When using a collaborative group exercise to develop social skills for students with autism, which approach is most conducive to success?

• A. Encouraging Autonomy by Avoiding Giving Them Direction
• B. Clearly State What Behaviors You Expect in the Exercise
• C. Assign Them the Formulation of Exercise Goals and Objectives
• D. Select Students with Comparable Social Levels and Skills

Answer: (B)

Clear, explicit expectations provide a concrete target for students with autism in social skills activities. When you state exactly what behaviors you want during the exercise—such as taking turns, making brief eye contact, asking a question, or staying on task—you reduce ambiguity and create a predictable, manageable structure. This helps students know when they are doing the right thing and gives you a clear basis for modeling, prompting, and giving feedback. You can pair these explicit expectations with examples, demonstrations, and visual cues to reinforce what success looks like and make it easier to monitor progress over time.

Choosing this approach over leaving directions vague, letting students set their own goals, or only interacting with peers at similar skill levels matters because it supports consistency and generalization. Ambiguity often increases anxiety and can hinder skill development; open-ended goal setting can be too abstract for learners who benefit from concrete targets; and limiting participants to similar skill levels reduces opportunities to practice in varied social contexts, which is essential for real-world social interaction.