Social Skills Support for Students With Disabilities

Social Skills Support for Students With Disabilities

It is essential for students to practice and understand social skills for academic

development, social inclusion and participation, and moreover for a successful transition

to adult life and work (Frostad & Pijl, 2007).

Ecological Assessment

Barriers that may exist for students with disabilities

References

* Students with moderate to severe disabilities may lack the communication skills to express their emotions successfully (Frostad & Pijl, 2007).

* Students with disabilities may not have prior experience with behavior correction or redirection (Myers, 2013)

* Students with moderate to severe disabilities may become aggressive and harmful to themselves or others when behaviors are redirected or misunderstood (Myers, 2013)

* Teacher related factors such as experience, professional development and perceptions play a significant role in positive social skills outcomes. (Myers, 2013)

* Parent involvement and support (Frostad & Pijl, 2007).

* Social exclusion may result due to negative social behaviors of a student with disabilities (Frostad & Pijl, 2007).

* Students with disabilities may feel defeated when social skills are unsuccessful (Frostad & Pijl, 2007).

*Teacher and students have limited time and space to practice social skills (Myers, 2013)

In order to truly understand a student's social skill weaknesses, I would need to understand the student's environment and their behaviors. Many children express different behaviors in different environments. There are many ways to assess a student's social skills. Observations would be a great way to watch and describe a student's actions and responses to other stimuli in the classroom. Watching and observing a student's reaction to other students, teachers and environmental changes can provide crucial information when determining weaknesses and strengths.

When completeing the environmental observation, I would look at the dynamic in the classroom among the student's peers and as well as with the adults in the classroom. I would want to see if there was a negative reaction from the student to anyone who interacts within the classroom. Knowing if the student responds negatively to a stimulus will help identify possible social needs or adjustments in the environment.

It would also be beneficial to discuss with the student's teacher and caregivers about their concerns and expectations. Having a clear understanding of deficits and weaknesses will greatly benefit the student's social skills training.

If possible, I would like to discuss with the student about ther concerns and interest in their educational environment. Hearing the needs and wants from a student can encourage them to participate in skills training and prevent rejection.

Frostad, P., & Pijl, S. J. (2007). Does being friendly help in making friends? The relation between the social position and social skills of pupils with special needs in mainstream education. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 22, 15–30.

Jung, S., & Sainato, D. M. (2013). Teaching play skills to young children with autism. Journal Of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 38(1), 74-90. doi:10.3109/13668250.2012.732220

Myers, H. F. (2013). Social skills deficits in students with disabilities : successful strategies from the disabilities field. Lanham: R&L Education.

Ostmeyer, K., & Scarpa, A. (2012). Examining School-Based Social Skills Program Needs and Barriers for Students with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders Using Participatory Action Research. Psychology In The Schools, 49(10), 932-941.

Cultural Differences

Social Skills Strategies

Teaching social skills to students with disabilities can be greatly rewarding for both teacher and student. Below are examples of skills that can be taught using researched based strategies.

For students who struggle with turn taking and sharing, students can practice playing a game that requires more than one other peer and requires students to take turns. Before the game is started, the teacher and students participate in a role play of what "good game play " looks like and what "poor game play" looks like. (Skillstreaming Program)

For younger children who enjoy books and having books read to them, using social stories for specific behaviors is beneficial. Students who do not understand personal space can read or have an adult read and discuss the characters in the story and how it relates to their personal life and their peers.

For students who understand picture symbols, using photo symbols of correct behavior and not correct behavior would be beneficial. During a child's day or when given a social story, the child would identify the correct behavior and wrong behavior in a social situation. (PDD Language Stories Program)

The "If/Then" strategy is beneficial when encouraging a student to complete a task. "If you do this, then you get this."

For students who struggle with behavior, using specific programs such as Why Try can be beneficial. This program focuses on the mindset of students and allowing them to take control of their actions.

Within this program, students act out scenarios and discuss appropriate and inappropriate actions and their consequences. This works best for students who are able to reflect on behaviors and understand the reactions of others.

Links is a program designed for a variety of social behaviors and provides lessons and pictures that can be taught in isolation as well as in conjunction with other skills.

Social skills can change from one country to another and often relates to which culture a chid is brought up in (Jay, 2010).

Some cultures put more focus on academics than on social interactions and may not fully support social skills training or continue practicing learned skills at home. Having a culture who focuses more on academic learning than social skills, may not see that negative social interaction is a problem as long as the child is learning.

The amount of money that a culture puts towards social skills training allows us to gauge the importance of social skills training. A country or culture who sees social interaction skills important will use more resources to ensure their child appropriately understands and practices these skills.

Having so many cultures in our country and perceptions on social skills training, make social skills training a delicate process. Teachers must navigate through the cultural expectations and help find a middle ground so that their children can be successful in academics as well as social interactions.