DEVELOPING MEANINGFUL

SOCIAL SKILLS WITH

ADOLESCENTS ON THE SPECTRUM
THE PEERS® PROGRAM

Jess Muszynski, Ed.S.

Practicing School Psychologist
University of Wisconsin Stout
Adjunct Professor, Co-Director of PEERS Program
Certified Provider: School Based PEERS
10+ sessions of school based PEERs
3 different school districts

Presenter

Statement of Potential Conflicts of Interest

Relating to this presentation, there are no relationships that

could be perceived as potential conflict of interests:

Jess Muszynski, Ed.S. NCSP

School Based Practices in Social Skills

 IEPs vs. Real Life

What IEP Data Said What We Saw

• Adults reported strong social
skills and enjoyed socializing
with students
• Most of our students were
making progress or meeting
social skills goals on their IEPs
• Successful with isolated skills
within small groups and with
adult support
• Students relying on adults to solve
problems
• Students not involved in school or
community activities
• Students seeking out and socializing
more with adults than peers
• Students reporting much stronger social
skills and friendships than happening
• Students using the same skills they
learned as young children, even though
the skills of other students around them
were developing

Component Description
Check In/Warm Up • Time to share information
• Review previously learned materials
• Share how students have generalized previously learned materials

Intro of New Skill • Direct instruction on new skill by the adult leader
Modeling • Providing examples of targeted behavior
• Can be done by an adult, peers or video modeling
• Helpful to have good and bad examples of targeted behaviors
Practice • Role Plays
• Allow each member to practice the new skill several times
• Video modeling can be used for self-reflection or coaching
Feedback • This step should be embedded within the practice component
• Provide correction when the skill is used incorrectly
• Provide reinforcement when the skill is used correctly
Generalization • People, setting, activities
• Using the skill within the “natural environment”
• Homework with detailed instructions on how to use the skill outside the
lesson

WHAT ARE BEST PRACTICES?

Components of Social Skills Training

What skills are we teaching?

Ecologically Valid Adult Identified

Steps and strategies Skills that adults have
that work for found to be successful
adolescents that are Used in environments
socially successful where adults socialize
Used in environments More practice of
where adolescents elementary social skills
socialize that have not met
mastery

Common Missing Components from

Social Skill Instruction

‣ Most programs do not use evidence based curricula

‣ Very few programs are targeted to adolescents
‣ Do not teach ecologically valid social skills
‣ Do not include homework assignments
‣ Do not generalize to other settings
‣ Often fail to tailor to teaching method to the cognitive
style of those with ASD
‣ Do not include parents and/or teachers in treatment
‣ Do not assess gains over time
 Development in ASD

Brain Development - ASD

Infancy and Early Childhood Adolescences and Young
Smaller head circumference Adulthood
(HC) at birth The “new infancy”
Larger head circumference at Higher heart rates: fight/
2 yrs. flight
Brain volume-10% larger
Cellular growth and
programing issues in frontal
and temporal lobes,
amygdala (Social brain)
Plateaus at 3-5 yrs.
Higher heart rates, esp. to
unfamiliar people

Consider Strengths

Temple Grandin Not Temple Grandin

Social Development in Adolescents and Young

Adulthood
 ASD: Social Deficits and Consequences

DEFICITS
• Social Communication
Social Awareness
•
• Social Motivation
• Social Cognition
CONSEQUENCES
• Social Neglect and
Isolation
• Peer Rejection
• Peer Conflict
• Lack of Close Reciprocal
Friendships

Consequences of Peer Rejection

Peer rejection is one of the STRONGEST
PREDICTORS of:
• Mental health problems (Depression & Anxiety)
• Juvenile delinquency
• Poor academic performance
• Early withdrawal from school
• Substance abuse
• Suicidal ideation and attempts

Risk Factor for Peer Rejection for Teens with ASD

High Risk Factors: PROTECTIVE

FACTOR:
• Less social competent
Friendships are
• Fewer friendships known to protect
• Less peer support against
victimization

School Based PEERS® Implementation

 PEERS®

Models of Service Customized by age and setting

School Based
Pre-School (4-6 yrs)
Clinic Based
Adolescents (12-18 yrs)
Young Adults (18-35 yrs)

Clay’s Story
http://www.marquette.edu/psyc/
about_PEERS_video.shtml

Training
Certified School Based
Provider
Training through
UCLA PEERS®

PEERS® LITE
Order online
Follow the script
Reach out to certified
providers with questions

PEERS® Content Includes

Conversational Skills: Peer Entry

¤ Trading Information
¤ Two-way conversations
¤ Electronic communication
Choosing Appropriate
Friends
¤ Friendship is a choice
¤ What makes a good
friend?
Appropriate Use of
Humor
¤ Entering a conversation
¤ Exiting a conversation
Get Togethers
¤ Etiquette for hosting and/
or attending a hang out
with friends
¤ Being a good sport
PEERS® Content Includes

Dating (Young Adult): Rumors and Gossip

¤ Letting someone know ¤ Putting gossip in its place
you like them ¤ Changing reputations
¤ Asking someone out
Arguments and
¤ Before, during and after
Disagreements
a date ¤ Listen, find common ground
Teasing and Embarrassment
¤ Short comebacks to teasing
¤ Apologize when necessary
¤ Handling embarrassment
Bullying
¤ Dealing with a bully at work
or school

Class Based Weekly Small Group

Staffing 2 adults: 8-12 students
Time 16 weeks (approx. 1
semester)
40 minute class
5 days a week
Structure M: Homework Review
T: Didactic Lesson
W: Lesson Review &
Behavioral Rehearsal
TH & F: Teen Activity
1 adult 4-6 students
90 minute session
Once a week
30 minutes: Homework Review
40 minutes: Didactic Lesson &
Role Plays
15 minutes: Teen Activity
5 Minutes: Homework Assigned

School Based Implementation Options

Walk through a week of PEERS® Class

Monday: Review
Homework
What went well?
Tuesday: Didactic Instruction

Wednesday: Review Rules, What did not go well?

Behavioral Rehearsal, New
Homework Assigned
How can we adjust for next time?
Thursday & Friday: Teen
Activity

Walk through a week of PEERS® Class

Monday: Review Homework

Tuesday: Didactic
Instruction
Wednesday: Review Rules,
Behavioral Rehearsal, New
Homework Assigned
Thursday & Friday: Teen
Activity
Didactic Instruction on Ecologically
Valid Skill
Steps for Joining a Group Conversation
• Listen to conversation
• Watch from distance
• Use a prop
• Identify the topic
• Move closer
• Wait for a pause
• Mention the topic
• Assess interest
• Introduce yourself
Role Plays
• What not to do
• Using the Rules

Perspective Taking Questions

 Walk through a week of PEERS® Class

Monday: Review Homework Review Rules

Tuesday: Didactic Instruction

Practice Skills: Joining Group Conversations
- Use steps?
Wednesday:
Behavioral Rehearsal - Correctly identifying topic?
- Identify if they were accepted or rejected
Thursday & Friday: Teen
Activity Assign New Homework
Parent Handouts go Home

PEERS® Video Role Play Examples

• Initiating a • Initiating a
Conversation Conversation
– Bad Example – Good Example

Walk through a week of PEERS® Class

Monday: Review Homework

Tuesday: Didactic Instruction

TIME TO LEAVE THE CLASSROOM!
Wednesday: Review Rules,
Behavioral Rehearsal, New
Homework Assigned

Friday & Thursday:

Teen Activity

PEERS®: Effects of School Based Program

 School Based Outcomes
• A number of studies have shown positive
outcomes for students, but let’s look at:
– The ABC’s of teaching social skills to adolescents
with autism spectrum disorder in the classroom: The
UCLA PEERS® Program.
Laugerson, Ellingsen, Sanderson, Tucci, & Bates. (2014). Journal of Autism and
Developmental Disorders, 44, 2244-56.

School Based Outcomes

• Control and Treatment Group

– Control = Super Skills® curriculum (Coucouvanis, 2005)
– Treatment = PEERS® for adolescents, school-based
program
– Matched by demographics and baseline measures
• Outcome Measures included
Teacher Parent Self-report
– Social – SRS-P – SAS-A
Responsiveness – SSRS-P – QSQ
Scale (SRS-T)
– Social Anxiety Scale – Test of Adolescent
– Social Skills
(SAS-P) Social Skills
Rating System Knowledge (TASSK)
(SSRS-T) – Quality of Socialization
Questionnaire (QSQ) – Friendship Qualities
Scale (FQS)

School Based Outcomes

PEERS® results on outcome measures

– Significant improvement for social
responding (p<.01)

Prosocial Outcomes

PEERS® - Significant Improvement Super Skills® -No Change or Decrease

• Social responding (p<.01) • Social responding (decrease)

• Social motivation (p<.03) • Social motivation (no
• Social awareness (p<.03) change)
• Social awareness (decrease)
• Social communication (p<.
• Social communication
03)
(decrease)
• Social knowledge (p<.01)
• Social knowledge (no
• Autism Mannerisms (p<.02) change)
• Autism Mannerisms
(increased)
Prosocial Outcomes

PEERS® - No Change or Improvement Super Skills® -No Change or Decrease

• Hosted get-togethers • Hosted get-togethers

(increased sig. (p<.02) (decreased)
• Invited get-togethers (no • Invited get-togethers
change) (decreased)
• Social Anxiety (decrease) • Social Anxiety (increased
sig. (p<.06)

Interpretations

• Significant improvements associated with the

PEERS methodology
– Other research suggests that improved skills sustain
over time
– Parent assistance is key to maximizing outcomes
• But perhaps even more interesting, the Control
group demonstrated no changes or
decreases….

• The purpose of the study had

nothing to do with scrutinizing
the Control group curriculum, but
inferences that can be made:
– Lack of evidence-base or efficacy
with procedures may lead to
failed attempts at social relating
How can
– Continued failed attempts may that be?
increase anxiety and lead to a
decrease in skill and/or motivation
to interact socially with others.

Take Home Message

• Evidence-based programming is essential
• We need to rethink the “Something is
better than nothing” approach.
– Emerging research suggests that may not be
the case.
PEERS® Evidence-Base
Reused with permission from E. Laugeson

Research Supports Positive Outcomes

• Enhanced social
understanding and skill
• Increased contact with
peers
• Sustained effects
– Behavioral
– Neurological
• Reports of diminished
anxiety and Suicidality

Adolescence, the Brain, and Social Isolation in ASD:

A Model

Differences in
Isolation and decreased brain activity/
attention/exposure to structure Social skills
social information challenges

Intervention/
Friendships

Remediation of isolation; Increased

attention/exposure to social Growth in brain Improved social
information activity/structure skills

Model: S. Stevens

Questions
Jess Muszynski, EdS NCSP
Co-Director of PEERS @ UW-STOUT
www.uwstout.edu/peers
muszynskij@uwstout.edu