Interventions to support student collaboration

 Interventions:

 

Name of intervention	PEERS Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills.
Type of intervention	Social Communication
Description (what it involves, what happens)	14 week Evidence based social skills, caregiver supported intervention for adolescents or young adults or a 16 week evidence based social skills intervention for adolescents, school based.  PEERS approach targets social skills and looks at core social challenges for individuals on the spectrum with a focus on adolescents and adults. PEERS breaks down social skills into rules and steps of social behaviour. It uses specific lessons, demonstrations,  role play, as well as homework/assignments to practice in other settings to generalise the new skills. Adult leaders follow a guide/manual for week and day activities ands steps.
History	The first evidence based intervention for teaching and developing social skills. Developed by Dr Elizabeth Laugeson and colleagues at UCLA.  Dr Elizabeth Laugeson as cited in (University of California, 2015)  "It's as if we've forgotten that these children grow up to be adults with their own unique challenges that very often affect their ability to be gainfully employed or establish meaningful friendships and romantic relationships.” PEERS recognises the need to ongoing support into adulthood to ensure a positive quality of life for the autisic individual and their families.
Aims/theories	To teach autistic individuals social skills through didactic lessons, role play demonstrations, group socialisation activities and home learning for generalised skills.
Claims	To be the first and only evidence based practice for social communication skills.
Summary of the evidence and Ranking	Studies looking at social skills for adolescents with autism are limited and there is a limited number of evidence based interventions to compare PEERS.  Research around progress has shown there is an increase in social skill awareness from improvement in TASK results however often within autisc individuals there still is a lack of generalising into other social settings. This highlights the importance of maintaining these skills and continuing to work on these after the programme has finished.  PEERS has a strong theoretical perspective and provides screening, goals, lessons, step by step information, case studies as well as parallel programmes for parents to ensure that social skills opportunities happen within family context.  According to the NZ Guidelines Group (2016) approaches should emphasize pivotal skills such as spontaneity, initial, motivation and self management. This is ranked C, This aligns with the aims and steps of PEERS.
References and/or readings	Research Autism (nd). Interventions: Treatments and Therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Retrieved from: http://www.researchautism.net/autism-interventions/types University of California - Los Angeles. (2015, July 31). Young adults with autism show improved social function following skills program: Gains from 'PEERS' training persist 16 weeks later. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 25, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150731103705.htm PEERS for Adolescents (2020), UCLA PEERS Clinic., Retrieved from ; https://www.semel.ucla.edu/peers/teens Laugeson, E. A. (2013). The PEERS curriculum for school based professionals : social skills training for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Routledge. New Zealand Guidelines Group. (2016). New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder: Guideline. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Health

 

 

Name of intervention	Attention Autism
Type of intervention	Focus on Joint Attention
Description (what it involves, what happens)	Attention autism focusses on joint attention and communication skills through fun learning activities. The programme moves through a series of 4 stages of quality engaging activities. Start at stage 1 and move up when the child's attention is ready to be extended.  Focuses on spontaneous engagement.  Provides a framework where we can nurture social skills, communication and thinking skills.  Start with being visual and memorable.  Stage 1: Bucket time - visually engaging games and toys to gain shared attention of the bgrup. Adult leader comments on objects with simple and repetitive language.  Stage 2: Attention builder activities to keep joint attention focus for longer period of time through a ‘visually stimulating activity’.  Stage 3 : Turn taking and Re-engaging Attention - Teacher models a simple activity and invites some children to have a turn - teaches turn taking, self regulation if for waiting and learning through modelling.  Stage 4: Shifting-Re-engaging attention - Adult leader demonstrates a simple creative task and gives the child a tool kit to replicate or attempt. Take the task to a shared table and complete the task independently or as an extension to complete in a peer or as a small group with shared materials. Share finished products with the full class for fun and celebration.
History	Combined concepts around developmental psychology with good autism strategies is where the Attention Autism programme came from. By creator Gina Davies a speech and language therapist.
Aims/theories	Aims to develop natural and spontaneous communication and gaining attention through visually based and motivating activities.  Primary objective “sessions are fun and offer an irresistible invitation to learn”! (Centre for autism n.d) Aims: To engage attention To improve joint attention To develop shared enjoyment in group activities To increase attention in adult-led activities To encourage spontaneous interaction in a natural group setting To increase non-verbal and verbal communication through commenting To build a wealth and depth of vocabulary To have fun! (Centre for autism n.d) Joint attention is a known deficit in children/individuals with autism. There is a broad range of categories that come under attention and these features are reflected in the Attention Autism Program.  Orienting attention is when you move your physical body towards a person or tangible object. This is reflected in stage 1 when the attention is on the bucket and what is coming out of the bucket. It grabs attention and is motivating.  Sustaining attention is the ability to maintain  attention to a stimulus. This refers to stage 2 and 3 of Attention Autism where the activities are longer and turn taking can be involved.  Shifting attention: Requires the individual to change from one stimulus to another. This is evident in Attention Autism in stage 4 when the child observes and then collects materials and completes an activity changing their attention and focus.  Social versus non social stimuli are both aspects of Attention Autism as the activities invite the learners into the social world through repetitive language and visual appeal through objects and following the steps of an adult leader as you progress through the stages.  All of these elements make up Joint Attention. “Joint attention refers to shared attention between two individual and an object or another individual. Joint attention involves all three of the previously mentioned components of attention and is always social in nature.” (Patten, 2011)
Summary of the evidence and Ranking	Overall there is still a lot of evidence that needs to be bought together. Most practice evidence does not involve a control group and needs smaller group sizes for the evaluation to be considered for EB. In all of the online reviews of people using the programme it is hugely positive and shared attention and joint attention along with communication are all areas where there is evident progress.  The programme also aligns with rankings from the NZ Guidelines Group (2016) recognising that spontaneous communication, socialization and play goals should be a priority -ranked A, the childs or young person's particular interests should be incorporated wherever possible rank C and that interventions should take place in natural settings, using natural routines and natural consequence rank A.
References and/or readings	Research Autism (nd). Interventions: Treatments and Therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Retrieved from: http://www.researchautism.net/autism-interventions/types Center for Autism (n.d) Attention Autism. Retrieved; https://best-practice.middletownautism.com/approaches-of-intervention/attention-autism/ Patten, E., Watson, L., (2011) Interventions Targeting Attention in Young Children with Autism. American Journal of Speech and Language Pathology, VOL 20 pg 60-69 Marsh, F., (2019) Attention Autism for CHildren and young people on the autisic spectrum: A critique of the current evidence base. Doctoral Programme in Educational Psychology. University of Southampton New Zealand Guidelines Group. (2016). New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder: Guideline. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Health

 

 

 

Name of intervention	SCERTS
Type of intervention	SCERTS can be classified as a combined intervention as it blends elements of behavioral and developmental models
Description (what it involves, what happens)	SCERTS is child centred and builds on developmental rather than behavioural theories.  “The SCERTS® Model is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to enhancing the communication and socioemotional abilities of young children with autism spectrum disorder. SCERTS® refers to Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, and Transactional Support, which are priority goals in supporting the development of children with ASD and their families” (Prizant & Fields-Meyer, 2015)
Aims/theories	Develop spontaneous functional communication, adapt to an environment and partake in relationships with adults and peers.
Summary of the evidence and Ranking	SCERTS is evidence based and supports family-professional partnership in working towards improving quality of life for the individual and their families (Molteni. P et al. 2013). The targeted areas in the model are around joint attention, initiating communication, symbol use, imitation, emotional regulation and partner support (Rubin. E. 2017).
References and/or readings	Molteni. P, Guldberg. K and Logan.N (2013) Autism and multidisciplinary teamwork through the SCERTS Model. British Journal of Special Education. NASEN DOI: 10.1111/1467-8578.12030 Prizant, B. M., & Fields-Meyer, T. (2015). Uniquely human: A different way of seeing autism. Prizant, B. M., Wetherby, A.M., Rubin, E., Laurent, A.C., & Rydell, P. (2006). The SCERTS Model: A Comprehensive Educational Approach for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.

 

 

Name of intervention	LEGO therapy
Type of intervention	Social development
Description (what it involves, what happens)	LEGO therapy is a social development program for autistic children and other children with social communication difficulties. It uses children’s love of LEGO play, as well as their strengths and interests, to develop communication and social skills. LEGO therapy is used to teach children skills like turn-taking, sharing, listening, conversation, teamwork, shared attention and problem-solving.
History	LEGO®-Based Therapy was developed in the mid-1990s by US pediatric neuropsychologist Daniel LeGoff. He use to work 1:1 but after a spontaneous interaction between clients in his waiting room focused on a shared interest in a LEGO kit he decided to start doing his sessions in small groups and thus LEGO therapy was started.
Aims/theories	The main aim is to encourage children to collaborate with each other.
References and/or readings	Raising Children (2021) LEGO therapy. Retrieved from: https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/therapies-guide/lego-therapy  Bricks for Autism (n.d) Retrieved from: https://bricks-for-autism.co.uk/about-lego-therapy/