Kelly McKinnon & Associates, Inc.

Social Skills Solutions Classes

Kelly McKinnon & Associates, Inc. provides social skill teaching and support following the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), under the supervision of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Treatment programs are developed using the latest in assessment tools and research, including the Social Skill Checklist (developed by Kelly McKinnon) to determine your child's needs, looking at ALL social skill areas including joint attention & social referencing, imitation, play skills, social awareness & behavior skills, as well as language and conversation skills (Applied Verbal Behavior) and school readiness skills.

Teaching philosophy:

Social Skills are everywhere. However, it is easiest to notice them when they are missing. For example, the child that only plays alone with the same toys over and over, or the child that doesn't always respond to peers, and thus misses many social opportunities, or the child that wanders the perimeter of the playground.

It is important to note that the qualifying diagnostic criteria for children with autism are related to deficits in social skills. The criteria include deficits in:

Rigid play and interest/inflexibility

Delay or lack of spoken language

& sustained language

Lack of varied, social imitative play

Impairment with nonverbal language

Note that these qualifying conditions do not include academic or cognitive deficits. Therefore autism is not an IQ issue but a social issue, and should be treated in these areas!

Many ABA treatment programs do not clearly address the qualifying conditions of autism in their programs, while tending to overuse discrete trial teaching in their programming toward academic skills. It is important to note that if you are teaching to the heart of the diagnosis of autism, teaching needs to occur in all areas. Read more on our website about getting to "The heart" of autism. Additionally, many treatment programs address basic social skills, but do not target the diagnostic criteria of autism. Our Social Skills Module System treats all areas of the diagnostic criteria in a very specific manner.

ABA programs that address skills in a 1:1 or table top format may be helpful for some children initially, yet generalization of these skills to smaller groups, then larger groups, and then natural settings is the ideal treatment protocol. Your child needs to be able to socialize with children of the same age, not just with adults & therapists!

Protocols in the support & teaching of children with ADHD often includes Social Skills Training, using a behavioral support to break down, teach, support and reinforce social skills for long-term use! Refer to the CHADD manuals of treating children with ADHD for further information on this.

Social skill groups run from 1 hour to 1 ½ hours in duration, depending on needs of students and size of the group. Every effort is made to match a child's needs and skill level to similar-matched peers. Friends, siblings and peer models are included in our group sessions.

Teaching sessions involve targeting social skill needs and goals. Teaching occurs in a small group format, with each child working toward individual social skills. Fun, play-based activities are designed to meet children's social skills goals, with the use of visual and self-monitoring tools provided to all students when it is appropriate, as they are taught to understand and work toward their social skill goals. These sheets are sent home to parents to foster generalization.

Group sessions occur using the principles of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (www.bacb.com).

Homework worksheets are provided to parents. Digital pictures of the days activities are given to help parents see their children engaged in various activities, as well as support language recall for our children to tell their parents what they did. Data-driven progress reports (data & graphs) are provided to each student and their support team members (other therapists, school teams, neurologists, DAN doctors and pediatricians!) to measure progress.

Using the well-researched teaching techniques of Video Modeling (viewing appropriate social skills) to learn new skills, as well as Video Feedback (watching yourself and providing feedback) are some of the ways in which social skills are taught!

Additionally, a monthly social skill focus with an aim toward parent support and training is taught and fostered through our entire clinic. Social stories, lesson plans and homework in areas including but not limited to: National Pay-a-compliment day, April Fool's day, "Responsibility week" and of course our annual Halloween party!

video modeling

video feedback

Kelly's book

Our social skills groups based largely on the assessment tools and curriculum and teaching ideas presented in Kelly's book. You can purchase this book for your self at www.difflearn.com

Social Skill Evaluation

An individual intake for social skills classes is required. This includes an initial 1-1 ½ hour observation, along with a parent interview and record review (please bring any assessment documents within the previous year, and IEP documents for review). The Social Skills Checklist from Kelly's book, Social Skills Solutions, www.difflearn.com will be used, to help determine appropriate social skill goals for your child. A second observation with a group of peers will then be scheduled. A report of social skill need areas will be generated for you. This report will encompass all aspects of the evaluation, and provide appropriate social skill goals for your child. You are encouraged to share this with other members of your child's therapeutic team. From there, an appropriate group placement will be attempted.

We are experiencing high volumes of calls for our services, and currently have a several month wait list. We are working on correcting this and meeting the needs of everyone!

What do "Social Skills" really mean?

Looking at an overall perspective on what social skills really meant, the Module System was developed by Kelly McKinnon, and can be found in her book, Social Skills Solutions, available at www.difflearn.com. The module system is a comprehensive way to breakdown the relevant social needs of children developing:

Module 1: Joint attention: Ability to social reference, imitate and attend to others

Module 2: Ability to acknowledge and greet others in our world

Module 3: Ability to interact with others, through appropriate social context common interest (for children, this is usually play)

Module 4: Ability to calm self and self-monitor self, appropriately in the world

Module 5: Acknowledging and responding to another person?s language/conversation thoughtfully; initiating and sustaining conversations

Module 6: Perspective taking: labeling and interpreting own emotions & other?s & adapting behavior

Module 7: Problem solving, planning & generating options

Module 8: Advanced Language Responding to and sustaining conversations

Module 9 & Module 10: Making & sustaining friendships and being as independent as possible; harmonious community & home life

Social skill development & teaching should include ALL areas of development in a child's life!

Valerie Chen, MA, BCBA Assistant Director

Diana Mason, BS, Supervising Social Behavior Therapist

Recent comments from kids:

"I learned how to control myself and make friends at my pool", Daniel, age 12

"I learned how to dress cool and talk to people", Courtney, age 12

" I wish I could go to Kelly's office every day! It is my favorite place in the whole wide world!" Joseph, age 5

"I like to come to class because it helps you make friends, and it is cool to hang out", Kyle, age 14

"When can I go back?", Josh, age 4