This site highlights strategies
for teaching adolescent and children social Skills.Social skills activities
like greeting
someone when you see them, saying goodbye, and responding when someone
talks to you, are examples of more basic social skills training.
These more concrete social development skills are somewhat easier
to demonstrate and therefore teach children social skill activities.
They have a fixed precursor, such as when someone talks to you it is appropriate
to reply. See more information on Children
Social Skills Training.
Communication
Social Skills and
Perspective Taking
Higher level communication social skills require taking into consideration
the point of view of another person and responding to it. Here's an example
demonstrated by a 9-year old boy: The boy has a birthday party. He doesn't
invite a friend who had invited him to his party. The boy has a playdate
with the friend a few days after the party and tells him that he got a
special toy for his birthday. When asked by the friend if he had a party,
the boy replies no. In this situation, a social development skill
known as a "white lie" was told to protect the feelings of a
friend who was not invited. This involves taking into consideration the
feelings of others. While we don't encourage children to lie, we appreciate
the nuanced communication social skill demonstrated of trying to
spare a friend from getting hurt.
Children Social Skills and Play
Communication
Social Skills
Verbal
and Nonverbal
Communication social skills may consist of direct verbal communication.
That is, what people say to relate to one another. A more complex level
of interaction involves nonverbal communication social skills.
Nonverbal communication is what we say with our faces and bodies without
using words. Nonverbal communication is very important in understanding
meaning during social interaction.
Social
Skills Training
There are a variety of methods for social skills training. Examples
include:
Social
Skills
Activities Groups
Social skills activities groups for children may be found through
organizations in the community or schools. These groups may teach social
skills such as how to establish and maintain friendships, understanding
the feelings of others, dealing with bullies, etc. Groups that take place
at school may require an IEP in order for the child to participate.
Visual
Social Skills
Training
Video modeling is a visual method for children social skills training
where the skill is demonstrated through video for the purpose of explaining
it. What is helpful is to break down the social skills into smaller
pieces and demonstrate each part individually. In addition, those with
social deficits often like an explanation for why a particular social
skill is necessary.
Other
Children's Social Skills Resources
There are a number of useful books on teaching children social skills.
A few are listed below:
Raise Your Child's Social IQ by Cathi Cohen
This book includes exercises that parents can do with their children
to increase their social skills and awareness. Based on Cathi Cohen's
social skills training groups, Raise Your Child's Social I.Q. provides
the structure for working on social skills at home.
Let's Talk Emotions: Helping Children with Social Cognitive Deficits
by Teresa Cardon
This is a collection of social skills activities for children ages
4-18. The focus is on having the child identify and respond to his own
feelings and the feelings of others in order to improve the chances of
establishing successful social relationships