4/17/2024 0 Comments Social questions autismUse car trips to practice making conversation.Īs the holidays approach, it’s a perfect time to work on conversational skills. Car Talk: Some kids prefer to talk in the car, where they don’t have to worry about direct eye contact or body language. Prepare for the walks by coming up with questions to ask neighbors like, “How are you today?” or “Did you enjoy your weekend?”ħ. As you converse with neighbors, try to include your child in the discussion. Neighborhood Chats: Walk around the neighborhood with your child and greet people you know. Make a visual cue or prompt to remind your child of these words and practice using them at home during family meals.Feel free to copy and use the visual from my book Make Social Learning Stick!Ħ. Wonder Questions: “Wh” questions (who, what, why, etc.) are good conversation starters. For example, ask about a person’s favorite vacation or first pet or a favorite movie.ĥ. Conversation Cards at a Holiday Meal: People of different generations can get to know one another better as they take turns answering questions about their lives. Practicing at home will make it easier to converse with people who are less familiar.Ĥ. Conversation Cards: Create cards with open-ended questions like, “What was the best (or worst) part of your day?” or “What’s your favorite movie and why?” Place them in the middle of the dinner table and take turns picking up a card and posing a question. Topics for Small Talk: Help your child make a list of topics that most people like to talk about in shorter conversations (e.g., the weather, learning what the person is doing at school, work or in other activities, asking questions about what is going on in their life, a new pet or sport, etc.).ģ. Learning to make guesses about others helps in finding good topics of conversation.Ģ. Social Spying: When you’re out in the community, ask your child to observe other people and try to infer what the person might be interested in or how people are related or connected to one another. The following tips and suggestions from my book Make Social Learning Stick! may help your child feel comfortable talking with whoever shows up at the party or dinner table:ġ. Seven tips on developing small talk for those with autism Practicing these skills at home or in the community with people your child already knows well will increase the child’s ease with people he/she doesn’t see very often. With practice, your child can develop awareness of topics that other people might want to talk about by “reading” social clues based on what they already know about the person (e.g., Uncle Dave loves to ski), what they’ve heard the person talking about already (e.g., their dog), or what the person is wearing (e.g., a Star Wars t-shirt). If your child has difficulty with perspective taking (understanding the thoughts and feelings of others), it’s likely that conversational skills don’t come easily. Small talk sounds easy enough, but it can be a challenge for those who struggle with social communication. A two-way conversation can quickly end in awkward silence, embarrassment or can become one-sided. “I didn’t even get to the engine,” your son grumbles. With no success, you ask if Aunt Ann wants to try the wine and cheese in the next room. You walk over to join them and try to help him become aware of her nonverbal clues and wrap up his one-sided conversation. He spares no detail as Aunt Ann smiles and nods, eyes glazing over. At a holiday gathering, your 8-year-old son is telling his aunt exactly how he went about constructing a complicated Lego spaceship.
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