Entry ActivityDiscuss your task analysis with a partner. Ask what their plans are to develop an

instructional plan to teach that skill/routine.

UpdatesTask analysis on academics due Today!

May 25th- Instructional Plan for Communication Skills June 1st- Instructional Plan for Academic Skills

Ecological Assessment Report due June 6th

June 8th- Implementation Plan

[to Bobby] “You don't have what they call "the social skills." That's why you never have any friends, 'cept fo' yo' mama.”

From Waterboy, 1998 starring Adam Sandler

How is communication related to the development of social skills? Besides communication skills, what other

factors affect a student’s development of social skills?

Based on what we have talked about in this class thus far, how would you go about assessing the social skills of a student with significant disabilities?

Think about students in the school you are working in…

What types of interactions do they engage in? (e.g., academic, social)

How do they establish relationships/friendships?

How do they gain membership & belonging?

What about romantic relationships?What about relationships with adults?

Break into groups and discuss your articles

Group 1- Ready to present: What are social skills vs social competence? Traditional assessment of social skills Contextual approach to social skills assessment Brief results of the study

Groups 2 & 3- Ready to present: What were the questions in the study? Brief methods of the study. What were the results of the study?

Group 4- Ready to present: Literature review of paraprofessionals in the

classroom Paraprofessional’s role in social relationships. Promotion of student-to-student interaction How?

Esaul7th grade at Chavez Middle SchoolSpanish is his first/home languageCan be quite shy when meeting someone

for the first time & it takes him a while to feel comfortable around new people.

Has autism & tends to repeat a few favorite phrases, avoids making eye contact, & holds fast to specific routines.

When topics of video games, movies, or comic books are brought up his entire demeanor changes

Discuss with a partnerWhat are Esaul’s strengths?

What are (or can) be barriers to Esaul developing positive social relationships?

What process would you use to assess these barriers?

What are some ideas you have for teaching/facilitating the development of social relationships for Esaul?

Alexis4th grader at North Elementary School.Only knows a few of her classmates and

often feels alone at school.Has moderate intellectual disabilities, a

mild hearing impairment, and a severe physical disability for which she uses an electric wheelchair.

Alexis discovered she has a knack for abstract painting that features vibrant colors and bold lines.

Discuss with a partnerWhat are Alexis’ strengths?

What are or can be barriers to Alexis developing positive social relationships?

What are some ideas you have for teaching/facilitating the development of social relationships for Alexis?

How would you assess a student’s social skills?

Rating scales- from those in environmentTeacher nomination & ranking-

List of students who demonstrate a specific behavioral characteristic to the greatest or least extent in comparison to classmates

Self-report- student’s subjective perceptions about own social competence

Direct behavioral observation-

Contextually & Age-appropriate

Contextual approach- Assess the skills of students within the environment. Identify skills that need to be taught Ensures meaningful social development Ensures the identification of skills that are relevant

to the student’s culture.

What are social relationships?Easy answers:It’s obvious….we all have them and know

what they are.Defining social relationships is like

defining the meaning of life…it’s not possible.

More useful understanding of social relationships, focused on interrelated aspects of our social lives: Patterns of contact Subjective satisfaction

Contact PatternsSocial relationships are based on contact

patterns between two peopleExample: 2 students might see each other

in class on a regular basis, or that contact might be intermittent such as 2 students getting together for lunch once a week.

Contact does not need to be direct for a social relationship to exist (e.g., email)

Student’s social life can be understood as a collection of interactions with other people.

Environmental & Activity Variables: These occur within a context

Social Support Behaviors

Social contacts

Social

Networks

Social Relationships based on: how often 2 students interact, how long, what days, etc.

What occurs between students when they interact

Different patterns of interaction among students

Subjective Satisfaction

Variation among students regarding what constitutes a desirable social life.

Some individuals prefer to interact with a small number of people, but interact frequently

Large number of people, but interact less frequently

There is no metric for what constitutes a “good social life”

What would be the best way to define a “good social life” for a student?

Why are social relationships important?

HealthierHappierMore active When faced with a difficult challenge, a

supportive social network can help them overcome many of the negative effects of such events. Sarason & Duck, 2001

ImportanceSocial support- behaviors that are a part of social

interactions Emotional support, companionship, access to others, information,

material aid, decision making Goal should be to increase a student’s access to social support &

improve student’s ability to provide social support to others

Membership/belonging- sense of “connectedness” with others Stable and something shared by individuals involved Circle of friends (Haring & Breen, 1992) Part of their school/community

Personal happiness-be aware of student’s perception of the adequacy of his or her relationships (Strully & Strully, 1985)

Processes in Social Relationships?

What makes social relationships develop?Still not specifically identified in researchGeneral areas we will discuss relating to

social relationship development & maintenance How relationships develop? Balancing independence and interdependence? Types of social interactions? Variables that influence the course of a relationship?

How social relationships develop?

Predictable pattern (Goldstein et al., 2001), 3 phases:1- Initial social encounters

Introduced to students 55% of peers who are initially met go on to second stage

2-Preferred interaction contexts Try out different activities with one another Make decisions of what form relationship will take Majority of relationships do not extend beyond this

3- Durable relationships Described as friendships Most satisfactory of relationships Sustained social interaction Routine develops

Balancing Independence & Interdependence

Social relationships influenced by social competence Student’s ability to effectively interact and maintain social

interactions Independently engage in set of behaviors= social skills More independent students are in initiating, taking

turns, and providing reciprocal social support= more likely to self-determine a happy social life

Caution: No “readiness” prerequisite to developing relationships

Balance with interdependence: able to work collaboratively with others to accomplish a common goal (e.g., finding a role within a class activity/situation…determine what to search, controlling the mouse, etc. when searching the net)

Contexts & Types of Social Interaction

Where we interact & what we do are closely linked

Schools have 3 broad contexts: class, break/mealtimes, & brief interactions in other settings

Think about what types of social interactions are “appropriate” during these times.

Assessing Opportunities for Interaction

1. Identify the times & settings to be assessed.

2. Identify what aspects of a person’s social life you want to assess.

Formal & informal information gathering Increasing number of people that student meets?

Maintaining already established social relationships?

3. Summarize info & make recommendations

Social Life Assessment Questions & Suggestions

List the people with whom you interact Is each person a friend or an acquaintance? How many times per week do you interact with each person? In what settings do you interact with each person? Does this person know any of the other people you interact

with?What areas of your social life could be improved?

Would you like more interactions with a particular person? Would you like to interact with this person in new settings? Would you like to do different activities with this person? Would you prefer individual or group activities? Would you like to meet new people?

Top 5 Barriers to social relationships for students w

disabilitiesBarriers to Social Interact/Relationships

Suggested strategies

Access to general education (GE) settings

Facilitating inclusive placements

Access to peers without disabilities in GE settings

Peer supportsClassroom participation

Access to GE curriculum Adaptations/modifications

Skills for facilitating interactions Pivotal activity skillsReciprocity skillsTeaching interdependence

Access to peers over time Class schedulingAlternative school interaction opportunitiesAfterschool interaction opportunities

Skills for facilitating interactions

Pivotal skills for participating in activities Teaching a student some of the skills necessary for

participating in an activity gives them a central role in the social interaction that is valued by others (Breen & Haring, 1991)

E.g., playing a computer game w someone, teaching them to move the cursor

Reciprocity skills Taking turns, initiating interactions, choosing

activities, and complementing the other person are behaviors that may need to be taught.

Designing social skills instruction

Select appropriate skills To enhance communication To promote social inclusion To promote social interaction To display sills important to a specific setting

Identify task componentsType of skill deficitDeliver instruction

Function-based Antecedent/Consequence strategies Teaching behaviors (Model, Lead, Test) Promote generalization Evaluate outcomes

Roles of team members in social skills instruction

Special educator- facilitate assessment, pull in related- services for communication, design schedules to provide opportunities, model interactions, sensitively answer questions of peers, teach peers to support their class members.

General educator- model acceptance, answer peers’ questions, plan activities to meaningfully include students, provide direct support to students as they learn, create new opportunities, encourage peers to support

Role of Peers? Administrators?Peers- model, prompt, encourage, assist in

planning social activities with peersAdministrators- arrange schedules so that

opportunities exist for integration among students, work with teachers to integrate services in classroom, encourage collaboration between GE & SPED, promote teaching of social skills at in-service trainings, appoint a group of teacher, parents, & students to work with counselors to review curricula to teach social skills.

Steps to teaching social skills

1. Identify social skill strengths, difficulties & the type of learning problem (acquisition, fluency, interfering/competing behaviors).

2. Set social skills goals for the student. 3. Select training options that match the

student’s specific social skill difficulty.4. Develop a teaching plan & schedule5. Implement, evaluate, and improve plan

as needed.

Identify skill strengths/difficulties

Use Person-centered ecological approach (including direct observations)

Rating scales- mostly for younger/at-risk students The Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991) Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for

Infants and Children (AEPS; Bricker, 2002) Early Screening Project (ESP; Walker, Severson, & Feil,

1995) Social Skills Rating System (SSRS; Gresham & Elliott, 1990) Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD; Walker

& Severson, 1992) Walker-McConnell Scale of Social Competence and

School Adjustment (SSCSA; 1995)

Measures of relationships & friendships

Playmates & Friends Questionnaire for Teachers (Goldman, Buysse, & Carr, 1997)

School-based social network form (Kennedy, Shukla, et al., 1997)

Student Friendship Perception Survey (Hendrickson et al., 1996)

Assessment of Loneliness (Williams & Asher, 1992)

Critical Social Skills?Skills needed for making friends and are

essential “prerequisites” to additional, more complex skills

Entering a group of peersSuggesting an activitySharing materialsTaking turnsMaintaining an interaction for at least 4

exchanges

Janney & Snell, 2006

More critical skillsExhibiting social reciprocity in

conversation and other interactions (balanced mutual exchange of information and ideas)

Managing conflictsSupporting others

E.g., by offering help and showing suitable affectionReplacement of problem behaviors that

compete with appropriate social behavior Function-based interventions, teaching alternative

behaviors

Select teaching options that match the student’s specific

social skill difficultyAcquisition, performance, interfering

behaviors

Behavioral strategies Modeling, role playing, coaching, prompting, scripts

for prompting interaction, and manipulation of consequences are effective for teaching acquisition skills (Scheider, 1992)

Cognitive & Affective StrategiesConcentrate on developing greater cognitive

awareness of social situations and thoughtfully selecting adaptive strategies for responding to them.

Require students to make their thinking, planning, and behavior selection processes conscious (Walker et al., 2004)

Helpful in increasing students’ self-control and independence, as they do not rely on adults to provide external control or alter the situation

Cognitive Strategies are usually used together with

behavioral strategies Various strategies teach student to:

1. Identify a cue or trigger that is likely to create a social difficulty for them (e.g., being told no)

2. Generate a range of alternatives/behaviors, consider the consequences of each, and then to decide which is the best response.

Involve combination of teaching methods, including modeling, role-playing, etc.

Teaching sequence using cognitive strategies

1. In a structured group or individual lesson, the teacher conducts a didactic lesson in which the strategy is defined and explained and the rationale for its use is provided.

2. Instructors model the strategy to “show” students how to think about the process; teacher thinks aloud, “Now I need to ask myself: ‘What would happen if I did that? Will that help me to reach my goal?’”

Continued Sequence3. Students role-play the skill, first with

coaching from the teacher, then with decreasing assistance.

4. Students are prompted, coached, and reinforced as they learn to use the process and the strategy in situations during which they interact with others.

Social Problem-Solving Strategies

Teach students to resolve problems by generating alternatives to the conflict, evaluating the pros/cons of each one, then acting out the best option.

In addition to the steps in problem-solving, students are taught: Listening, taking turns, negotiating, the ability to

assume the perspective of another, and the ability to maintain a positive attitude

Think-pair-share how you might use this strategy for teaching your target student

Self-Instructional Strategies

Use of covert or “self-talk” (i.e., thoughts) to direct one’s behavior.

Can be used to teach a number of cognitive & affective strategies, social problem-solving, anger control, etc.

(Luria, 1961; Meichenbaum & Goodman, 1971)

Think-pair-share…how would you use this strategy?

Anger-Control StrategiesHelp individuals identify when they are angry; Recognize the conditions that trigger their anger,

and the negative outcomes related to aggressive expressions of anger;

Identify ways to cope with negative feelings, express anger in appropriate ways, and reduce aggression.

Strategies include: self-instructional training, thinking aloud, relaxation training, cognitive restructuring (Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 1999)

Self-Management Strategies

Involves teaching that is directed toward improving the student’s independent use of a social or behavioral skill (Cole & Bambara, 1992)

Various combinations of self-management strategies have been demonstrated to increase rates of on-task behavior and school-work participation and decrease disruptive behavior for students with significant disabilities (Barry & Messer, 2003; Brooks et al., 2003; Koegel et al., 1999)

Steps in teaching self-management

Define the target behavior, Identify practical reinforcers to earn, Design a self-monitoring system (e.g.,

checklist of steps to follow), Teach the student to use the system, Fade the student’s use of the system while

maintaining self-management, Encourage the use of the system across

natural environments. Includes: Self-cuing, self-monitoring, self-

reinforcement

Self-Cuing Strategies

Involves the use of tools such as class schedules, checklists, lists of the steps of a task, and watches that beep to help remind students or cue them to perform a target skill or check on their behavior. .

May not need to be faded, as we all needs some cuing (e.g., alarm clocks, planners, etc.)

Think-pair-share

Self-MonitoringStudent learns to check his/her own behavior.Student records each time he/she does a

particular behavior (e.g., completing assignment, offer assistance to peer)

Well-researched method, highly effective in improving social interactions (Hughes et al., 2002; Koegel et al., 1992; Strain et al., 1994)

A lot of times simply increasing awareness of the target behavior can bring about behavior change.

Self-ReinforcementStudent learns to apply rules to give

themselves positive consequences for performing a target behavior (e.g., talking to peers who approach them, keeping hands to self)

Requires direct instruction and may be used by adults, peers who have been taught to apply the methods with their classmates, or both adults and peers

Think-pair-share

Contexts & General Approaches to Teaching Social Skills

Opportunistic (or incidental) teaching- teach when students are in the presence of other students and are engaging in daily routines and activities (prompt, debrief). Most useful when working on developing fluency of acquired skills.

Structured Learning- Direct instruction approach that also

incorporates generalization training using opportunistic teaching (Skillstreaming, McGinnis & Goldstein, 1997).

Convene a social skills training group of students of similar ages.

Uses steps described earlier: intro skill, model, role-play, performance feedback.

Opportunistic teaching of practiced skills throughout the day is also used.

Peer-Mediated Intervention

Peers taught or guided to assist in modeling, cuing, and praising specific social skills.

Strong research base (McConnell, 2002)As effective as one-to-one social skills

training by an adult in improving a variety of social skills (Odom et al., 1999)

Strong effects on generalization of behavior across additional peers, places, & situations (Odom et al., 1992)

Models of Peer SupportCooperative Learning Groups- heterogeneous

groups of students work together.Peer Tutoring- one-to-one instruction on a

particular topic, assignment, or skill by a classmate, a peer, or an older student.

Class-wide Peer Tutoring- teacher introduces material, prepares content materials that will be tutored, new partners assigned each week, partner pairing (High w/ low; balanced), reciprocal tutoring is used, teams compete

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS; Fuchs et al, 1994)- pairs students based on curriculum-based measures (Hi w/ low), stronger=“coach”, weaker= “player”, then trade roles.

Peer Support PlanClass: American History, Ms. Alameda Student: ChrisPeers: Josh & Aaron

Typical Activities &

Routine

Expectations of all students

Needed adaptations/

supports

Roles of peers in providing

support

Whole-class instruction

Listen to lectures, answer questions, take

notes

C will receive guided notes from teacher;

sit in 1st 2 rows

Help C complete his notes, share

their notes, ask clarifying questions

Small group instruction

Read case studies & answer

application questions

Be a part of the same group as Josh & Aaron

Paraphrase aspects of

readings for C; make

connections to his experiences, prompt him to contribute to

discussion

Teaching without singling out?Select teaching methods that match type of

learning problem and contextLocation, time of day, activity, people presentConsider the influence of peer networks

Does social network limit opportunities? What social roles might assist the student in developing

new skills or social characteristics? Are there peers in the classroom that can positively

elicit and support the student’s new skills without a social cost to themselves?

Proximity, classwide cooperative group activities, social skills instruction

Social Skill Intervention Match Proper Context

Acquisition or skill problem

Use direct, structured instruction (e.g., coaching, modeling) and manipulate antecedents and consequences

Use structured small group initially, then informal and naturalistic teaching.

Performance or fluency problem

Use antecedent-control strategies (e.g., peer social initiations and social networks) & reinforcement-based procedures

Use informal, naturalistic approach, employing incidental teaching with performance feedback; also use peer-mediated approaches

Interfering or competing behaviors

Combination of procedures while also teaching alternative behaviors

Use both formal and informal approaches; informal approach in natural contexts is essential to replace existing behavior problems with needed social skillsModified from Janney & Snell,

2006

Tools, lessons, resources?For middle/high school students

The ACCESS Program: Adolescent Curriculum for Communication and Effective Social Skills (Walker et al., 1988) Cited as having “potential effectiveness” Socially validated core skills

ASSET: A Social Skills Program for Adolescents (Hazel et al., 1981) Cited as having “potential effectiveness” Excellent content validity on core skills and situations which

could be applied Navigating the Social World: A Curriculum for Individuals with

Asperger’s Syndrome (McAffee, 2002). No research has been conducted

The Prepare Curriculum: Teaching Prosocial Competencies (Goldstein, 1988) Cited as incorporating many strategies known to promote

generalization and maintenance of social behavior

Considering the use of commercial

social skills programsDoes the program target the appropriate

population of students?Does the purpose of the curriculum match

the students’ needs and goals?Does the program promote social

competence rather than merely the acquisition of discrete skills?

Are the amounts of structure and effort required to implement the program reasonably balanced against the likely outcomes?

Generalization of social skills/ included in teaching plan

Plan should address the following questions: Is staff training or additional staff/volunteer support

needed? Is parental involvement adequate; is a home component

needed in the plan? How will we schedule instruction and integrate into

student routines? Will we group students, teach individual students, or

both? What materials and adult resources will we need? How will we promote generalization? What easy-to-use and meaningful ways will we use to

monitor student progress before, during, and after training?

Implementing, evaluating, and improving the plan as needed

Team considers difficulties student may have with generalizing new social skills and plan to promote skill transfer.

Identify meaningful outcome measures to assess the success of the program.

Generate ways to strengthen programs that are not producing the skill improvements for which they have aimed.

Preventing generalization problems

Use natural contexts early and often. Include peers in training. Use structured and formal instruction for skill

acquisition. Then use less structured, informal, and naturalistic

settings for generalization. Teach behaviors that are valued in everyday settings

(naturally reinforced). Train across people, places, and situations that the

student encounters daily. Fade training arrangements (special reinforcement). Prompt and reinforce the use of skills in relevant new

situations.