Dr. Margaret Anne Carter, Josie Santomauro: Pirates: An Early-Years Group Program for Developing Social Understanding and Social Competence for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Related Challenges

Excerpt

This volume is, as the title makes quite explicit, a curriculum for helping preschool to third grade children with ASDs address social impairment challenges. The curriculum adopts the theme of Pirates (captains, buccaneers, voyages, booty), and the cover features two adorable children dressed up in pirate costumes. The Pirate theme is carried throughout every chapter, describing adventures, pirate dreams, loot sharing and chanties for the children to learn and sing. The behavioral expectations for the children such as “considerate hands” or “courteous hand signals” are taught through discussions with the children, using media to support the discussion at the “Captain’s” discretion. An emphasis is placed on the idea that not only the group leader but other children do not like misbehavior, and that once the child understands this, he or she will be motivated to modify behavior. …