you print the threads, take them to Dr. Greenspan and see if he likes how you're dragging him into your insanity. |
Anonymous
Good lord! Do you think your own inability to read social cues might have any bearing on your son? Give it a REST! |
Anonymous
Thank god someone finally said it. |
Anonymous
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I'm a new poster on this thread.
I don't really understand why so many people are harping on the Greenspan booster. OK, she comes across as very in your face and sure of herself, and that can be annoying. But the OP asked if social skills groups were any good/effective (I can't remember the exact words) , and the poster has some pretty useful opinions and information, IMO. If I had been the OP I would have found her comments and links informative. Maybe I wouldn't have agreed with them (I actually do find them useful and interesting but that is beside the point.) But the poster you are criticizing has a right to post her opinions on this topic. |
Anonymous
I think we all agree that she certainly has the right to post her opinions. Have you read the entire thread? She becomes abusive and mean-spirited. I also think people are responding to her thread in the Website Feedback forum and other threads she has contributed to. |
Anonymous
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As Jeff suggested, I will continue to IGNORE the viciousness and keep this thread on track. The topic was about social skills playgroups and I'm keeping to this topic only. I don't care if you try to discredit me anymore so keep ranting away. I'm sticking to the purpose of this thread and supplying valuable information to parents of special nees kids.
Btw, I know Dr. Stanley Greenspan. He would be more blunt with you than I was. |
Anonymous
how could you POSSIBLY supply more information than you already have? PLEASE give it a rest. Your behavior is bizarre, and I do mean that personally. |
Anonymous
| Why don't you just start a thread about your interpretation of Dr. Greenspan. That way, you could refer people to that thread instead of taking up space and getting off topic. You could copy/paste the link to the thread just like other's have copy/paste the link to your other diatribes. It would be one way to reduce the vitriol and you could feel good about your efforts to convert the masses. Seriously. |
Anonymous
I'm the poster whose child you said has serious challenges, is a thread infector, nut job, thread hijacker: You are free to go to the OTHER social skills playgroup thread that was created if you wish to avoid me here. I will not post there. And yes, there is more to publish. Here's another great writeup. Read the boldface part about Greenspan's Floortime model and it's astounding results (read in particular the part about social skills playgroups). Keep in mind this says it's about ASD children but it ALSO applies to children with social developmental challenges. Play Time: An Examination Of Play Intervention Strategies for Children with Autism Spectrum DisordersContributed by Johanna Lantz There is no question that play is an integral part of child development. Through play, children learn social skills such as sharing, cooperation and turn-taking. Social language is learned, self-esteem is built, and friendships are formed during recreational activities with peers. Play encourages cognitive enrichment, emotional growth, and influences personality development. It offers a means of exploring various societal roles and rules, and provides time to practice finding solutions to problems. Creativity and imagination are fostered through play. For typically developing children, engaging in pleasurable, imaginative and socially interactive activity is a natural part of life. In contrast, many children with autism spectrum disorders do not play in a manner that is beneficial to development. Skill deficits and interfering problem behaviors often inhibit productive play in children with autism spectrum disorders; consequently, this crucial aspect of development should be a target for early intervention. Pamela Wolfberg’s Integrated Play Groups (IPG) and Stanley Greenspan’s Floor Time are two intervention strategies that are intended to increase developmentally beneficial play in children with autism spectrum disorders. This article will discuss IPG and Floor Time, and will examine research that has investigated the efficacy of these models. Play Characteristics of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Wolfberg (1995) defines play as an activity that is pleasurable, intrinsically motivated, flexible, non-literal, voluntary, and involves active engagement. In contrast, children with autism spectrum disorders often engage in inflexible, repetitive play patterns and may not exhibit symbolic or pretend behavior. Individuals with this disorder tend to view the world as concrete and literal; consequently, they may have difficulty with abstract concepts and imaginative behavior. Children with autism spectrum disorders may also display deficits in sequencing and motor planning. As a result of these deficits, they may not develop play scripts or understand the scripts of other children. Play in children with autism spectrum disorders is often solitary. Several factors contribute to the lack of social play. First, individuals with autism have communication deficits. They may not understand the language or social cues of peers, or have the ability to express their feelings effectively with others. Second, children with autism spectrum disorders may not understand that others have their own unique thoughts and feelings. This lack of understanding limits reciprocity in relationships. Third, it is common for individuals with this disability to have restricted and unusual interests, so they may be resistant to explore new play themes with others. Finally, peers may exclude children with autism spectrum disorders or may not understand how to effectively engage them in play. In summary, factors inhibiting social play in children with autism spectrum disorders include the following: communication deficits; difficulty understanding the feelings of others; restricted and unusual interests; and peer exclusion. The Integrated Play Group Model The Integrated Play Group Model, which is based on Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory, aims to improve the social and symbolic play skills of children with autism spectrum disorders ages 3 to 11. In addition to addressing skill deficits, the IPG model also emphasizes developing the intrinsic desire to play. According to Wolfberg and Schuler (1993), in the IPG model, “Play development is fostered by physically arranging the environment to bring about the most competent forms of play, and by guiding participation within these environments while capitalizing upon child initiations.” It is important to differentiate between social skills training which involves direct skill instruction, and IPG which provides a support system for a childs’ initiations. Integrated play groups contain guides, expert players, and novice players. Guides are adults who have training in IPG and experience working with individuals with autism spectrum disorders. The play group guides use various methods of assessment to determine how to best coordinate play activities to maximize the social and cognitive development of the participants. The expert players are socially competent peers, and the novice players include children with autism spectrum disorders at any level of functioning. The groups are comprised of three to five children with a higher ratio of expert to novice players. The IPG model is based on the concept of guided participation. The guide adjusts the amount of support given during the play group sessions according to the needs of the children, and builds on the interests and abilities of the group members. Initially, the guide directs the play activity. As the children become more capable of creating play themes, initiating interactions and setting up play events, the guide fades support until no direct guidance is provided. Transitions are often challenging for children with autism. Consistency in schedule and routine are important components of the IPG model because they help participants anticipate future events. The same groups meet regularly in natural settings, two to three times a week for 30-60 minutes. Opening and closing rituals are utilized and visual cues provide additional support. Materials such as constructive and sociodramatic toys are selected to encourage interaction and imaginative play. Wolfberg and Schuler (1993) examined the efficacy of the IPG model. The researchers were interested in determining if the model would increase the functional and symbolic use of objects and social play of individuals with autism. In addition, they investigated whether qualitative improvements in play skills would generalize to different settings. The researchers conducted three play groups in a public school setting for 30 minutes two times a week for four months. Each group contained two novice players and three expert players. Data were collected on three of the novice players with autism. The results indicated that all participants with autism engaged in a greater percentage of functional and symbolic toy use and social play after the IPG intervention. Parent and teacher interviews revealed that qualitative play improvements were evident in a variety of settings. This research is promising; however, the results are somewhat limited by the small sample size and lack of a control group. More research should be conducted on the IPG model. The Floor Time Model Greenspan’s Floor Time offers another play intervention for preschool age children with autism spectrum disorders. The Floor Time model focuses on developing relationships and affect. Interventions are designed according to the child’s developmental level and individual characteristics. Greenspan explains that although affective engagement such as showing pleasure, sharing emotions, and reciprocating interactions is secondary to the primary symptoms of autism (e.g., cognitive deficits), affect and relationships are more amenable to intervention. Greenspan believes that through affective interaction, children with autism will concurrently experience cognitive and emotional growth. Floor Time is child directed and adult supported. It provides an opportunity to transform perseverative play into more meaningful and developmentally beneficial behavior, and works to expand the play themes of children with autism spectrum disorders. At the same time, it is designed to help the child develop relationships with others. Floor Time involves five steps: The adult observes the child playing in order to determine how to approach him/her. The adult approaches the child and joins the activity while trying to match the child’s emotional tone. The child directs the action and the adult follows the child’s lead. The adult expands on the child’s chosen play theme without being intrusive. When a child builds on the adult’s input, the child “closes the circle of communication” and starts a new circle. It is crucial that the adult does not use Floor Time as a time to teach a particular skill. It is also important to remember that the child is the leader of the activity. Floor Time can be used to change perseverative behavior. For example, if a child is fixated on lining up blocks, the adult joins in and adds blocks to the child’s line. Then the adult may place a block perpendicular and start the line going in a different direction. When the child continues the new line, he/she has “closed the circle of communication.” Some suggestions for Floor Time include inserting obstacles into play and helping the child problem-solve. If a child has very limited play themes, it may be helpful to use sensory toys (e.g., sand tables, shaving cream, bubbles) or use popular characters that the child enjoys to gain attention. Greenspan and Wieder reviewed the charts of 200 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, and found that most children who received Floor Time intervention for at least two years made significant improvement in all areas of development. All children in the study received two to five hours of Floor Time interaction at home in addition to comprehensive services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, and special or general education services. The researchers claimed that 58% of the participants made “good to outstanding” progress, which they defined as making significant improvements in affect, social behavior, cognitive skills, symbolic play, and creative behavior. In addition, the “good to outstanding” children no longer engaged in avoidant, self-stimulatory, or perseverative behavior. According to the authors, all of the children in the “good to outstanding” group were no longer considered autistic according to the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS); however, these findings need to be replicated by other researchers not involved in the development of Floor Time. Twenty-five percent of the children were defined as having made “medium” progress. These children made affective improvements and gains in gestural communication, but they still evidenced significant delays in symbolic language and play. The “medium” group no longer engaged in self-stimulatory, avoidant, perseverative behavior. The researchers reported that 17% of the children were considered to have “ongoing difficulties.” These children made little or no improvement in affect, symbolic ability, attention, or avoidant behavior. The researchers added that most children in the “ongoing difficulty” group presented more extreme autistic symptomology when first evaluated. The results of the chart analysis are impressive, but should be interpreted with caution. Due to sample limitations, the results only apply to the children used in the study. More research needs to be conducted with a larger and more diverse population, and by researchers other than the creators of Floor Time. In addition, a controlled scientific study would provide more definitive information on the efficacy of Floor Time intervention. However, the results of the chart review indicate that some children with autism are capable of symbolic thought, and they can make significant improvements in social relationships and affect. Play is a voluntary activity and is differentiated from social skills training in which specific skills are systematically taught. In the IPG and Floor Time models, skills are learned indirectly through guidance and interactions with others. Both the IPG model and Floor Time are based on child initiations that are supported by adults. The IPG and Floor Time models have strengths and weaknesses. The primary advantage of both models is that they allow children with autism spectrum disorders the opportunity to explore relationships with others on their own terms without the imposition of adult demands. One disadvantage of the IPG model is that it requires regular participation from at least two typically developing peers, an appropriate setting, and trained guides to facilitate the group. This may be difficult to organize without the cooperation of a school or community group. Some disadvantages of the Floor Time model are that it does not address social interaction with peers, and there is little information on generalization of skills to other situations and settings. More research on the efficacy of IPG and Floor Time needs to be conducted by individuals who have not been involved in the development of the models. Although a few limitations exist, both intervention strategies have merit and deserve further investigation. As with any intervention, individual differences and desired outcomes need to be considered when deciding what method to use and progress needs to be regularly evaluated. Summary Through play, children learn a variety of skills that are fundamental to development. Many children with autism spectrum disorders have skill deficits and interfering problem behaviors that hinder developmentally beneficial play. Integrated Play Groups and Floor Time are two early intervention strategies that aim to improve qualitative play skills in young children with autism spectrum disorders. In both models, direct instruction is not provided; rather, adults provide support to child initiated interactions. The research available supports the effectiveness of the IPG and Floor Time models; however, inadequate samples and other methodological issues limit the utility of the studies. Early intervention efforts typically focus on the development of communication skills, social skills training, and the reduction of problem behaviors through direct instruction. Often a child with an autism spectrum disorder has a day filled with constant demands from adults, which when compared to the expectations placed on typically developing children, seems unnatural and developmentally inappropriate. It is proposed that skill deficits addressed through child directed and adult supported play become a standard component of early intervention practice. Suggested Readings and Websites Greenspan, S. I., & Weider, S. (1998). The Child with Special Needs: Encouraging Intellectual and Emotional Growth. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Greenspan, S. I., & Wieder, S. Developmental patterns and outcomes in infants and children with disorders in relating and communicating: A Chart Review of 200 Cases of Children with Autistic Spectrum Diagnoses. World Wide Web: www.icdl.com/greenspa.html Integrated Play Groups: www.wolfberg.com. Wolfberg, P. J. (1999). Play and Imagination in Children with Autism. New York, NY: Teachers College Press - Columbia University. Wolfberg, P. J. (1995). Enhancing children’s play. In K. A. Quill (Ed.), Teaching Children with Autism: Strategies to Enhance Communication and Socialization (pp. 193-218). Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers. Wolfberg, P. J., & Schuler, A. L. (1993). Integrated play groups: A model for promoting the social and cognitive dimensions of play in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 23, 467-489. |