Teaching Social Skills - Elementary

Summary

This module provides a framework for teaching social skills to learners with FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder). It emphasizes the importance of assessing each student’s individual needs and creating small, supportive groups for learning. The approach includes modeling, role-playing, real-life practice, and feedback to ensure the skills are effectively acquired. Key steps include deciding what skills to teach, organizing sessions, setting group norms, and reviewing progress. The goal is to help students develop essential social skills for success in their daily lives and environments, with a focus on ongoing practice and positive reinforcement.

Takeaways

• 😀 Social skills are essential for interacting and communicating with others, but learners with FASD often struggle with them due to challenges like understanding social cues and expressing feelings.
• 😀 Neurotypical learners acquire social skills through observation and modeling, whereas learners with FASD need explicit instruction and practice in both controlled and real-life settings.
• 😀 The first step in teaching social skills is assessing the student’s current social abilities using observations, checklists, and interviews, to identify areas of improvement.
• 😀 It is crucial to focus on teaching social skills that are relevant to the student’s current and future living and working environments, while regularly reassessing their progress.
• 😀 Group dynamics should be carefully considered when creating social skills groups, ensuring that students with similar difficulties and personalities are paired together.
• 😀 Peer facilitators can be trained to help teach social skills, which increases the overall effectiveness of the training and supports social inclusion in the school.
• 😀 When organizing social skills sessions, it is important to plan meeting times, frequency, and locations to ensure consistency and maximize student engagement.
• 😀 Group norms, such as privacy and respect for others, should be established collaboratively with students, allowing them to express their needs and actively participate in the process.
• 😀 Teachers should model the desired social behavior (e.g., greeting others) and use self-talk to explain the decisions made during demonstrations, providing students with a clear example to follow.
• 😀 Role-playing activities allow students to practice social skills in different scenarios, offering them the opportunity to receive feedback and refine their techniques through repetition.
• 😀 Real-life practice is essential to ensure that students can apply learned skills outside of the training setting, with continued feedback and encouragement to reinforce the skills they’ve learned.

Q & A

What are social skills, and why are they important for learners with FASD?

Social skills are the abilities that allow a person to interact and communicate effectively with others. Learners with FASD often struggle with these skills due to challenges with social awareness, emotional expression, understanding social cues, and following fast-paced conversations. Acquiring these skills is crucial for their success in daily life.

How do neurotypical learners acquire social skills compared to learners with FASD?

Neurotypical learners typically acquire social skills through observation and modeling from adults and peers. In contrast, learners with FASD may need to be explicitly taught these skills and provided with opportunities to practice them in both controlled and real-life settings.

What is the first step in teaching social skills to learners with FASD?

The first step is to assess the student's social skills using methods like observation, informal interviews, behavioral checklists, and assessing their needs for present and future environments. This helps determine which specific skills need to be taught.

How should students be grouped for social skills training?

Students should be grouped based on similar skill deficits. It's essential to consider the dynamics within the group, ensuring that students with conflicting behaviors, like a victim-bully relationship, are not placed together.

Why is involving peer facilitators important in social skills training?

Training peer facilitators helps increase the effectiveness of the social skills training while also promoting social inclusion in the school. Peer facilitators can provide additional support and reinforce the skills being taught.

What factors should be considered when organizing social skills training sessions?

When organizing sessions, consider the time of day (preferably mornings when students are more attentive), the frequency of meetings (frequent short sessions work better than infrequent long ones), and the setting (practice in different environments to promote generalization of skills).

What is the purpose of setting group norms in social skills training?

Group norms help establish clear expectations for behavior, such as respecting others' privacy and being kind. Involving students in creating these norms ensures they express their needs and feel a sense of ownership in the process.

What is the role of modeling in teaching social skills?

Modeling involves demonstrating the desired behavior in a clear and relatable way. The teacher should model the behavior multiple times and encourage student feedback, allowing them to understand the decision-making process behind the actions.

Why is role-playing important in practicing social skills?

Role-playing allows students to practice the skill in a controlled setting where they can receive feedback. It helps them better understand and internalize the skill by allowing them to experience different scenarios and practice responses.

How can the practice of social skills be reinforced in real-life settings?

After practicing in controlled settings, students should apply the skills in real-life scenarios. This could include practicing greeting people in the school hallway. Immediate feedback and ongoing practice are essential to ensure the skill transfers effectively.