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"For Teachers" header

SOCIAL SKILLS - TROUBLESHOOTING

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Remember that students may have years of practice using inappropriate skills or problem behaviors to meet their needs. It will take time and practice to develop the appropriate skills. The following provide important dimensions of training to keep in mind when experiencing difficulties:

1. Social skills are best taught in naturalistic settings and situations.
Teaching social skills right in the classroom provides students with opportunities to be supported by peers as well as the teacher(s).
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2. There is a direct, positive relationship between the amount and quality (integrity) of social skills training and change in social behavior.
If you are not seeing change, consider increasing the amount of time that you are designating to social skills training and adhere strictly to the strategies described for the specific type of social skills deficit.

3.
Incorporate school-wide or class-wide social skills intervention into curriculum so that all students are familiar with the skills. Use selected interventions for students with identified deficits.

4.
Whenever possible, use informal social skills interventions. These interventions should be delivered across the day in the different settings where students encounter different social demands.

5.
Social skills training strategies should be accompanied by reductive techniques to decrease or eliminate competing problem behaviors (see “Enhancing Social Skill Performance.” )

6.
Social skills training should be supplemented by behavioral rehearsal opportunities, specific feedback from teachers and others, and contingency systems in naturalistic settings to promote their occurrence, fluency, and mastery (see “Developing Fluency with Social Skills” and “Maintaining Social Skills.”)
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