Children on the autism spectrum may find mastering the long-term goal of socializing difficult. This might be because they find it difficult to make eye contact with others when listening or speaking, they perhaps struggle to respond to their name being called, or maybe they display social anxiety. Social skills are essential in helping your child build relationships with others, such as peers. Difficulty with social skills can lead to disrupted communication and social bonds affecting relationship formation, loneliness, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and more. 

Practicing social skills in different environments can reinforce your child’s developing social skills and teach your child that social skills are not just for one environment. Using positive reinforcement is highly recommended when teaching social skills to reinforce desired behaviors in the practiced social situations and help your child transfer these skills to additional social situations. Phase out the positive reinforcement when the skill has been sufficiently acquired. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behaviors to be supported solely by social reinforcement.

The following strategies may help your child make progress towards mastering the long-term goal of socializing:

• Role-play. Role-playing different social situations can help children prepare for interactions. It can also allow you to provide your child with immediate response and feedback to behaviors, which may help to identify and reinforce desirable behaviors. Role-playing social situations can be a useful way to practice interactions that your child may need more experience with. For example, you can role-play meeting a new friend, starting with introducing oneself and moving onto playing together. While role-playing, your child can practice responding to their name being called and responding to the mand of their peer. You can also practice initiating interactions with someone that they know, such as a classmate, where you are the classmate and the child has to engage you in conversation or ask you to play.

Social Situations to Role-Play With Your Child in Different Grades | Understood

‍22 Social Scenarios for Speech Therapy Practice (home-speech-home.com)

• Provide explicit directions and set clear expectations. Your child may find it difficult at first to understand what they should do in a particular social situation. To give your child an idea of expectations related to the long-term goal of socialization, begin with clear directions and expectations. For example, when you want your child to respond in a particular way to their name being called, you can first explain to your child that they should respond to their name being called, followed by explaining what kind of a response is typically expected (such as by saying, “Yes”), and then set the expectation that they will do so when they hear their name being called by practicing call-and-response type activities. Rewarding your child when they appropriately respond is important to reinforce the behavior.
• Use social stories. The purpose of a social story is to explain a social situation to your child and help them learn how to behave in those social situations. Using social stories is a good way to teach children about different situations and how they should act. Social stories are versatile and can be used to teach your child about almost any social situation. You can make a social story, for example, on how to greet a friend. It can go as follows:

1. I see someone I know.
2. I wave to the person I know.
3. I say, “Hi, how are you?” to the person I know.
4. They say, “Good, how are you?”
5. I tell them how I am doing.

Teaching Social Skills with Social Stories - Whimsy Workshop Teaching

• Below are some social stories you can read with your child:

FREE Accepting Differences Social Story & Social Emotional Learning Activities (teacherspayteachers.com)

FREE Taking a Break Social Story & Task Cards by Sunnyside Children's Clinic (teacherspayteachers.com)

PRINT OR DIGITAL Being a Good Friend Social Story and Choices Sort FREEBIE (teacherspayteachers.com)

Feeling Angry Social Story FREEBIE! by One Smile at a Time | TPT (teacherspayteachers.com)

Social Story (FREE) → TIME'S UP! by Denise Wilson - Tracking Behavior (teacherspayteachers.com)

• Watch videos of social stories. Watching videos of unfamiliar social situations that your child is not familiar with can facilitate learning about what to expect and encourage a discussion about how to react to a given situation. For example, if your child feels uncertain about meeting up with friends and greeting them, you can watch a video of children meeting up and playing together, pointing out how the children greet their friends and how they initiate play.

Social Skills Video: Think it Or Say It - YouTube

Compromising with Others - YouTube

Taking a Break When you Need It - YouTube

• Additional resources:

• --> For the parent:

Classroom Timers - Fun Timers (online-stopwatch.com)

30 Problem Solving Scenarios for Kids & Teens (home-speech-home.com)

FREE! - Social Skills Scenarios - Scenario Cards for Social Skills (twinkl.com)

• --> For your child:

What If Everybody Did That? | Social Skills for Kids | Read Aloud - YouTube

Social Emotional Learning For Kids: Benji, the Bad Day, and Me | Vooks Storytime - YouTube

In order to help your child master the long-term goal of socializing, you can work with your child on the short-term goals of greetings, initiating social interaction, responding to name called, responding to mand of peer, attending to activities for a specified amount of time, completing at least two conversation exchanges, identifying the perspective of others in social situations, maintaining appropriate personal space, socially appropriate speaking / not speaking, apologizing, and responding to verbal behavior of others.

For the short-term goal of greetings, you can choose a target such as greeting a peer, greeting a teacher, greeting a family member, greeting quickly, stopping to greet someone, etc. 

Greetings

• Step 1: Decide what scenario related to greetings you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of greeting a peer while working on the short-term goal of greetings. The task analysis for greeting a peer could be as follows:

1. Visually identify the peer. (The parent can role-play the peer or use a doll or a stuffie as a stand-in for the peer, if a peer is unavailable.)
2. Get the peer’s attention by waving to them or calling their name.
3. When you have the peer’s attention, walk up to them.
4. Say, “Hi, [name of peer]! How are you today?”

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as a picture of someone waving, or a verbal SD (“Time to say hello!” or “Let’s go say hello!”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt their part independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently (i.e., their part). For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Alternatively, if your child is able to complete their entire part of task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete it independently (e.g., 1 min, 2 min, 5 min, etc.).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of greeting a peer), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt their part independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to identify their peer, then gather the peer’s attention, followed by saying, “Hi, how are you?” to the peer).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Decide if you want to utilize forwards or backwards chaining to teach the steps that your child may struggle to complete independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at greeting a peer during a session. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of greeting a peer by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at greeting a peer over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.

For the short-term goal of initiating social interaction, you can choose a target such as initiating social interaction with a friend, initiating social interaction with a classmate, initiating social interaction with a family member, initiating social interaction with a community helper (e.g., police officer, firefighter, doctor, nurse, paramedic, etc.), etc.

Initiating Social Interaction

• Step 1: Decide what scenario relating to social interactions you would like your child to learn. For example, you can choose the target of initiating social interaction with a friend while working on the short-term goal of initiating social interaction. The task analysis for initiating social interaction with a friend could be as follows:

1. Visually identify the friend. (The parent can role-play the peer or use a doll or a stuffie as a stand-in for the peer, if a peer is unavailable.)
2. Get the friend’s attention by waving to them or calling their name.
3. When you have the friend’s attention, walk up to them.
4. Say, “Hi, [name of friend]! How are you today?”
5. Wait for the friend’s reply.
6. Affirm that you heard the friend’s reply by responding appropriately to their response. For example, if they said, “How are you today?” reply with, “Good, thank you.”

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as a picture of two people talking, or a verbal SD (“Time to go say hi!” or “Let’s go say hi to your friend!”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt their part independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently (i.e., their part). For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Alternatively, if your child is able to complete their entire part of the task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete it independently (e.g., 1 min, 2 min, 5 min, etc.).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of initiating social interaction with a friend), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt their part independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to wave to the friend, followed by verbally greeting them).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Decide if you want to utilize forwards or backwards chaining to teach the steps that your child may struggle to complete independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at initiating social interaction with a friend during a session. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of initiating social interaction with a friend by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at initiating social interaction with a friend over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.

For the short-term goal of responding to having your name called, you can choose a target such as responding to your name being called by a parent, responding to your name being called by a teacher, responding to your name being called by a friend, etc.

Responding to Name Called

• Step 1: Decide what scenario related to responding to their name being called that you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of responding to name being called by a parent while working on the short-term goal of responding to name being called. The task analysis for responding to name being called by a parent could be as follows:

1. Begin an activity, such as playing with a toy or watching a television show or movie.
2. When your name is called, stop participating in the activity.
3. Respond to your name being called. This can be turning towards the person calling your name and looking in their direction (perhaps wave in response), or verbally responding by replying, “Yes?”

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as a cartoon person with a speech bubble, or a verbal SD (“Time to listen for our name!” or “Let’s respond to our name!”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt their part independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently (i.e., their part). For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Alternatively, if your child is able to complete their entire part of the task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete it independently (e.g., 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, etc.).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of responding to name called by parent), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt their part independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to begin participating in an activity, then stop the activity when name is called, followed by appropriately responding to name being called by replying, “Yes?”).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Decide if you want to utilize forwards or backwards chaining to teach the steps that your child may struggle to complete independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at responding to name being called by a parent during a session. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of responding to name being called by a parent by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at responding to name being called by a parent over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.

For the short-term goal of responding to mand of peer, you can choose a target such as, responding to a mand for an item currently being held, responding to a mand for an item nearby, responding to a mand for a favorite item, etc.

Responding to Mand of Peer

• Step 1: Decide what scenario related to responding to a mand of peer you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of responding to a mand for an item currently being held while working on the short-term goal of responding to the mand of a peer. The task analysis for responding to a mand for an item currently being held could be as follows:

1. Begin an activity that requires the use of items, such as playing with toys or a game.
2. When someone asks for the item in your hand, decide whether you currently need it for your activity or not.
3. If you are using the item, tell your peer, “Sorry, I need it right now. You can have it when I am done.” If you are not using the item, tell your peer, “Okay, here you go,” and hand the item to your peer.

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as a picture of a person with a speech bubble, or a verbal SD (“Time to listen to your peer!” or “Let’s hear what they have to say!”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt their part independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently (i.e., their part). For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Alternatively, if your child is able to complete their entire part of the task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete it independently (e.g., 1 min, 3 min, 5 min, etc.).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of responding to a mand for an item being currently held), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt their part independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to begin the activity, then determining whether or not you need the item, followed by the appropriate response depending on whether you need the item or do not need the item).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Decide if you want to utilize forwards or backwards chaining to teach the steps that your child may struggle to complete independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at responding to a mand for an item currently being held during a session. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of responding to a mand for an item currently being held by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at responding to a mand for an item currently being held over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.

For the short-term goal of attending to activities for a specified amount of time, you can choose a target such as attending to activities for 1 minute, attending to activities for 2 minutes, attending to activities for 5 minutes, attending to activities for 10 minutes, etc.

Attending to Activities for a Specified Amount of Time

• Step 1: Decide what scenario related to attending to activities you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of attending to activities for 2 minutes while working on the short-term goal of attending to activities for a specified amount of time. The task analysis for attending to activities for 2 minutes could be as follows:

1. Set a timer for 2 minutes. If the timer is visual only (i.e., does not make  sound when time is up), place it in a location you can easily see it. If the timer has a sound for when it finishes, you can place it out of sight, or keep it nearby.
2. Begin activity.
3. Participate in the activity with your full attention until the timer runs out.
4. When the timer alerts you to the 2 minutes being finished, step away from the activity and take a break.

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as a picture of a timer, or a verbal SD (“Time to pay attention!” or “Let’s pay attention!”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently. For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently. Alternatively, if your child is able to complete the entire task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete the entire task analysis independently during a set amount of time (e.g.,  2 minutes).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of attending to activities for 2 minutes), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to set the timer, then participate for 2 minutes, followed by stopping to take a break when the timer tells you that time is up).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently. Decide if you want to utilize forwards or backwards chaining to teach the steps that your child may struggle to complete independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at attending to activities for 2 minutes during a session. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of attending to activities for 2 minutes by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at attending to activities for 2 minutes over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.

For the short-term goal of completing at least two conversation exchanges, you can choose a target such as greeting a peer then speaking with a friend, greeting a friend then speaking with a family member, greeting a family member then speaking with a friend, etc.

Completing at Least Two Conversation Exchanges

• Step 1: Decide what scenario related to conversation exchanges you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of greeting a friend then speaking with a family member while working on the short-term goal of completing at least two conversation exchanges. The task analysis for greeting a friend then speaking with a family member could be as follows:

1. Identify the friend.
2. Wave to the friend.
3. Say, “Hi, [friend’s name]. How are you?”
4. Wait for friend to respond.
5. Respond appropriately to the friend. For example, if they say, “I’m good, how are you?” you can reply with, “I’m fine, thank you!”
6. Ask what the friend is going to do next. For example, you can ask, “What are you going to do today?”
7. Wait for the friend to respond.
8. Respond appropriately to the friend. For example, you can say, “That’s super cool! I hope you have fun!” if they are doing something exciting.
9. Say goodbye to the friend.
10. Repeat with family member.

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as a picture of two people talking, or a verbal SD (“Time to talk!” or “Let’s have a chat!”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt their part independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently (i.e., their part). For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Alternatively, if your child is able to complete their entire part of the task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete it independently (e.g., 10 min, 15 min, 20 min, etc.).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of greeting a friend then speaking with a family member), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt their part independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to identify friend, then greet friend, followed by saying goodbye to friend and repeating process with a family member).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Decide if you want to utilize forwards or backwards chaining to teach the steps that your child may struggle to complete independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at greeting a friend then speaking with a family member over a certain number of sessions. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of greeting a friend then speaking with a family member by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at greeting a friend then speaking with a family member over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.

For the short-term goal of identifying the perspective of others in social situations, you can choose a target such as playing a game to visualize/understand perspective taking, identifying the perspective of others in a sad situation (e.g., a book, a movie, a video clip, etc.), identifying the perspective of others in a happy situation (e.g., a book, a movie, a video clip, etc.), identifying the perspective of others in a tense situation (e.g., a book, a movie, a video clip, etc.), etc.

Identifying the Perspective of Others in Social Situations

• Step 1: Decide what scenario related to identifying the perspectives of others you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of  visualizing the perspective of others while working on the short-term goal of identifying the perspective of others in social situations. The task analysis for visualizing the perspective of others could be as follows:

1. Having two chairs facing each other, have your child sit in one of the chairs while you sit in the other one, such that you face each other.
2. Name 3 objects that you see behind your child, and then have your child name 3 objects that are behind your chair.
3. Switch seats, such that your child sits in the chair you were sitting in, and vice versa.
4. Identify the 3 objects your child named, and then have your child identify the 3 objects that you named and are now behind the chair you’re sitting in.
5. Discuss the relation between the visual perspective game you just played and how people may have different perspectives in social situations, where your child makes one connection between the two.

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as a picture of someone thinking, or a verbal SD (“Time to think about different perspectives!” or “Let’s understand different perspectives!”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt their part independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently (i.e., their part). For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Alternatively, if your child is able to complete their entire part of the task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete it independently (e.g., 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, etc.).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of visualizing the perspective of others), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt their part independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to name the 3 objects, switch seats, identify the other 3 objects, then make a connection between the visual perspective of others and different perspectives in social situations).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Decide if you want to utilize forwards or backwards chaining to teach the steps that your child may struggle to complete independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at visualizing the perspective of others during a session. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of visualizing the perspective of others by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at visualizing the perspective of others over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.

For the short-term goal of maintaining appropriate personal space, you can choose a target such as identifying personal space, maintaining personal space at school, maintaining personal space in the library, maintaining personal space at home, maintaining personal space at the park, maintaining personal space while playing, keeping your hands to yourself, etc.

Maintaining Appropriate Personal Space

• Step 1: Decide what scenario related to personal space you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of identifying personal space while working on the short-term goal of maintaining appropriate personal space. The task analysis for identifying personal space could be as follows:

1. Sit in a circle of 4 people, where the distance between 2 adjacent people is about 1 foot. Sit across from your child (as opposed to next to your child). If 2 additional people (e.g., another parent, a sibling, etc.) are not available, you can use dolls or stuffies as stand-ins.
2. Gently touch the person sitting next to them, and say, “I am in their personal space, I need to move further away.” 
3. Wait while the other people in the circle repeat the same action (i.e., check for personal space).
4. Move backwards while stretching their arms towards the people on each side until they are at an arm’s length distance between them and each of the other two people, and say “I am not in their personal space.” 
5. Wait while the other people in the circle repeat the same action (i.e., move to respect personal space).

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as a picture of kids playing together, or a verbal SD (“Time to identify personal space!” or “Let’s identify personal space!”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt their part independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently (i.e., their part). For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Alternatively, if your child is able to complete their entire part of the task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete it independently (e.g., 2 min, 5 min, 10 min, etc.).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of identifying personal space), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt their part independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to gently touch touch the person near you and how to move backwards to arm’s length).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Decide if you want to utilize forwards or backwards chaining to teach the steps that your child may struggle to complete independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at identifying personal space during a session. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of identifying personal space by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at identifying personal space over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.

For the short-term goal of socially appropriate speaking / not speaking, you can choose a target such as not speaking when someone else is speaking, staying quiet in the library, paying a compliment, thanking for an undesired gift, responding to a question, not speaking when the teacher is speaking, etc.

Socially Appropriate Speaking / Not Speaking

• Step 1: Decide what scenario related to socially appropriate speaking or not speaking you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of staying quiet in the library for 5 minutes while working on the short-term goal of socially appropriate speaking / not speaking. The task analysis for staying quiet in the library for 5 minutes could be as follows:

1. Go near a bookshelf and sit down quietly (this can be done at home).
2. Grab a book to read or look at pictures.
3. Set a timer for 5 minutes. If the timer is visual only (i.e., does not make  sound when time is up), place it in a location you can easily see it. If the timer has a sound for when it finishes, you can place it out of sight, or keep it nearby.
4. Quietly read the book or look at the pictures until the timer signals the 5 minutes have passed.
5. Quietly leave the area with the bookshelf.

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as a picture of someone making the shushing motion, or a verbal SD (“Time to be quiet in the library!” or “Let’s be quiet in the library!”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently. For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently. Alternatively, if your child is able to complete the entire task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete it independently (e.g., 5 min, 10 min, etc.).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of staying quiet in the library for 5 minutes), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to sit quietly and read for 5 minutes near the bookshelf).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently. Decide if you want to utilize forwards or backwards chaining to teach the steps that your child may struggle to complete independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at staying quiet in the library for 5 minutes during a session. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of staying quiet in the library for 5 minutes by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at staying quiet in the library for 5 minutes over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.

For the short-term goal of apologizing, you can choose a target such as apologizing to a family member, apologizing to a friend, apologizing for bumping into someone, apologizing for interrupting, etc.

Apologizing

• Step 1: Decide what scenario related to apologizing you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of apologizing for bumping into someone while working on the short-term goal of apologizing. The task analysis for apologizing for bumping into someone could be as follows:

1. While the parent is holding up a doll or stuffie, walk towards the parent and gently bump into the doll/stuffie while walking by.
2. Turn around and walk back to the doll/stuffie and stand in front of them.
3. Apologize by saying “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you.”

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as a picture of someone looking sad, or a verbal SD (“Time to learn to apologize.” or “Let’s learn to apologize.”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt their part independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently (i.e., their part). For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Alternatively, if your child is able to complete their entire part in the task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete it independently (e.g., 1 min, 3 min, 5 min, etc.).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of apologizing for bumping into someone), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt their part independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to gently bump into a toy and then apologize).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Decide if you want to utilize forwards or backwards chaining to teach the steps that your child may struggle to complete independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at apologizing for bumping into someone. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of apologizing for bumping into someone by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at apologizing for bumping into someone over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.

For the short-term goal of responding to verbal behavior of others, you can choose a target such as responding appropriately to “how are you?”, responding succinctly to “what are you doing today?”, etc.

Responding to Verbal Behavior of Others

Children on the autism spectrum can find the short-term goal of responding to verbal behavior of others difficult, whether it is due to not knowing how to respond to the question(s) being asked or responding to questions with responses that are too literal. For example, a question often posed by people is, “How are you?” When someone asks this question, they typically do not want an in-depth response or a response that is too personal. Rather, they are looking for a simple response, such as: “Good, how are you?” An individual on the autism spectrum could answer differently, taking the question literally and describing in significant detail how they are at the moment (e.g., physically, contextually, emotionally, etc.). This can make it difficult to cultivate relationships with peers. A person on the autism spectrum may require practice and, initially, guidance in how to appropriately respond to the verbal behavior of others. Helping your child learn how to respond to the verbal behavior of others will help them navigate social situations and social circles, as well as more effectively communicate with their neurotypical peers.

• Step 1: Decide what scenario related to responding to verbal behavior of others you would like your child to practice. For example, you can choose the target of responding appropriately to “how are you?” while working on the short-term goal of responding to verbal behavior of others. The task analysis for responding appropriately to “how are you?” could be as follows:

1. Start on opposite ends of a room, and walk towards your parent while they walk to come and meet you in the middle of the room.
2. When your parent says, “Hi,” respond with a greeting by also saying “Hi!”
3. When your parent asks, “How are you?” respond with “I’m fine, thank you. How are you?”
4. Quietly listen to your parent reply to you.

• Step 2: An initial/specific discriminative stimulus (SD) should be selected that will cue your child that the task will start. This SD can be a visual SD, such as a picture of two people greeting one another, or a verbal SD (“Time to respond to social questions!” or “Let’s respond appropriately to social questions!”).
• Step 3: Collect baseline level data by providing the SD from Step 2 and allowing your child to attempt their part independently. The baseline level will vary according to your child and their specific abilities. Take data on which steps were accurately done independently (i.e., their part). For example, you can count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Alternatively, if your child is able to complete their entire part of the task analysis independently, record how long it takes your child to complete it independently (e.g., 30 seconds, 1 min, 2 min, etc.).
• Step 4: To begin the trial to monitor progress towards meeting the target (i.e., the target of responding appropriately to “how are you?”), provide the SD from Step 2 and allow your child to attempt their part independently. When your child is successful, provide reinforcement. If the reinforcer for the behavior is a tangible item, such as a small snack or a token for a token board, ensure that it is provided with a great deal of verbal praise. Ideally, you want your child’s positive behavior to be supported solely by social reinforcement. If the behavior was not displayed, end the trial and provide the appropriate level of prompting on the following trial. For example, employ a model prompt to show your child what to do at the beginning of the following trial (e.g., model for your child how to respond when being greeted, followed by responding appropriately to being asked “how are you?”).
• Step 5: Collect data on how your child makes progress. For example, count how many steps in a row (from the task analysis in Step 1) your child can complete independently (i.e., their part). Decide if you want to utilize forwards or backwards chaining to teach the steps that your child may struggle to complete independently. Alternatively, you can track progress by recording how long it takes your child to complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1. Or, alternatively, you can track progress by counting the number of successful attempts at responding appropriately to “how are you?” during a session. 
• Step 6: Track how your child makes progress to meet the target of responding appropriately to “how are you?” by comparing with either a number threshold or a percentage threshold (necessary to meet the target). For example, you can record the number of successful attempts at responding appropriately to “how are you?” over a certain number of sessions, and compare that with the number threshold necessary to meet the target. Alternatively, you can record what percentage of times your child can complete their part in all the steps from the task analysis in Step 1, and compare that with the percentage threshold necessary to meet the target.