Building Social Readiness in Children on the Autism Spectrum
By Isabelle Casha, Allied Health Assistant/Neuro Tech, BA(Psych), GDipPsych(Adv)
February, 2026
By Isabelle Casha, Allied Health Assistant/Neuro Tech, BA(Psych), GDipPsych(Adv)
February, 2026
Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how a person communicates, interacts with others and behaves (DSM-5, 2022). Children with ASD may find it harder to understand social situations, respond to others’ emotions or use and understand verbal and non-verbal communication (like tone of voice, facial expressions or body language). They may also show repetitive behaviours or have strong interests in specific things.
Every child with ASD is different. Creating an inclusive and supportive environment helps each child feel safe, valued and able to reach their full potential.
Understanding Social Skills
The ability to use social skills in a variety of different contexts is important for both neurodivergent and neurotypical children alike. Social skills are the tools we use to interact and communicate with the people around us. These can be verbal, such as speaking and listening, or non-verbal such as body language and gestures (Autism Awareness Australia, 2024).
Important social skills:
While this is not an exhaustive list of skills, possessing these in social environments allows for meaningful and positive interactions.
Social skills children on the spectrum struggle with:
Important social skills:
- Greetings Understanding personal boundaries
- Reciprocal conversations
- Participation
- Identifying and expressing emotion
- Asking for help
- Turn-taking
While this is not an exhaustive list of skills, possessing these in social environments allows for meaningful and positive interactions.
Social skills children on the spectrum struggle with:
- Understanding social signals: children with ASD might find it hard to read facial expressions, body language or tone of voice, which can lead to confusion or misunderstandings
- Understanding social expectations: social situations often have “unwritten rules”. Children on the spectrum may not easily pick up on these rules or know how to follow them.
- Preferring routine: many children on the spectrum like structure and predictability. Sudden changes or unexpected social situations can feel overwhelming without support.
- Empathy: some children on the spectrum may struggle to understand or recognise other’s emotions.
Strategies to support children with ASD navigate social environments
Practise Play
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Practise play can help children with Autism learn important skills. When children practise with trusted adults, siblings or friends, they are in a safe space where it feels okay to make mistakes. This helps them learn skills like taking turns, managing emotions, setting boundaries and joining in with others.
Start with simple situations, like practising saying hello or asking “please” and “thankyou”. Over time, you can move on to more complex situations such as sharing ideas in a group or working through disagreements. Role-playing is a great way to practise. For example, you could set up a tea party or a parking garage using toys. The toys can pretend to be different characters with different feelings and needs. This helps children practise social skills in a fun, imaginative way that can later help them in real-life situations. |
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Social Stories
Social Stories are used to explain social situations to children and help them navigate how to handle these situations. The idea was first introduced by Carol Gray in 1991 and is now widely used in a range of different environments.
Social Stories are tailor made to suit a specific need/concern. For example, going to the shops can often be a stressful and overstimulating environment for children on the spectrum. A social story can be catered to this; including images/cartoons detailing the setting, things that typically happen in the setting and actions or behaviours that are typically expected of someone while in that setting.
Reading the Social Story before the event helps prepare the child. It can be helpful to read it several times in the weeks leading up to the situation so the child feels more comfortable and confident.
Social Stories are tailor made to suit a specific need/concern. For example, going to the shops can often be a stressful and overstimulating environment for children on the spectrum. A social story can be catered to this; including images/cartoons detailing the setting, things that typically happen in the setting and actions or behaviours that are typically expected of someone while in that setting.
Reading the Social Story before the event helps prepare the child. It can be helpful to read it several times in the weeks leading up to the situation so the child feels more comfortable and confident.
Labelling emotions
As discussed above, understanding others' emotions can sometimes be difficult for a child on the spectrum. Everyday interactions can be a great source of learning to recognise and respond to people's feelings.
For example, point out and label when someone is showing a distinct emotion; “Look, Luke is smiling. He is happy”. This can also be achieved through drawing or showing images of different emotions.
Movies such as ‘Inside Out’ by Pixar are great depictions of different emotions, portrayed in a fun and engaging way.
It is important, however, that when learning about strong emotions such as anger or frustration, these are not paired with a smile or signs of happiness, as children on the spectrum often rely heavily on clear and consistent facial cues to interpret emotions. Incongruent expressions can be confusing, and may make it more difficult for them to accurately identify and respond to how someone is feeling.
For example, point out and label when someone is showing a distinct emotion; “Look, Luke is smiling. He is happy”. This can also be achieved through drawing or showing images of different emotions.
Movies such as ‘Inside Out’ by Pixar are great depictions of different emotions, portrayed in a fun and engaging way.
It is important, however, that when learning about strong emotions such as anger or frustration, these are not paired with a smile or signs of happiness, as children on the spectrum often rely heavily on clear and consistent facial cues to interpret emotions. Incongruent expressions can be confusing, and may make it more difficult for them to accurately identify and respond to how someone is feeling.
References
- American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). American Psychiatric Association.
- Autism Awareness Australia. (2024). Social skills for children. Autism Awareness Australia www.autismawareness.com.au/navigating-autism/social-skills-for-autistic-children