Is Social Skills Training doing more harm than good?
This post talks about an article that I just read for class, which critiques Social Skills Training (SST) curricula for those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and provides recommendations for what an ideal SST should offer. Reading this article has left me with new insights, questions and thoughts.
To me, this paper appears to be written well, in a thoughtful and accessible manner. The authors have done a good job of succinctly describing the background, their arguments and recommendations, with minimal jargon. The structure and accessibility of this article make it an engaging read. However, yes, some background knowledge in the area of ASD and social skills training would always be helpful for the reader.
Throughout the paper, the authors put forth certain key arguments. According to their research, SST is not found to be effective all the time, in fact it seems to have some unintended negative consequences as well. They suggest that SST curricula prescribe certain ‘top-down’ social rules and expectations, which ask people with ASD to interact and behave in a certain manner that is considered ‘normative’. However, their argument is that not all neurotypicals too always behave according to these social norms. There are many more nuances and layers to social communication which might be dependent on the context, and these may not be conveyed through the SST curricula. Thus, just by focusing on these rules, SST may be putting pressure on those with ASD as they are required to memorise these behaviours which do not allow them to be their true self. This may lead to a decrease in their authenticity, which is a crucial aspect of social interactions and development of intimate relationships. Thus, the authors argue, that such training may in fact lead to lesser social competence and potentially even mental health issues for those with ASD. They suggest that the underlying belief of ‘normalising’ people with ASD is actually stigmatising them even further.
The authors provide a few recommendations for social skills interventions. They suggest that while it might be important to teach certain top-down norms, such as those in classroom or organisational settings, it would also be essential for people with ASD to understand the bottom-up processes of social interaction. To do this, they recommend that these programs should be based in research on Conversation Analysis (CA) and sociolinguistics, and should involve analysis of actual conversations in order to understand the action-oriented and contextual factors associated with social interaction. People with ASD should also gain experience of facilitated in-person interactions. Authors also recommend following a Critical Language Awareness (CLA) framework rather than having normative expectations. Such a framework would look at the naturalistic processes of interaction. Lastly, they suggest a training program for neurotypicals to understand ASD better in order to prevent the stigmatisation.
While the critique and the associated recommendations make sense to me, and would be beneficial to those designing these interventions, I wonder what these would imply for teachers and their everyday practices. How would this knowledge change the way teachers work with students with ASD? Could the recommended frameworks be adopted in everyday teaching? I also wonder what this would mean for younger kids with autism. How could one teach the nuances and bottom-up processes of social interaction to young kids? Could the well-known method of social stories and modelling be beneficial or would that also be considered prescriptive? As a special educator, I have seen the effect of impaired social communication skills on peer relations and academic performance, and have sought effective strategies toward social skill building. However, not being trained in that specific area, I myself struggle with these questions.
The conflict between social skills training and authenticity seems complex, yet important to address. From the perspective of Universal Design for Learning and inclusion, it is essential that we do not attempt to alter the authentic self of those with ASD or stigmatise them, rather accept them as they are. However, at the same time, it is also crucial to provide them with resources and interventions that will help them develop social competence in a manner that lets them engage with others effectively (that is, in a contextually relevant and action-oriented manner) while keeping their authentic self intact.
