Title: How can I use software tools to teach my young adult son appropriate conversation skills?

Author: Liana Heitin

Date: December 27, 2009 6:11:38 PM or Sun, 27 December 2009 18:11:38

Summary: 

My son with Asperger's tends to speak inappropriately loudly in conversation, as well as having difficulty with an appropriate level of personal space. These difficulties have both affected his abilities to socialize with his peers, and interact with people in public spaces. He has been through social skills training, but tends to 'forget' to modulate his voice when he is engaged in conversation or excited about a topic. Are there technologies available that might help provide him with cues or reminders of appropriate behavior in public places?

Body: 

Often kids with Asperger's or other autism spectrum disorders are extremely motivated by technology tools, and tend to learn very well from videos, software, and other visual representations of social situations. Because your son has already worked on social skills training, he is likely familiar with social stories, social modeling, and appropriate behavior for different situations. However, when in new, exciting or unfamiliar situations, he may forget what he's learned and have difficulty regulating his behavior or modulating his voice.

In novel situations, he may benefit from something more 'portable' to cue him about voice modulation and appropriate conversational behavior. Many young people have begun using everyday devices such as mobile phones and iPods to serve as portable reminders of the social skills they've learned in class. Kids can load social scripts, reminders, short video clips, cues about conversation skills, turn taking and social interactions right onto these devices to help them remember previous lessons. Technology tools such as these have the added benefit of being highly motivating for many teens, making them more likely to use them.

You may also want to consider multimedia tools or software at home to help reinforce the social skills lessons your son has learned in class. It could be that additional repetition and practice of the social stories and lessons he already 'knows' may help him generalize appropriate behavior when in new situations. Since you are particularly concerned with conversation cues and voice modulation, you might look into Model Me Kids, as they have videos on both topics. You should also talk to your son's teachers and see whether you can get copies of the videos and activities he uses in class, so you can continue to reinforce the lessons at home, and when out together in public places.

Notes: 

More fields may be available via dynamicdata ..