1. Agenda Social Skills Development Importance of Social Skills
Facilitating Strategies for Teaching Social Skills
Application Activity
This is the agenda.
The first presenter should go over the agenda with the participants.

2. Learner Outcomes Participants will:
Explore strategies to help students in the development of social skills
Develop ideas to help the student’s smooth transition into various social settings
Learn strategies that lead to the student’s increased social independence
Use strategies to increase the student’s confidence.
We will start today with an overview of social skill development. It helps them have positive interactions with other people, but also it helps them academically.  People engage in interactions with other people in everything they do. “Behaviors such as sharing, helping, starting conversations, requesting help from another person, and giving compliments are considered socially desired behaviors and commonly are referred to as social skills”

3. What Are Social Skills?
Social Skills are commonly defined as those specific behavioral strategies that allow one to:
Initiate and maintain positive interactions with others.
Develop friendships and
support networks.
Cope effectively with the environment
Good social skills are important tools for day to day living---they help students navigate social interactions effectively and smoothly. The most basic and essential skill is the ability to communicate with others. So, what exactly are “social skills?”
Social Skills are commonly defined as those specific behavioral strategies that allow one to
initiate and maintain positive social interactions with others, this means that a person is able to start and keep up a social interaction in an appropriate manner with other people.
develop friendships and social support networks, this is important since we live in a world full of other people, but have a need to feel closer to a select few who we trust and depend upon
cope effectively with the social environment, the social environment changes depending on where we are and who is present. Learning to adjust to differing situations and people is part of social skill development.

4. Students Must Negotiate Important Social Relationships:
These relationships are:
Parent Related
Teacher Related
Peer Related
Social Skills are used in every part of the student’s day. They move from one setting to another and social skills play a part in how successfully they perform in each setting. Different skills come into play in different settings. Think for a moment of the social skills you are using right now to be successful in this setting. What are they? (allow participants to call out a few). How did you learn them? (allow participants to call out answers) How did you know that this was the correct setting for these skills? (allow participants to call out answers)
Some of the social relationships that students must learn are:
Parent-related: they must be able to follow directions, sit quietly when needed, assist with household chores and self- care abilities as possible, and communicate needs in appropriate way
Teacher-related: they must be able to respond to the behavioral expectations of teachers
Peer-related: they must meet the behavioral requirements of peers in free play and other unstructured settings

5. Importance of Social Skill Development
Social Competence has been
strongly associated with successful:
School performance
Transition to school and work settings
Better job opportunities
Improved overall interactions
with others
Good social skills are critical to successful functioning in life. Being socially competent means that the student is able to learn, perform, generalize and maintain the social skills accepted in their society. These skills enable them to know what to say, how to make good choices, and how to behave in different situations. Social competence has also been strongly associated with successful school performance, transition into school and work settings, better job opportunities, corresponding adult support, and improved overall interactions with others (Rimm-Kaufman, Pianta, Cox, 2000). Without intervention, students who demonstrate poor social skills may continue to experience problems into middle school and beyond.

6. Risks of Poor Social Skills
The Risks Are Many:
Poor mental health
Dropping out of school
Low achievement
School difficulties
Poor employment history
Katz and McClellan 1991
The risks are many:
poor mental health, think of how a person feels is they are the one left out or without friends
dropping out of school, when a person doesn’t feel like they ‘belong’, they will avoid the situation or try to get away from it.
low achievement and other school difficulties,
poor employment history, getting along with other employees is critical to job satisfaction and retention
and so forth

7. Comparison of Social Skill Consequences
Students with poor social skills:
Higher risk of developing patterns of aggressive behavior
Experience higher rates of emotional & behavioral problems
Students with good social skills:
Better accepted by their peers
Better coping & attention skills
Better school & social adjustment
This slide sums up what we highlighted in the last few slides.

8. Inability to read face and body language
Facilitating Strategies for Teaching Social Skills Social Skill Deficits
Impulsivity
Inability to read face and
body language
Invasion of personal space of others
Inappropriate touching
Ineffective methods of gaining attention
Vocal monitoring
Understanding unwritten rules
In looking at the research and the studies done with adults with disabilities, many different lists of social skill deficits can be found. The list provided here are the ones that are most frequently mentioned in the literature.

9. Facilitating Strategies for Teaching Social Skills Impulsivity
Act first / think later
Ready……fire! …… Aim.
Use the teachable moment
Stop to evaluate what occurred
Discuss alternatives
Practice those alternatives
Impulsivity is a lack of control over oneself. It is what keeps us from blurting out, “Boy! You got fat!” when you meet someone you haven’t seen in a while who has put on a few pounds. Most of us might THINK that to ourselves, but say something quite different, like, “It sure is good to see you again!” Impulse control acts as our own personal censor that bleeps out offending behaviors.
Impulse control also includes control over our physical reactions. Most of us know not to jump up and down and clap after a sermon in church, or at the end of a movie, or when a sales person gives you a sample of perfume at the department store. But if this is what a person with social skill deficits FEELS like doing, he/she DOES it. And then (hopefully) sees that no one else is doing it and stops.
Imagine the social horror stories of someone who acts first, and then thinks. Or who is ready……. Fires!……. And then realizes he needs to aim!! Ask the participants if they can recall a situation in the classroom that they’ve witnessed. You may either allow a small amount of time (perhaps 3 minutes) for them to talk with a partner about this OR you may ask for volunteers to share with the whole group.
The best way to teach acceptable social skills is during a “teachable moment.” In other words, when a student has committed a social error, THAT very moment is when a discussion should take place about how he could have acted differently, why someone was offended by what was done, etc. This should be followed by practicing the acceptable alternative immediately so that the problem and the solution can be practiced in the exact environment it occurred in the first place.

10. Teach common expressions
Facilitating Strategies for Teaching Social Skills Reading Face and Body Language
Teach common expressions
Frown
Narrowed eyes
Pursed lips
Hands on hip, tapping foot
Raised eyebrow
Use role playing
Ask “what do you think my face is saying to you?”
Teens and adults with social skill deficits often miss the messages that people send and receive through facial expressions and body language. Common expressions, such as a frown, narrowed eyes, or pursed lips, which might signal that what is being heard is inappropriate in some way, are often missed. Care should be taken to teach the meanings of these common expressions, along with other body language signals, using photographs, real faces, and lots of repetition. Asking the student, “What is my face saying to you?” is the first question.
After the student knows the meaning of these expressions, then he needs to practice what to do, what to change, and/or what to say in order to be socially acceptable. Asking the student, “What should you do when you see this face?” is the second question.
Another aspect of this social skill is the ability to interpret changes in voice. The student needs practice in order to notice and respond to cues such as rising volume, sounds of anger, exasperation, impatience, etc.
Ask the participants to share examples of this social skill deficit that they have seen. You may either allow a small amount of time (perhaps 3 minutes) for them to talk with a partner about this OR you may ask for volunteers to share with the whole group.

11. Unaware of other’s discomfort or negative response
Facilitating Strategies for Teaching Social Skills Personal Space of Others
Invisible field around each of us in which we do not want others to enter
Includes standing too close, touching the other person too often, handling the other person’s property, etc.
Unaware of other’s discomfort or negative response
Role play both roles
Personal space is that invisible field surrounding each of us in which we do not want others to enter. It varies from person to person, as well as by culture and personality. When someone enters your personal space, you begin to feel uncomfortable, you tend to pull away to protect your personal space. Those with social skill deficits do not notice this reaction in others, nor do they feel it within themselves.
Personal space invasion includes standing too close to someone, touching someone during conversation, and “playing” with another’s belongings, such as desk top items or objects in a living room.
Adults with disabilities often find themselves misunderstood. Men may be thought pushy, women may be thought flirty or to be inviting physical attention. On the job, customers may be offended and fellow workers may be uncomfortable.
Becoming aware of other’s discomfort involves recognizing the signals – backing away, disapproving looks, etc. – and then role playing BOTH roles.
If there is time, ask the participants to share with a partner an example of this. You may either allow a small amount of time (perhaps 3 minutes) for them to talk with a partner about this OR you may ask for volunteers to share with the whole group.

12. Also includes asking for help or information
Facilitating Strategies for Teaching Social Skills Gaining Another’s Attention
Also includes asking for help or information
Learning not to interrupt, skip line, speak out of turn, awkward body movements, etc.
Direct instruction followed by repetition
Practice in real situations
We might remember the character on the popular 1970s sitcom, Welcome Back Kotter, that would put his hand up to answer a question in class while saying, “Ooh, oooh, ooh, ooooh!” (The character’s name was Horshak.) In a way, that defines the problems that people with learning disabilities have in getting someone’s attention. They usually choose an inappropriate way of doing it!
This social skill includes being able to ask for help or request information from someone. In order to speak to someone, whether that person is busy or not, involves learning how to interrupt appropriately. Other behaviors, such as learning why you should not skip line, why speaking out of turn or blurting out an answer is not acceptable, etc., are also included. The paraeducators in the audience may have others to discuss. You may either allow a small amount of time (perhaps 3 minutes) for them to talk with a partner about this OR you may ask for volunteers to share with the whole group.
Instead of leaving the student or young adult to learn by trial and error, she should be taught directly how to ask for the help she wants. She should be given a script – the actual words to use – in order practice this skill. For instance, if a student needs to have instructions to an important assignment repeated to make sure he has it written down correctly, he should be given the words to say: “I want to remember. Can you say it again for me?” or “I have to write it down. Can you explain it to me one more time?” The student has the words – now we provide the practice, preferably in real situations. So for example, after the teacher has given a homework assignment, the paraeducator “catches” a student asking, “Huh?” out loud because he didn’t get it all written down. The paraeducator can then have the student practice the script (“I want to remember. Can you say it again for me?” ) that will help him get what he needs in a more appropriate way.

13. Facilitating Strategies for Teaching Social Skills Vocal Monitoring
Knowing how loudly one is speaking
Knowing how appropriate that level is for the situation
Usually too loud, but occasionally not loud enough
Goes back to ability to read body language
Use hand signals, verbal cues
Some people with learning problems are not aware of how loud their voices are, or how inappropriate it might be for the situation. Have you ever stood in line at the grocery store, and had someone nearby speaking so that everyone in the store can hear her conversation? Or been in church and have someone begin talking to you? Or been in a movie theater and had someone behind you begin discussing the plot of the movie out loud? Ask participants to give their own examples. You may either allow a small amount of time (perhaps 3 minutes) for them to talk with a partner about this OR you may ask for volunteers to share with the whole group.
The examples on the powerpoint slide can easily get adults in a work situation into trouble with their colleagues, customers, and ultimately, their boss! Most of the time, speaking too loud for conditions is the problem, but occasionally speaking too softly can also be the case.
Again, it is the inability to read body language (cupping your hand over your ear as though you can’t hear, leaning forward, backing away, strange looks) is the culprit.
Fortunately, this deficit can be helped by teaching hand signals or certain verbal cues (“use your indoor voice”).

14. “Everyone” knows rules EXCEPT those who lack social skill awareness
Facilitating Strategies for Teaching Social Skills Those Unwritten Rules
“Everyone” knows the table in the cafeteria that only certain seniors can use
“Everyone” knows you don’t walk into the employee lounge and sit in the best chair
“Everyone” knows rules EXCEPT those who lack social skill awareness
This social skill involves becoming intimately familiar with the environment, whether that is the high school or the work place. The paraeducator must learn to “read” the hidden rules by observing what others do in spite of what it looks like on the surface. For instance, you have a ninth grade boy that wants to go to the Ninth Grade Dance with a date. However, YOU know that this is not really a boy-brings-girl event. As a matter of fact, you know that the boys stand out in the hallway of the gymnasium floor and make fun of the girls. THAT’s what REALLY happens at a ninth grade dance. You also know that in tenth grade, all the guys hang out in the parking lot before they enter the dance as a group. YOU know all this because you’ve watched what happens. But students with disabilities will not know these unwritten rules, and will commit these horrible mistakes and be forever known as a social outcast.
As much and as often as we can, we need to discover these unwritten rules. The only way to uncover them is to observe the social scene carefully. Listening to what’s being said, seeing what really occurs, and asking questions of other paraeducators and school personnel is time-consuming but the only way to learn the tricks. And then you need to let them “in” on those tricks. Sometimes all that is needed a conversation. Sit down with the student and talk about what you’ve noticed. You might give them a name of another student that they can check with after your little talk is over. You might need to develop a social story for some students so that they can visualize what you are telling them.
It’s not fair that students with disabilities do not know the “rules” and it is your job to level the playing field.

15. Facilitating Strategies for Teaching Social Skills Monitoring Progress
Data needs to be collected and evaluated in order to track progress and make modifications in instructional strategies in social skills.
A key in developing effective social skills programming is to monitor and evaluate program outcomes to determine if the intervention is working. This step also involves identifying personnel who will monitor, evaluate, and communicate program progress over time.
In monitoring behavior, the identified person should look for instances when the skill is demonstrated, the ease with which the student uses the skill, and the student’s mastery of the target skills. Data collection can involve both formal and informal observations and assessments using research-based rating scales or surveys. Ongoing data collection allows team members to track progress on a daily, weekly, or biweekly basis. This kind of frequent monitoring can allow staff to quickly identify progress and/or areas in need of improvement in programming so as to ensure the rate of student progress to meet annual goals. Progress data should be used, then, to change social skills programming, modify goals, and/or to establish new goals and objectives.
For instance,
Collecting data can be formal and informal
Progress can be tracked on a daily, weekly or biweekly basis
Evaluating data can identify progress or lack of progress quickly, which will help ensure that the student will meet annual goals