60 Social Situations and Discussion Starters to Help Teens on the Autism Spectrum Deal with Friendships, Feelings, Conflict and More: Seeing the Big Picture

by Lisa Timms

Overview

Teenagers and older children on the autism spectrum are, like everyone else, surrounded by complex social codes and rules that govern everyday interaction, but have much more difficulty in interpreting them. Reading cues such as sarcasm, idioms and body language often presents an impossible challenge, but this book of realistic and thought-provoking stories provides much needed help.

Written with both parent and teen in mind, every story outlines a real-life situation that young people on the autism spectrum are likely to encounter. Each story is followed by questions such as 'what else might he have done?', 'how do you think she felt?' and 'why do you think they were upset?' along with practical tips for parents on how to initiate constructive discussions. As teens consider these questions with adults, they will begin to be able to put themselves into someone else's shoes and think about how their actions and behaviour may affect those around them. This process will equip them to transfer this invaluable understanding and confidence to other everyday life situations.

Packed with 60 stories exploring real-life situations, this book will be an essential tool for parents, caregivers, teachers, and anyone else wishing to enable young people on the autism spectrum to acquire great social skills.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781849058629
Publisher:	Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Publication date:	05/15/2011
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Lisa Timms has an MS in Special Education from the University of Scranton in Scranton, PA. She has worked alongside autistic individuals for many years in a variety of roles, and is now Learning Disabilities Coordinator at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, PA. In the past, Lisa has held social skills classes and parent training sessions, and currently teaches special education courses for the education department at King's College. She resides in Pittston, PA.

Table of Contents

Introduction. 1. Self Esteem. 2. Problem Solving. 3. Friendships. 4. Dealing with Feelings. 5. Self-Control. 6. Conflict. 7. Family. 8. Community. 9. Relationships. 10. Cyber Safety. 11. Classroom Skills. 12. Job Skills. Appendix. Ways to Reduce Stress. Test Taking Skills.

Editorial Reviews

Lisa A Timms' new roadmap "60 Social Situations and Conversation Starters to Help Teens on the Autism Spectrum Deal with Friendships, Feelings, Conflict and More" is filled with stories of teens facing difficult social situations, such as the boy who had to miss his important basketball game because his mother's car wouldn't start or the boy who wanted to be homeschooled because he didn't get along with his teachers, only to be assigned his least favorite teacher for homeschooling!... This is a very concrete, easy to understand book for teens with ASD and because of all the case examples, this will help the reader to understand social concepts better, because of the concrete nature of the material and the format, which is designed for parents and teens to work on together. This is a rare gem.

Autism Society of Michigan

This book is an important tool for educators and therapists to help children with ASD learn to think "Inside the box". Rehearsing social situations is key to anxiety reduction and peer acceptance in teenagers who simply don't know what to do or say in a variety of common situations.

This book is a "must have" for parents. Instead of the author simply teaching the child how to respond in a situation, this book uses discussion questions to help parents teach children their own preferred responses to situations. This helps the parents tailor the strategies to reflect each family's unique beliefs.

Joann Pesavento

The book is designed with teens on the autism spectrum and their parents in mind but has application for all teenagers as well as education and professional staff working with any young person on their social development and social understanding. The aim of the book is to provide positive, helpful and thought-provoking social situations and discussion starters and it does this successfully. It is easy to read and provides good discussion starters and topics that will help improve understanding of social situations for a variety of teens. It has application for parents, schools and professional staff working with young people on their social understanding and specifically teens on the autism spectrum, although its potential application to a broader population is possible... short, concise, practical yet comprehensive teaching tool that is easy to red.

Australian Journal Guidance and Counselling

Lisa Timms 60 Social Situations is a great resource for therapists, guidance counselors and parents alike. It helps break down a variety of socially-related scenarios that are often complicated and confusing for teenagers on the autism spectrum. The questions that accompany each topic are thought provoking and applicable to everyday life and generalize easily into the real world. It also provides parents with a stepping stone to generate very important discussions with their teens with experiences they may have already had or are likely to have.

Deanne Chincola

This book is aimed at helping young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to develop a greater understanding of social situations. It is designed with both the young person and their parents in mind. It will also be useful for professionals who work with teens with ASD and want to focus on strengthening their social skills... The book... supports the young person in reflecting on what their behavioural responses might be in a given situation and how this may be helpful, or unhelpful, to them and the situation.

Youth in Mind.

The book is unusually easy to read and follow with no jargon or complex ideas to grapple with... I felt this book was one of the easiest to use and was intelligently designed can be applied in any order. In so many of the other books in this field one has to work through in linear fashion, which is automatically a barrier. Many teens are unwilling to give a lot of time to yet another activity in their already busy lives. In this book a specific problem can be dealt with in isolation which is a real asset... I would recommend this book as a starting point for any parent wanting to help their teen develop their understanding of social situations. It will help then identify areas of their behaviour and reactions that might be unhelpful and what is helpful

AS Teens

This is an invaluable tool to aid in the improvement of social skills. I have been waiting for something like this! It has the potential to diminish or limit the negative consequences i.e. anxiety, depression and loss of self esteem, that often accompany a poor social skill set. I highly recommend it to parents of ASD and typical teens. In our home we would pick a topic and discuss it at the dinner table. I know it will give parents a sense of piece of mind, that they might better prepare their teen for the unknown.

Mary Walsh

Finally, a useful and relevant guide about appropriate & safe social interactions has emerged that can really help teens and young adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Lisa Timms has written a top-notch book that includes skills development scenarios for school, recreation, community, social networking, and employment. Information for parents to coach & facilitate skills is positive, helpful, and thought provoking. 60 Social Situations & Discussion Starters is easy to read, fun to discuss, and a great book to improve the understanding of social situations.

Donna Podrazik