Social Skills Games and Activities for Kids With Autism provides complete instructions for using fun, engaging games and activities to teach social skills to children with autism spectrum disorders. The games include directions for assessing skills such as asking for toys, getting the attention of others, reading nonverbal gestures, understanding perspectives, and cooperating to solve problems. Using the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis, the book takes teachers through motivating, prompting, shaping, modeling, and reinforcing social skills while playing the games and helping students learn to participate in other activities such as demonstrating the social skill in role plays and the natural environment. Perfect for teachers struggling to help their students with autism learn to interact socially with their peers, these games are sure to become a much-loved part of students' daily routines.
About the Author: Wendy Ashcroft is an experienced special education teacher widely known for her leadership of Project REACH, a support program for children with autism. Wendy also teaches education courses and supervises practicum and student teaching experiences at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, TN.
Angie is an experienced special education teacher and board certified behavior analyst. She enjoys a challenging and fulfilling career as a Student Response Team consultant for Shelby County Schools in Memphis, TN. She provides training and consultation to special education teachers, general education teachers, parents, administrators, related service providers, school psychologists, paraprofessionals and school counselors to promote evidence-based practices to changing behavior in students with disabilities. In this role, Angie also enjoys developing and providing presentations at local, state, national and international conferences on the following topics: applied behavior analysis, autism specific strategies, social skills instruction, parent support and intervention, visual supports, Positive Behavior Interventions and Support, functional behavior assessments, and behavior support plans. Angie began her career as a special education teacher 16 years ago when she received her bachelor's degree in special education from the University of Memphis. She had the privilege of teaching students with autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities in the classroom setting, along with working closely with many families during in-home parent training opportunities. Angie received her master's degree in behavior analysis and therapy from Southern Illinois University in 2003, which included her invaluable experience as a lead clinician in the Childhood Autism Project. In 2010, Angie completed coursework to obtain her administrator's license through the Educational Leadership Program at Christian Brothers University. Angie lives in Lakeland, TN with her husband and two children.
