A Social Ecological Framework to Approach Social Skills Instruction With Youth With Autism

• In Event: 16.060 - Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: 16.060-17 - (Young) Adults and Their Stories: Dis/ability Policy, Practice, and Research

Abstract

In this essay I will provide an overview of social skills (SS) instruction literature developed for autistic youth at the secondary and postsecondary levels using. A social ecological framework will be presented as a mechanism to organize the scholarship from a sociocultural perspective. The focus of SS literature largely resides within the individual level with less scholarship dedicated to other levels of the social ecology. Concepts related to autistic identity, such as neurodiversity, cultural stigma, passing, or advocacy, were rarely discussed in the literature. I conclude with practical considerations to incorporate such concepts into SS instruction in schools.

Author

• Marisa Kofke, University of Delaware