Importance of social skills education
Teachers are experiencing an increase in diversity
Students and families are experiencing social challenges
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Vocational training
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Social welfare
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Mental health
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Medical assistance
Students benefit from social skills instruction
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Promotes positive relationships
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Ensures success in adulthood
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Inclusive settings are important for social skills development
Social skills education can be taught three ways
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Individualized
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School-wide
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Embedded in classroom curriculum
Strategies for embedding social skills
Take advantage of natural opportunities to teach social skills
Teach classroom conversational skills
Use role plays that are meaningful and engaging
School-wide curricula exist to teach social skills
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Empathy
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Problem solving
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Impulse control
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Anger management
Communicate with others about social skills strategies
Individualize social skills to address a student's needs
Problem solving steps
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What is the problem
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Why does the problem exist
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What should be done to address the problem
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Did the interventions work and what should be done next
Functional Assessment
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Identify events that predict and maintain problem behavior
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Provide information used to modify the environment
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Use information to teach new skills
Guidelines for designing social skills curriculum
Designing social skills curriculum
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Clearly identify behaviors you want to increase
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Embed instruction in the natural environment
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Become familiar with different types of social skills instruction
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Use the parts that are appropriate for your students
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Avoid situations where a student may be embarrassed or singled out
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Identify specific routines and scenarios where support is needed
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Observe the student in various settings to assess whether she has the social skill but uses it sporadically
Plan for generalization
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The new skill must be as easy and efficient as the problem behavior
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Identify all of the settings where you would like to see a student use new skills
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List all of the people the student may encounter
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Provide examples of when it is not appropriate to use new skill
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