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Teach Social Skills in School Using Lunch Bunch
 by Julie Stewart, M.Ed. Individuals with autism spectrum disorders are impacted by a qualitative impairment in social interaction. Although this area of challenge will impact individuals across the lifespan, it is an area that does not receive as much intervention attention as other areas. To embed intervention across the day teachers must be creative and systematically plan for teaching social skills. Article continued.. |
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Starting a Social Skills Group for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum
 by Laura Ferguson, M.Ed., BCBA Individuals on the autism spectrum often find it difficult to form social relationships. Friendships that often form early in life for other individuals do not occur for individuals with autism. Parents, teachers and other professionals need to explicitly teach skills that are critical for social development. Social development skills can be effectively taught through participation in social skills groups. Article continued.. |
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Self Advocacy and College Students with ASD
 by Diandre Glover Thomas
High school students with autism have parents, teachers, counselors and other administrators who advocate for them in school. However, when these students graduate and attend college they are expected to advocate for themselves. It is essential for a student with autism spectrum disorder attending college to learn about their disability and be capable of communicating their needs to college disability resource centers when planning accommodations. Article continued.. |
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Teaching Social Skills to Your Child with Autism
 by Jennifer Bobo, MSSW, LCSW
Social skills are a very important set of skills that impact social, communicative, cognitive and emotional development. Social skills do not come naturally to individuals with autism and we know that these skills must be taught explicitly if they are going to be mastered. "How do I teach social skills?" you might ask. Below, I will briefly review some interventions to teach social skills and provide links to more information, examples and step-by-step instructions to create and implement these interventions. Article continued.. |
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KATC Family Webinar Series on YouTube
 The KATC has been excited to provide many great, free webinar trainings for parents and professionals. Our hope is that these webinars are available to as many individuals across the state by providing easy access to accurate, evidence based information. Webinar trainings are available to you 24 hours a day online. You can watch the training videos through our YouTube Channel and access powerpoint slides and handouts at the click of a button in the comfort of your own home. Check out the 30+ FREE archived webinar trainings on the KATC website. Also, subscribe to our YouTube channel to be quickly notified when new archived trainings are available for you to watch.
If you have any questions feel free to contact Jennifer Bobo, LCSW at (502) 852-7811.
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University of Louisville Offers a New Graduate Certificate in ASD and Applied Behavior Analysis
University of Louisville's department of special education faculty members are excited to announce this graduate certificate with advanced coursework in ASD and Applied Behavior Analysis. Additionally, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc.® has approved the course sequence as meeting the coursework requirements for eligibility to take the Board Certified Behavior Analyst Examination®. UofL is the first institution in the state to offer a certificate in Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis with a BACB approved course sequence. Students may apply to take prerequisite courses in fall 2012, and then apply to begin the 18-hour BCBA course sequence in spring 2013. Students must also complete 1,500 supervised hours of training before taking the BCBA exam.
To learn more about the program, contact Dr. Rob Pennington, 502-852-2633, or Dr. Monica Delano, 502-852-2546.
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2011-2012 Summary of KATC Activities
 We wanted to share with our readers a brief summary of what the KATC has accomplished this year to support families and professionals. We grouped our activities into the following categories:
- Utilizing Technology
- Promoting Early Identification and Access to Early Intervention
- Supporting Families
- Building Statewide Capacity for Educators to Improve Outcomes for Learners with ASD
- Statewide Training for Families and Professionals Article continued....
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Peer-Mediated Instruction and Intervention
 by Heidi Cooley-Cook The National Professional Development Center on ASD affirms that PMII has been shown to be an effective practice for a wide age range, 3 to 18 --- utilizing peer-initiation training with young children 3-8 and social networking with older children 9-18. NPDC noted that only 1 study met their criteria for middle/high school age groups, while there was more research supporting PMII for use with early childhood and elementary age children. Article continued.. |
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Featured Resource Library Book
 S.O.S. Social Skills in Our Schools:
A Social Skills Program for Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Including High-Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome, and Their Typical Peers
237 pages
Publisher: Autism Asperger Publishing Company (2005)
Forming healthy, solid relationships with their typical peers is a major challenge for most children with autism spectrum disorders. This comprehensive social skills curriculum has the dual purpose of helping educators develop appropriate social skills in children with pervasive developmental disorders while also fostering understanding and tolerance among typical peers and school staff. The curriculum includes built-in booster lessons, so the child receives multiple presentations of the material, thus reinforcing the lesson for better understanding and generalization. |
