## Pyramid of Social Skill Development in Autism
Social skills for children with autism develop **step by step in layered foundations**, similar to a pyramid structure.
### Key Foundation Layers (from base to top):
| Level | Skill Category | Description |
|-------|---------------|-------------|
| **Base** | **Timing & Attention** | Foundational skills including joint attention, eye gaze, and responsive attention |
| **2nd** | **Sensory Integration** | Processing sensory input to feel comfortable in social situations |
| **3rd** | **Communication Basics** | Verbal-non-verbal communication, imitation (motor & verbal)
| **4th** | **Social Cognition** | Understanding context clues, referencing others, reading facial expressions & body language |
| **5th** | **Social Knowledge** | Social rules, expectations, and reciprocity |
| **Top** | **Relationship Building** | Empathy, perspective-taking, maintaining friendships |
### Key Principles:
- Skills must be **built and layered** in order to improve social competence
- Building competence leads to **further interest and interaction**
- For many children with autism, **building social connections does not happen automatically**—it requires intentional teaching
- Core foundational skills like **balance, sensory processing, and coordination** should be strengthened before advancing to higher skills like problem-solving.
