Social Skills Instruction Chapter 7

What are social skills Social skills as defined by the book are skills that are learned behaviors that enable students to interact appropriately with their peers and others. What happens when children are socially skilled?

Lack of social readiness How does having a lack of social skills impact students with EBD? What part of the IDEA definition applies to students with EBD? How does student success depend on being socially skilled: school, home, and community.

Compare and Contrast Take a minute with a peer and compare and contrast students that have social awareness to students that lack social skills. What do you observe as far as behavior? How do children pick up social skills?

Father Flanagan There is no such thing as a bad boy. There is only bad training, bad environment, and bad examples. How does this statement apply to students that lack in social skills abilities?

Formal Instruction Teaching our students with EBD social skills, should be an important part of the day. It needs to be noted that teaching social skills is different from teaching students social competence. What skill needs to be applied when, how, and why.

Findings for social skills training SST There are 6 findings of SST based on recent studies…page 166 Social skills targeted were socially valid Performance deficits are confused with skill deficit Social skills lacked intensity Some curricula was presented as research Skills targeted were not appropriate from intervention (replacement skills) Social skills were not taught in context that are relevant

Formal Social Skills Instruction Summary: Social Skills instruction must include skills that students feel meet their needs and, therefore produce socially valid outcomes. Be taught in relevant contexts. An integral part of the students’ total curriculum.

Social Skills Assessment Effective Instruction is based on accurate and ongoing assessment of students social skills needs. Needs based Assessment It is flexible and responsive to students’ changing needs as well as any contextual changes that may occur in the environment.

Identification of skills Identification (what to teach) Instruction (who, where, what) It must be flexible and responsive to meet the changing needs of the student

Purpose Social skills assessments are used to screen the general social competence of individual groups of students Assessment strategies are used to collect information about the nature of a student’s social skills problem Social skills assessments are conducted to assist in selecting and modifying curriculum Assessment information is used to monitor and evaluate progress

Social Skills Training Validity Reliability Practicality Three most commonly used assessments in planning social skills training: Direct Observation Rating scales Behavioral interviews

Rating Scales Take into account the relationship of the person doing the rating Very useful for students that are nonverbal or are noncompliant and are unable to rate themselves They offer global rather than specific information 2 most common rating scales: Social Skills Rating Scale (SSRS) and Walker McConnell Scales of Social Competence and School Adjustment

Purpose of Rating Scales Social Skills Domain: communication, cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, engagement, and self-control Problem Behaviors: Behaviors that interfere with acquiring or the performance of the social skill Academic Competence: reading, math, motivation, parent support, and general cognitive functioning

Behavioral Interviews During behavioral interviews students and their peers, teachers, or parents reconstruct social interactions and events Settings Behavioral competencies Skills possession Consequences Assessment Kerr and Nelson research page 168 Interviewing is essential to an FBA

Direct Observation Observer is looking for characteristics of problem behavior. Such as; frequency, duration, latency. Page 169 Naturalistic Functional Assessment (NFA) Naturally occurring environmental factors All behavior is purposeful and serves as a function for the student. What is the function of this behavior? - to get something - To get out of something - sensory stimulation

Culture Influence of the child’s culture on his or her behavior Integration of cultural values and norms Social skills curricula that promotes understanding of other cultures Multiple instructional strategies The need for teaching procedures and expectations before instructing social skills

Assumptions of Social Skills Instruction There are many different assumptions on Social skills instruction Page 170

Structured social skills lessons Modeling Role-playing Last example they have to see is a POSITIVE EXAMPLE. Students NEVER do a negative behavior. Students correct bad behaviors. Coaching- secretary (working on greeting) Feedback Generalization Generalization principles page 172 know these

Phases of Implementation There are many stages of implementation of a structured learning approach with students with EBD. Page 172

Elksin and Elksin Study conducted on incorporating several structured lesson techniques. Page 172

Presocial Skills What are presocial skills…think pre? Feelings of emotion Why do you think it is hard for many of our students to practice these skills? Conisder the following Feelings Attitude peers

Social Skills Strategy Instruction Promote student awareness by pointing out to them that a social skill problem exists. Make the students aware of the problem Articulate the problem and consequences Cite real examples Relate insight into why he/she engages in the problem behavior Think of alternatives Develop a plan

Social Skills Strategy Instruction Use Journaling Effective strategy to use when coupled with other strategies Keep notes on journal Discuss their progress reflect

Social Skills Instruction Make Contracts Make contracts with the students when certain social skills are targeted and student agree to use them. Think social contracts. The purpose of the contract is to gain a commitment to the desired behavior. Respect agreement: restorative discipline

Social Skills Intruction Use Role Play Guidelines for effective role plays Establish clear objectives (new ways to avoid troubled behavior) Identify roles Establish what the observer should be looking for Never have the students perform the inappropriate behavior

Published Social Skills Curricula There are over 70 documented curricula programs available to use that adress the social needs of students with EBD!

How to choose what to teach Page 175

Informal Social Skills Instruction Students with EBD engage in fewer positive social interactions with their peers because of their lack of social abilities. By definition, students struggle with maintaining appropriate peer relationships. Why do so many classrooms isolate problem students, how is that going to fix the problem.

Social Competence and Social Skills What is social competence? Social Validity Gresham (1986): Social Competence is an evaluative term based on judgments that a person has performed a task adequately. These judgments may be based on opinions of significant others, comparisons to a explicit criteria, or comparisons

Social tasks This model focuses on social tasks Social interactions include a specific context A social goal or outcome A social task A set of social behaviors or social skills

Antisocial Behavior Antisocial behaviors are polar opposite of societal norms. Willingness to commit rule infractions Defiance to adult figures Hostility toward others Boys that demonstrate antisocial behaviors are more likely to experience school failure

Social Skills in Educational Settings What are some important social skills that students need to function in the school setting Intolerable acts as determined by teachers. Page 177

Challenges to the development of Social Competence At Risk Variables: abuse, neglect, poverty, dysfunctional family, drugs, unpredictable family situations, poor education programming, INDIFFERENT EDUCATORS! Affective Distortions: problems interpreting social cues, emotions, and feelings during social interactions

Challenges to the development of Social Competence Cognitive Distortions: The way students with EBD think about themselves. Poor self concepts Language Disorder: Difficulty with expressive and receptive language. Educational Environments: Creating an environment that fosters positive peers relationships

Friendship Development Page 182 Factors that impact friendship development

Classroom Management Encouraging Prosocial Poor social skills result in behavior problems Behavior management is more than consistency and control We must teach our students how to cope and learn new socially appropriate skills. PG 179

Behavior Management Use social reinforces such as praise, attention, and approval Praise and praise often in the beginning while students are mastering new skills. Once students are experiencing success, you may vary the schedule of reinforcement

Levels System Level systems are similar to token economies. The issue with levels systems lies in if it violates rules covered under IDEA. Linking privileges to student behavior, they are after all Emotionally Impaired.

Social or Behavior Intent We already know that all behavior serves a function, to get something, to get out of something, and for sensory input What about: Attention Escape/avoid Control Protection Acceptance/affiliation Expression Justice/revenge

There is so much to consider An effective social skills lesson: Short and sweet: no more than 20 minutes Valid Applicable Reinforcable Data driven generalized

Social Task Defined Social tasks are the problems a student faces or deals with when trying to achieve a social goal in a particular situation. Page 184

Social Skills or Behavior Gresham: those behaviors which within a given situation predict important social outcomes. Page 184

Implications for teaching social skills Summary of implications Page 185

Teachable Moments Our students are very good at making their own curriculum They provide an endless flow of teachable moments for us to address.