High School and Young Adult Supplemental Resources
Kelly Becomes a Superhero (Everyday Superheroes): Teen Edition
Kelly Becomes a Superhero: Teen Edition is a graphic novel designed for adolescents and teens with Aspergers, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Anxiety, or Attention Deficit Disorder. The book is a supplemental resource for reinforcing the lessons learned in the ICONz® High School Curriculum and tells four stories about a girl named Kelly Washington who faces stressful or confusing situations at home, school, and at her job.
Kelly gains “Superhero” powers in dealing with her dilemmas when she learns to use a set of tools that help her make sense of confusing situations and also help her better understand why other people act the way they do. After each story, there is a “Think About It” section that gives the reader the opportunity to apply these “Superhero” tools to his or her own life to stay calm when worried or confused and to figure out what to do to make life easier.
Many young people have said they don’t understand what other people (like their parents, teachers, friends, neighbors, teammates or coaches) expect them to do or why they expect it. When these young people learn to use the “Superhero” tools in this book, they say it becomes easier to get along with others and they enjoy themselves in new ways.
Kelly Becomes A Superhero: Teen EditionKelly Becomes a Superhero: Young Adult Edition
Kelly Becomes a Superhero: Young Adult Edition is a graphic novel designed for young adults 18 – 25 years old with Asperger’s Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Anxiety, or Attention Deficit Disorder. The book is a supplemental resource for reinforcing the lessons learned in the ICONz® Young Adult Curriculum and tells four stories about a girl named Kelly Washington who faces stressful or confusing situations at home, school, and at her job.
Kelly gains “superhero” powers in dealing with her dilemmas when she learns to use a set of tools that help her make sense of confusing situations and also help her better understand why other people act the way they do. After each story, there is a “Think About It” section that gives the reader the opportunity to apply these “superhero” tools to his or her own life to stay calm when worried or confused and to figure out the best thing to do in difficult situations.
Many young adults have said they don’t understand what other people (like their parents, bosses, teachers, friends, neighbors, teammates, or coaches) expect them to do or why they expect it. When these young adults learn to use the “superhero” tools, they say it becomes easier to get along with others and they enjoy themselves in new ways.
Kelly Becomes A Superhero: Young Adult EditionHow to Blend In: Social Skills for ASD Teens and Adults
Social skills are the most important skills a person can learn. No matter how much academic knowledge a person has or highly skilled he or she may be in other areas, poor social skills make it difficult to function successfully in every area of life, from home to school to the workplace.
Dr. Russell Johnson is a licensed psychologist with over 30 years of counseling experience with children and young adults, many of whom had Asperger’s Syndrome, Dr. Johnson noticed that people who have difficulty relating to others tend to be missing nine key social skills—nine different areas of connection in relationships. These key social skills are like tools in a relationship toolbox. Just as a carpenter will have great difficulty building a house without certain essential tools like a hammer, screwdriver, and saw, people who are missing these nine essential social tools can have great difficulty building relationships.
As a result, Dr. Johnson developed a social skill “toolbox” that helps those with ASD (especially Asperger’s Syndrome) and others with poor social skills “fit in” socially. It also helps them pick up social cues they might have missed—social cues that smooth the way for them to build the verbal and social behaviors that are especially difficult to understand for so many people. Using this toolbox, many with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are learning how to build meaningful and fun relationships with other people as well as succeed at school, on the job, and in family life.
With Dr. Johnson’s ICONz® Toolbox, learning the nine key social skills is easy, and they can be quickly mastered and incorporated into a person’s lifestyle.
Although How to Blend In: Social Skills for ASD Teens and Adults can be used as a stand-alone book, it is most effective when used as a supplemental resource to The ICONz® High School or Young Adult Curricula.
How to Blend In