The Social Skills Pictures Book

The Social Skills Pictures Book

Name:

Institution:

The Social Skills Picture Book

The book “The Social Skills Picture Book” is an interesting scholarly children book that entails pictures that are elaborate in assisting children to achieve different social skills that are important in their growth development. The main aim of the book is to reach children with the Asperger Syndrome as well as those who have developed issues with language and auditory processing (Goodreads, 2015). When the children are going through the book, they are able to systematically understand what is going on in the picture (Baker, 2005). Additionally, they are able to explain why people behave in particular ways especially in social situations. The first part of the context indicates that visualization enables the children to learn especially those with special needs such as autistic children. There are different methods that are explained in the book which teachers can employ ion teaching. With the inclusion of initial instruction, generalization of skills and reviewing, the teachers are provided with imperative knowledge that will enable to teach this group of children.

The second part of the book solely focuses on the visual aspects of the book that are presented with bubbles explaining the good and bad ways of behaving in social settings. The children can understand how they should conduct themselves ion public, which is important for their maturation and growth development (Baker, 2005). Additionally, they are able to learn the manner in which interactions are achieved even with their impairment that results from their conditions. It is valid to mention that the book is indeed important as a photographic picture book that is functional in improving auditory and language processing in these children (Goodreads, 2015). Some of the skills that the children are taught in terms of learning includes starting and holding conversations, listening, greetings, interrupting, introducing yourself, sharing, taking turns, managing mistakes done, accepting that no is answer, compromising, greetings and trying in difficult situations(Baker, 2005). For the professionals, parents and teachers, they are able to use this book in assisting the children to adopt socially acceptable behaviors that will improve their interactions.

The customers that purchase the book list several expectations. Firstly, the book is expected to facilitate the parents to teach their autistic children on how to develop social skills. However, the ease which the parents and teachers that achieve this is deterred. The instructions listed in the book teach on how to create social skills materials as opposed to providing the particular material for this process (Baker, 2005). Hence, it is evident that the book is not directly productive for children to use but is important for ambitious parents and teachers.

Another modification that can be made is on the book cover. This is especially so because the second expectation from a parent or teacher coaching an autistic child about social behavior is that the cover has aesthetic quality, which is appealing to the child (Baker, 2005). However, on closer analysis, the pictorial presentation on the cover is a power point presentation hence lacking the alluring element that is important to the children. The quality of the picture on the cover page does not indicate that of the photographs within the book(Amazon.com, 2015). For instance, it is easier for the children to learn from the photos within the book because they actually show the real classroom setting. This is opposed to the outside photo, which is literally an unprofessional photography. Despite the positive elements of the photographs in the book, they are blurry with unclear backgrounds as well as poor lighting (Amazon.com, 2015). The formatting of the book also lacked clarity thus becoming illegible. The spiral bound of the book is very advantageous because it is user friendly allowing for easier reading.

The aforementioned issues are based on the needs of the children. However, when considering the impact the book has on the teachers and parents, it can be considered as very instrumental in empowering them with the necessary skills required in training children on how to become socially acceptable persons that are capable of interaction even without supervision (Baker, 2005). One of the modifications that can be made is changing the book cover to become more alluring to the children. For instance, it is common knowledge that autistic children are visual learners (Amazon.com, 2015). Hence, developing a book whose cover is more interactive for them and they can relate with is useful in improving their overall acceptance of the book as teaching material. The second modification that can be made is through revising the book to include more high quality pictures with clearer backgrounds. This will improve the learning process of the child, as they are able to see clearly, what is illustrated in the pictures.

The sequence through which the children are taught includes providing knowledge by word of mouth about the behavior. This can be followed by use of pictures that indicate the right behavior that is socially acceptable and the wrong behavior, which is not acceptable. The third step can includes conducting activities that are indoors and outdoors that will help the children act out the scene in the pictures for them to retain more information and grasp the importance of good behavior.

References

Amazon.com,. (2015). Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: The Social Skills Picture Book Teaching play, emotion, and communication to children with autism. Retrieved 5 December 2015, from http://www.amazon.com/Picture-Teaching-emotion-communication-children/product-reviews/1885477910

Baker, J. (2005). The autism social skills picture book. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons.

Goodreads (2015). The Social Skills Picture Book. Goodreads. Retrieved 5 December 2015, from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/149965.The_Social_Skills_Picture_Book