Albuquerque Public Schools
Social Communication Support
General descriptors for grade levels with Level 2 and Level 3 Social Communication Support.
Level 2
Elementary
Students in elementary grades K-5 who demonstrate learning skills close to grade level and are beginning to generalize acquired skills into novel experiences:
- Use communication for a variety of purposes
- Participate in academic instruction and is beginning to use academic skills functionally
- Participate in group instruction with visual supports
- Initiate and respond to interactions from peers and adults
- Participate in small group peer interaction for 15 minutes with minimal adult support
Middle School
Students in grades 6—8 who require instruction that addresses the core deficits of social communication order to acquire, use, and generalize skills:
- Select & engage in indoor and/or outdoor leisure activities for a moderate amount of time
- Briefly interact with peers with/without prompts
- Return greetings from peers without prompts
- Look to instructors for directions & reinforcement
- Independently raise hand to answer questions or to make requests in a small group setting
- Engage with a small group to complete a structured task or project
- Independent with all/most self-care
High School
Students in grades 9-12 who attend a combination of Special Education and General Education classes. Students who require instruction that addresses the core deficits of social communication order to acquire, use and generalize skills:
- Select & engage in indoor and/or outdoor leisure activities for a moderate amount of time
- Interact with peers with/without prompts
- Return greetings from peers without prompts
- Look to instructors for directions & reinforcement
- Independently raise hand to answer questions or to make requests in a small group setting
- Engage with a small group to complete a structured task or project
- Independent with all/most self-care
Level 3
Elementary
Children in grades K-5 who may have a variety of social communication skills/needs and require instruction that in order to develop additional basic learner skills and to acquire, use and generalize skills.
- Use communication for a variety of purposes
- Engage with academic material with comprehension
- Participate in group instruction with visual supports and minimal prompting
- Initiate and respond to interactions (peers & adults)
- Participate in small group peer interaction for a short time
- Older students participate in small group instructional and peer interaction for more than 5 minutes
- Do all of the above with increasing independence
Middle School
Students in grades 6—8 who require instruction that addresses the core deficits of social communication order to acquire, use and generalize skills:
- Select & engage in indoor and/or outdoor leisure activities for a short amount of time
- Be appropriate when near peers for an increasing amount of time
- Sit appropriately in a group of 4+ for an increasing amount of time
- Have several preferred items/activities for reinforcement
- Continually develop strategies for self-regulation (prompts/visuals may be needed)
- Begin to follow basic age-appropriate social rules (emerging social skills
High School
Students in grades 9-12 who require instruction that addresses the core deficits of social communication order to acquire, use and generalize skills:
- Select & engage in indoor and/or outdoor leisure activities for a moderate amount of time
- Appropriate when near peers with/without prompts for increasing amount of time
- Return greetings from peers with/without prompts
- Sit appropriately in groups of 4+ for an increasing amount of time
- Have several preferred items/activities for reinforcement
- Continually developing strategies for self-regulation (prompts/visuals may be needed)
- Begin to follow basic age-appropriate social rules (emerging social skills)