How can you connect this new skill to the student’s priorities? How can you assure ownership by making the development of this skill the student’s goal rather than just your goal for the student?
First, consider the student as an individual and what might motivate him specifically. Using this insight, explain why this skill is important to him, perhaps through a social narrative.
For example, if the student is socially motivated and enjoys social interactions with others, use narratives and other strategies to teach him that reciprocity in conversation will lead to better social interactions. That is, other people (e.g. friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, co-workers) will want to talk and spend time with him because of the reciprocity.
If the student is not interested in social interactions, teach him that sometimes reciprocity within conversations is necessary in order to reach certain goals. Consider what happens in job interviews and in interviews for post-secondary admission or scholarships. Use visual supports and modeling to show the student what reciprocity “looks like” within these exchanges.
As you introduce this skill, how will you incorporate (visually, thematically) the student’s unique interests?
Begin by arranging rehearsal opportunities around a topic with which the student has strong background knowledge. It will be much easier for him to make related comments, if he has a strong working concept of the topic of conversation!
Also start by choosing conversation topics that are of interest to the student. The student may be more engaged in the conversation if it is a topic that they are very interested in. They may also want to hear others’ thoughts about their strong interest. On the flipside, someone may have difficulty not monopolizing a conversation about a special interest because they want to talk about it so much! Additionally, they may not be open to others’ thoughts and comments on the topic. Thus, individualize your approach based on your knowledge of the student. And if you try something that is not working, try a new approach!
Can you make it visually clear to the student who is resistant to change that his assumption is only one way of looking at things? Can your use of visual supports and self-assessments help get agreement that there is a problem, get agreement on the solution, and create the motivation for change?
In addition to the visual supports (e.g. graphic organizers and social narratives) you might use to shift the student’s perspective, consider reversing the “roles” in simulated situations so that the student experiences what it is like to be on the “receiving end” of a monologue (and one that is not related to the student’s interest areas).
Practice opportunities that concretely depict a communication “break down” might also help the student to recognize the problem and that change is needed. These might be demonstrated through ball toss games (someone is doing all of the talking, so the ball is not passed; an abrupt shift in topic causes the ball to drop), baton passing activities (I am holding the baton, it is not the time to interrupt), and other creative teaching sessions that involve tangible and perhaps kinesthetic features.
Priming is a form of negotiation that can reframe and sharpen a student’s assessment of self. Below are the self-assessment tools that align with this intervention topic:
"Social Communication – Basic Skills 2"
Interspersal is a proven technique involving the presentation of familiar, higher success tasks with the new, more challenging task. When it is appropriate, are you varying the activities to maintain the student’s confidence and focus?
Students with social communication differences may find many of the sub-skills within this topic to be challenging and draining. As you target a particular sub-skill(s), be sure to intersperse activities that do not place demands on the student’s social communication and social cognition skills. Provide quiet breaks so that the student can process what he has learned away from the highly interactive and dynamic role-play teaching sessions.
When you examine the sub-skills within this topic area, some may certainly be easier than others for the student to perform. For example, a student may be able to make comments such as “Oh really?” or “that’s so cool” that signal to the other person “Keep talking, I am listening”; however, he may struggle to quickly generate questions or make comments that build upon what the other person is saying (e.g., “I have never been there, but I love Mexican food”). Intersperse these targets within the teaching session in order to maintain student focus and confidence, and after all, within a natural conversation, one does not exclusively generate one “type” of comment across the exchange.
Before the student encounters a situation where he will need to perform this skill, how do you help the student prepare? How do you orient the student to the upcoming situation?
It is likely that within the process of targeting this expansive topic, you will have devised a number of visual supports to facilitate practice and to sustain independent performance. In moments just prior to situations where the student might be expected to “go with the flow” in a conversation, review the most salient and relevant visual support – the script, reminder cue, or social narrative that can most effectively prime the student. In addition, brief role-play may be necessary to ready the student for the situation. A verbal reminder that relates to concepts targeted in previous rehearsal sessions may be helpful (e.g., “Remember, it’s a back and forth, a game of catch”).