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EC 301 098

Sargent, Laurence R.Social Skills for School and Community: SystematicInstruction for Children and Youth with CognitiveDelays.

Council for Exceptional Children, Reston, VA. Div. onMental Retardation.91

299p.

The Council for Exceptioral Children, PublicationSales, 1920 Association Dr., Reston, VA 22091-1589($18.00, $15.00 for CEC-MR members).Guides - Classroom Use - Teaching Guides (ForTeacher) (052)

MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS.Communication Skills; Conflict Resolution; ElementarySecondary Education; *Interpersonal Competence;Lesson Plans; *Mental Retardation; Simulation; SocialDevelopment; *Teaching Methods

This monograph presents a rationale for proactivesocial skills training for persons with mental retardation as well asover 100 examples of such instruction across the K-12 continuum.Chapter 1 provides a conceptaal framework of social competence withprinciples of what, when, and how to teach social skills. Chapter 2discusses the direct instruction of social skills including use ofsimulation and specific instructional procedures and processes. Thebulk of the book consists of specific lesson plans organized by level(primary, intermediate, middle school/junior high, and senior high)and skill areas (classroom related skills, school building relatedskills, personal skills, interaction initiative skills, interactionresponse skills, community related skills, and work related skills).Each lesson plan includes the objective, performance criteria,materials needed, and procedures (often outlined in detail). Achecklist for rating school and community social skills is appendedas are homework forms to encourage practice in 32 specific skills.(DB)

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'Division on Mental Retardation-The Council for Exceptional Children,_

Social Shills for Schooland Community

Systematic Instruction for Childrenand Youth with Cognitive Delays

Laurence R. SargentDes Moines Independent

Community School DistrictDes Moines, kgva

The Division on Mental Retardation of theCouncil for Exceptional Children

1991

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Preface ix

Proactive Instruction For Social Competence 1Rationale 3Proactive Instruction 3

Conceptual Framework of Social Competence 3Preparing for the Mainstream

What Works Best? 5What to Teach? 5When to Teach? 6How to Teach!Improving Social Affect 7Impacting Social Cognition 8Teaching Specific Social Skills 9A Follow-up Teaching Procedure 9

Summary 10

Direct Instruction of Social Skills 11Types of Social Skill Deficits 13Assessing Social Skills. ,, 13

Checklist Example 14Teaching Social Skills Lessons 14Rationale for Content of Lessons 14

Discrimination 14Attention 14Memory 15Generalization

Instruction for Carrying Out a Social Skills Lesson in Simulation 15Read Lessons in Advance 15Modify the Lesson 16Getting Set Up 16

Instructional Procedures and Processes 16Establishing the Need (Step 1) 16Identify the Skill Components (Step 2) 16Model the Skill (Step 3) 16Think Aloud (Imbedded Process) 17Role Play of the Skill (Step 4) 17Practice (Step 5) 18Generalization (Step 6). 19Follow-up and Performance Deficits 20Creating More Lessons 21Time and Repetition 21

Direct Instruction Social Skill Lessons .23

Social Skill Lessons (Primary Level)Classroom Related SkillsAttending to Teacher During Instruction 29Maintaining Appropriate Sitting Posture in Class 31Gaining Teacher Attention 33Answering Questions Asked by Teacher 36Asking for Assistance or Information 38Sharing Materials 40Keeping One's Desk in Order 43

A

iv Social Skills for School and Community

Entering Classroom Without Disruption 45

sshadauBsling_Batted_skiliaBoarding School Bus 47Following Bus Riding Rules 49Walking Through Hallways and Passing to Classes 51Waiting in Line 53Using Rest Room Appropriately 56Drinking Properly from Water Fountain 58Following Lunchroom Rules 60Using Table Manners

Personal SkillsSaying "Please" and "Thank you" 65Speaking in Appropriate Tone of Voice 68Taking Turns in Games and Activities 70Telling the Truth 73Accepting Consequences for Wrong Doing 75

Interaction Initiative SkillsGreeting Peers 78Borrowing from Peers 81Asking Another Child to Play 84Smiling When Encountering Friends and Acquaintances 86

Social Skill Lessons (Intermediate Level) 89Classroom Related SkillsFollowing Classroom Rules 93Cooperating With a Work Partner 95Ignoring Distractions 97Staying on Task During Seatwork 99Completing Work on Time 101Participating Politely in a Classroom Discussion 103Making Relevant Remarks During Class Discussion 105Following Verbal Directions 107Following Written Directions 109Speaking Positively About School Work 112Participating in Classroom Introduction 114

Personal SkillsMaintaining Appropriate Grooming . 116Avoiding Inappropriate Physical Contact 118Exhibiting Appropriate Hygienic Behavior 120Expressing Enthusiasm 123Making Positive Statements About Self 126Expressing Anger in Nonaggressive Ways 128

Expressing Sympathy.. 130Asking Peers for Help 132Making Invitations 134

Interaction Respons,,1 SkillsListening When a Peer Speaks 136Participating in a Group Activity 138Helping Peers When Asked 140Accepting Ideas Which Are Different From Own 142Meeting Adults 144

Table of Contents v

Social Skill Lessons (Middle School/Junior High Level) 147fAassroom Related SkillsCompleting Homework on Time 151

School Building Related SkillsResponding to School Authorities 153

BerunaLakillaAccepting Praise 155Staying Out of Fights 157Dealing With Embarrassment 159Choosing Appropriate Clothing for Social Events 161

IntaractisaLinitiatiya_ssillaIntroducing Self 163Making Introductions 165Initiating a Conversation 167Joining Activities with Peers 170Congratulating Peers and Adults 172Apologizing 174Excusing Self 176

Interaction Response SkillsMaintaining A Conversation 178Responding to Teasing and Name Calling 180

fammunitx_lielatelaillaAsk for Directions or Information in a Public Place 183Giving Directions 185Sportsmanship As a Participant in Games 187Polite Behavior and Sportsmanship as a Spectator 189Disposing of Waste Materials and Debris in Public Places 191Respecting the Rights of Others in Public Places 193Respecting Public Property 195Audience Behavior 197Responding to Public Authority 199Asserting Self to Gain Service in Place of Business 201

Social Skill Lessons (Senior High Level) .2013

Using Free Time Productively (class time) 207Dealing With an Accusation in School 209

Personal SkillsDealing with Failure 212Dealing With Being Left Out 214

Interactive Initiative SkillsExpressing Feelings 216Expressing Affection 213Standing Up for a Friend 221Asking for a Date 223Giving a Compliment 226Making a Complaint Z28

Interaction_ Response SkillsRespondirff to Constructive Criticism fi 230

vi Social Skills for School and Community

Recognizing Feelings of Others 233Respecting Space of Others 235Responding to Peer Pressure 237Dealing With an Angry Person 239Making Refusals 241Answering a Complaint 243

Community Related SkillsDealing with Public Officials Over the Phone 245

WarkilelatraiShillaSetting Goals for Work 247Negotiating on the Job 249Responding to Unwarranted Criticism 251Asking for Feedback on the Job 253Minding One's Own Business on the Jcb 255Choosing a Time for Small Talk 257Knowing the Consequences and Refraining from Excessive Complaining 260

References 263

Appendix A: School & Community Social Skills Rating Checklist .267

Appendix B: Camera Ready Homework Forms .275General Homework Report Form 277Maintaining Good Grooming 278Completing Home Work on Time 279Responding to School Authority 280Accepting Praise 281Staying Out of Fights 282Dealing with Embarrassment 223Choosing Appropriate Clothing 284Introducing Self 285Making Introductions 286Initiating a Conversation 287Congratulating 228Apologizin g 289Excusing Self 290Maintaining a Conversation 291Responding to Teasing and Name Calling 292Asking for Directions or Information in Public Places 293Giving Directions 294Sportsmanship as a Participant 295Sportsmanship as A Spectator 296Disposing of Waste in Public Places 297Respecting Rights of Others in Public 298Respecting Public Property 299Audience Behavior 300Responding to Public Authority 301Asserting Self to Gain Service in Place of Business 302Dealing With Being Left Out. 303Exp...essing Affection 304Responding to Constructive Criticism 305Recognizing Feelings of Others 306Setting Work Goals 307Negotiating 308

Foreword

With the movement towards more outcome-oriented instruction being provided tostudents with mild mental retardation, the need has never been p eater to provide moreappropriate social skill training to students in current and subsequent educationalenvironments. To meet this need it is a pleasure to provide you with Social Skills forSchool and Community, the sixth in a series of special monographs published by theDivision on Mental Retardation of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC-MR).

Social Skills for School and Community is a revision of an earlier monographpublished by the Iowa Department of Education which has been well received by teachersand support service personnel throughout their state. I am sure you will find thismonograph helpful as its author, Dr. Larry Sargent, has painstakingly ensured that thelayout and content of the monograph is functional and easy to follow. It is a publicationwhich is "teacher-friendly."

This monograph represents the work and support, of many individuals. In addition tothe major contribution of Dr. Sargent, the Board of Directors would like to thank themembers of the Iowa Department of Education who have supported the development of thismonograph: William L. Lepley, Director and Executive Officer of the State Board ofEducation; Susan J. Donielson, Administrator of' the Division of Instructional Services; J.Frank Vance, Bureau Chief for Special Education; Jeananne Hagen, Assistant BureauChief, and Greg Robinson, Consultant for Mental Disabilities who brought this publicationto the attention of the Board of' Directors. Additional thanks are also extended to JeriBurdick Crane who did the final typing and copy editing of the manuscript; and to CarlRejba, Graphic Artist, Communication Services, Iowa Department of Education, for thecover design.

On behalf of the CEC-MR Board of Directors, I hope you will enjoy and use the ideas whichare presented on the pages that follow.

Pamela Gillet, Ph.D.Chair, CEC-MRPublications CommitteeJuly 1991

Preface

I would like to share with you a few persoual thoughts about the development of this pub-lication. By doing this, it will allow me the opportunity to share with the reader my respectfor the author, who is a friend and colleague, and why I think this publication is so impor-tant for teachers to have.

I had just sat down at my desk on my first day at work at the Iowa Department of PublicInstruction back in January, 1985 when the telephone rang. It was a teacher from the east-em part of the state who was beginning her first teaching assignment. She was concernedabout several students in her incoming class who had past "behavioral baggage." When Iasked her how I could help, she replied firmly, "Send me a copy of Project SISS as fast asyou can!"

Wanting to please my first constituent with lightening speed and immediate 1.urnaround time, which most of us have come to expect when dealing with state department per-sonnel, I thought my first task should be to find out what was Project SISS! After spending afew minutes with my knowledgeable secretary I was made aware that Project SISS was apublication developed in conjunction with a demonstration project designed to demonstrateprocesses for direct instruction of social skills to students with mild mental retardationand other students with cognitive delays. The original publication titled, Project SISS(Systematic Instruction of Social Skills) was published by the Iowa Department of PublicInstruction and disseminated in Iowa in 1983. The author of the publication was Dr. LarrySargent, who was previously in my position with the Department of Public Instruction, andis currently a principal with the Des Moines Independent Community School District.

A copy of the publicavion went out the same day to the teacher in need, as have over 5,000additional copies involving a subsequent revision to fulfill prior and subsequent requests.Since Larry developed the first edition of Project SISS over eight years ago, there have beenmany publications which have been developed for working with Iowa students with milddisabilities, but none more popular. Currently, the Project SISS materials are being usedsuccessfully with young students who are at-risk, students with behavior and learningproblems, and students in juvenile detention centers.

As time has gone on, there continues to be no decrease in the number of requests for thepublication, however due to budgetary constraints, additional printing of the publicationhas not been possible. Approximately two years ago I approached the Board of Directors ofthe Division on Mental Retardation of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC-MR) tosee if there would be interest in a third revision of the Project SISS publication fordistribution nationally. The Board agreed to sponsor the publication revision and now allI needed to do was convince Larry to go back to the keyboard for a third revision.

Through my experiences with the Department of Education I have had the opportunity towork with many fine professionals. Many of them have agreed to be involved with com-prehensive projects at little or no remuneration for their services. They do the work be-cause they care and they want to make service delivery for students with disabilities thebest it can be. Larry Sargent is one of these people. He is a credit to our profession andthrough his efforts our jobs are a little easier. Larry has spent a great deal of time and ef-fort in revising the Project SISS materials to provide the reader with this final work titled,Social Skills for School and Community.

His efforts will be of benefit to the reader as this edition is excellent with the content be-ing very timely and teacher-oriented. If we as educators in the field of mental retardationhope to make a difference in the future, our success will depend on our ability to be proactiveon developing positive skills as opposed to attempting to minimize negative behaviorsthrough reactive teaching which has proven inconsistent. This publication stresses aproactive emphasis.

x Social Skills for School and Community

On ti pages that follow, Larry shares his thinking and beliefs in the area of socialcompetence. Included are his rationale, perspective, and methods which he applies for thereader throug: the provision of 100 examples of proactive social skills instruction acrossthe K-12 coL! inv,4m. The thoroughness of this monograph gives hope and a means forclassroom int. ors who strive to make the lives of students with mental disabilitiesmore a part of the mainstream. Through the efforts of these teachers, students will have abetter opportunity to increase the quality of their vocational, home, and recreational envi-ronments in tomorrow's society.

Greg A. Robinson, ConsultantMental DisabilitiesBureau of Special EducationIOWA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONJuly, 1991

CILa:IDSoir ems

Proactive InstructionFor Social Competence

Teaching social skills is an important andoften neglected aspect of instruction provided toslow learning children and youth. In thismanual, a rationale for teaching social skills, abroad perspective on social competence, andmethods and content for teaching social skills arepresented. The remaining sections containprocedures for direct instruction of social skillsand 100 sample lessons.

Rationale

For most children and adolescents, socialcompetence develops through incidental learningand intellectual maturation. Unfortunately,children and youth with cognitive delays, arenotoriously inadequate in their incidentallearning ability. They commonly exhibitlearning deficits in areas of discrimination,attention, memory, and generalization (Ellis,1963; Fisher & Zeaman, 1973; Zeaman & House,1963) which contribute to impairment of socialaffect, social skills, and social cognition.Consequently, individuals with mentalretardation fail to accrue acceptance by peers andadults. Moraover, many children with mentalretardation incur social rejection as the result ofexhibiting interfering and socially repugnantbehaviors.

The long term consequences of social rejectionand poor social competence are many. Earlystudies indicate that individuals identifiedduring childhood as social isolates were likely tohave difficulty during adulthood with the law,alcohol, divorce, and other social ills (Gresham,1981). Further, rehabilitation literature indicatesthat most individuals with moderate and mildmental retardation who lose jobs do so primarilyfor lack of adequate social skills and othersocially inappropriate behavior. Due to the greatimportance and lasting effect, programmingprovided for individuals whose learning isimpaired must include efforts to build socialcompetence. Hopefully, that programming will becarried out in positive and nonpunitive ways.

Proactive Instruction

Proactive instruction represents an effort toprovide learners opportunities to gain accAptanceby others, develop friendships, and lead healthierand happier lives. By improving the socialadequacy of persons with mental retardation,debilitating social rejection, poor self-concept,repugnant social behavior, and a diminished,quality of life are avoided.

Proactive Instruction 3

Proactive teaching is preferabk to reactivetreatment of social deficits. When addressingsocial competence from a proactive perspective,students are taught new skills in a positive milieubefore the negative consequence of social rejectionoccurs. In contrast, reactive approaches wait forthe individuals to fail and then try to fix theirproblems. Students with mental retardation havelearning problems which include difficultydeveloping adequate social skills and perceptions.Thus, it is reasonable that efforts should be made tosystematically employ processes which improvetheir social competence throughout the years theyare involved in formal education.

Before proactive instruction can be undertaken,it is helpful for educators to conceptualize whatsocial competence entails. The following sectionprovides a heuristic model to give teachers andother professionals a broad view of what socialcompetence may be and what should be achieved asthe result of instruction.

Conceptual Framework of Social Competence

For professionals choosing to address the needsof learners with cognitive disabilities, it is criticalthat they understand the notion of socialcompetence. It consists of a huge mix ofinteracting and overlapping variables. To makesense of these variables, a conceptual frameworkis necessary (Figure 1) for determining how toaddress socially related problems. The followingmodel consisting of inputs, processes, and desiredoutcomes is presented for purposes of formulatingactions that will enhance the social competence ofdisabled learners.

InputsIMI111

Cultural Determinants

Processes

[

Social AffectSocial Skills

Social Intelligence

Outcomes I Desired Outcomes

Figure 1. Conceptual framework of social competence.

In this mechanistic model, culturaldeterminants are the values and social standardsby which individuals live. These are the dynamicraw materials of social competence which vary

4 Social Skills for School and Community

according to community size, ethnic mix, regionof the country, and traditions of the community.Fri lure to function within these culturalboundaries will often inhibit both socialacceptance and development of feelings of self-efficacy.

For the purposes of this model some of the majorcultural determinant categories are as follows:

1. Community values2. Standards for adult/child relations3. Family member role expectations4. Privacy standards5. Standards of decency (e.g. taboos, etc.)6. Work ethic7. Standards of fairness8. Independence expectancy9. Temporal standards (e.g., how long to chit

chat and how late is acceptable)10. Standards of social responsibility11. Community tolerance of differences12. Aesthetic conventions and values13. Situational conventions, e.g.:

a. table mannersb. church mannersc. theater mannersd. public courtesiese. classroom mannersf. work place conventions

14. Many others

Cultural determinants are the ingredients ofsocial competence which must be acted upon toarrive at the desired outcomes. The actions occurthrough the three process elements of the modelwhere the individual adjusts and matches his orher behavior to this huge myriad of social valuesand rules.

The three process components of this frame-work include social affect, social skills, andsocial cognition. Each component warrantsattention from professional educators; failure toaddress all areas represents only a partial attemptto achieve the desired outcomes.

Social affect is an overt process component ofsocial competence. As used in this framework,social affect relates to how the individual appearsto others. Social affect consists of the following:

9. Sense of humor10. Affection11. Assertiveness

A number of published teaching materials andmethods are designed to improve 3tudent affect, butit appears that attention to affect can be addressedin all activities and instruction. In addition,attention to affect alone does not create a moresocially competent individual.

Scwial skills are the behaviors which representthe L.ost obvious aspects of social competence.These behaviors can be taught directly, taughtthrough infusion into life experiences, and can beacquired incidentally through modeling ofcompetent peers and adults. Hundreds of socialskills fall into the following categories:

1. Interaction initiatives (e.g., starting aconversation).

2. Interaction responses (e.g., responding to acomplaint).

3. Personal social behaviors (e.g., dealingwith embarrassment).

4. Setting specific skills and behaviors:a. school behaviorb. work place behaviorc. public setting behaviord. family setting behavior

Instruction on the overt aspects of socialcompetence holds great promise, but they areinsufficient if they are the only element of socialcompetence that an instructional team deals with.Techniques used to teach social skills must becombined with those developed to enhance socialcognition.

The third processes component, social cogni-tion, is by definition the most difficult area for aperson identified as having mild mental re-tardation. Social cognition represents anindividual's ability to understand, interpret, andtake appropriate actions relevant to differentsocial settings, personal interactions, andcomplexity of situations (Greenspan, 1979).Among students, without disabilities many ofthese abilities are acquired developmentally.Categories of social cognition partially adaptedfrom Greenspan (1979) include:

1. Cheerfulness2. Enthusiasm 1. Role taking/empathy.3. Confidence 2. Social discrimination and inference.4. Optimism 3. Social understanding/ comprehension.5. Risk taking 4. Understanding motives of others.6. Independence 5. Moral and ethical judgments.7. Good posture 6. Referential communication.8. Good grooming 7. Social problem solving.

Despite the inherent difficulty in this area ofpersonal growth, individuals who experiencelearning difficulty can progress as the result ofintervention. Strategies for social problemsolving may be taught, experiences may be ar-ranged to enhance social discrimination, moraland ethical judgments may be reinforced, andopportunities may be provided to practice socialproblem solving.

The desired outcomes from developing socialcompetence are some of the most positive aspects oflife itself. They represent the needs and desires ofthe individual with disabilities; plus they reflectthe aspirations of parents, professionals, and careproviders to see that the individual becomes aproductive and happy adult. Hopefully, theindividual student or client will attain thefollowing:

1. Self-esteem.2. Self-confidence.3. Peer acceptance.4. Acceptance by family and significant

others.5. Friendships.6. Strong personal relationships.7. Community acceptance.9. Social independence.

10. A supportive social milieu.

These outcomes are attained through the inter-action of life experiences and the efforts of pro-fessionals acting on the lives of individuals withcognitive delays. The interventions must occurduring the person's entire developmental period.

Preparing for the Mainstream: What WorksBest?

A significant reason for addressing socialcompetence is that modern educational practicesare focused at providing instruction in the leastrestrictive environment. With educational effortsdirected toward preparing individuals with mildand moderate mental retardation to live in theircommunities with people without disabilities,social competence becomes essential for success inmainstream school, community, and worksettings. The second reason for addressing socialcompetence is an awareness that structuredlearning activities are educationally morefruitful than instructional techniques whichrelied on skill acquisition through tanrotiallyrelated experiences (Lloyd & Carnine, 1081).This leads to the conclusion that programming forsocial competence should not be left to chance if it

Proactive Instuction 5

is to be effective.The most effective methodology for teaching

most skills appears to be instruction which is verystructured. After reviewing research on academicinstruction, Stevens and Rosenshine (1981)concluded that the most successful teachers arethose that selected and directed activities,approached the subject matter in a direct business-like manner, organized learning aroundquestions they posed, and occupied the center ofattention. Further, they concluded that the mostefficient process for teaching occurs in the three-step sequence including: demonstratior,prompting, and practice. During the practicephase students must experience a high level ofsuccess to sustain learning gains, and learningwill be enhanced when pupils receive feedback ontheir efforts.

Similarly, researchers found that the mildlydisabled often learn best when instruction isoffered in a systematic sequenced format. Close,Irvin, Taylor and Agosta (1981) indicated thatinstructional assistance (consisting of verbalcues, modeling, and prompting), systematicfeedback, and repeated correct practice ensureslearning. They used a variation of directinstruction technology to teach community livingskills to adults with mild retardation. As a resultof these reported successes, similar structuredlearning approaches appear to be needed to teachsocial skills to children and youth with mental de-lays.

What to Teach?

One of the major determinants of sccialacceptance appears to be perception of interferingbehavior. Greater social rejection occurs formisbehaving children than for children with mildhandicaps who are simply perc,;ived ascognitively deficient (Gottlieb, Semme!, .3nVeldman, 1978; MacMillan & Morrison, 198(1).Similarly, children with learning disabilitiestend to be rejected by peers and were found to emitnegative verbal behaviors in the regularclassroom (Bryan, 1977). Some of the behaviorsfound most important to gaining social acceptancein the regular classroom are: attending,complying, volunteering, following directions,speaking positively about academic material, andremaining on task (Cartledge & Milburn, 1980).Gottlieb (1982) indicated that for young childrenteacher acceptance appeared to be a majordeterminant in social acceptance by peers. Inaddition to facilitating acceptance among peers,these behaviors encourage greater acceptance on

4


the part of the regular class teachers and result inthe child with disabilities having more positiveinteractions with teachers. Therefore, learningteacher-pleasing behaviors is an important part ofdeveloping social competence. For youngchildren, a good place to staet is with one of severallists of kindergarten survival skills (McCormick& Kawate, 1982). Other behaviors, such asaggression and acting out, must be reducedthrough use of behavior change methods.

Personal interaction skills are equally im-portant to ensure success in school and communitysettings. Several authors identify behavior suchas: helping, sharing, smiling, greeting others,speaking positively to others, and controllingaggression as behaviors which are necessary foradequate social interaction. In addition,recognizing emotions, complimenting, positivephysical contact, asking for information,extending invitations, giving information,taking turns, listening, eye contact, participating,expressing enthusiasm, and good grooming wereall found to contribute to positive social interaction(Cooke & Appolloni, 1975; Gottman, Gonso, &Rasmussen, 1975; Gronlund & Anderson, 1963;Mesibov & LaGreca, 1981; and Oden & Asher,1978).

Another perspective on what to teach is theassumption that the area of social cognition mustbe addressed to assist the individual becomesocially competent. Individuals with mild mentalretardation have been identified ls moreegocentric and, therefore, require more trainingin role taking which means understanding whatothers are perceiving, thinking, and feeling. Inaddition, they are deficient at: decision making,problem solving, and sozial inference whichmeans the ability to interpret what is happeningaround them. Also, understanding of socialprocesses like friendship are frequentshortcomings (Greenspan, 1979).

Elias and Maher (1983) suggest a social-cognitive problem solving skills framework uponwhich school-based programming can beconducted. It is their contention that a specific setof skills make up social skill competence. Theirskill list is as follows:

1. An expectation by individuals that they cantake personal initiative in a situation andgain a favorable outcome.

2. A sensitivity to others' feelings and per-spectives.

3. The ability to set a clear goal and considervarious possible consequences.

4. The ability to plan specific steps to aid iiireaching a goal.

5. The behavioral repertoire needed to im-plement their plans.

6. The persistence to continue using theirproblem solving skills in the face of ob-stacles.

7. The ability to refine their problem-solvingstrategies in light of experience.

Vaughn, Ridley, and Cox (1983) identifiedseveral skills which fit into the social cognitioncategory, and they designed an instructionalprogram around them. The content of theirinstructional program includes:

1. Fundamental language concepts (e.g."same," "different," etc.).

2. Cue SensitivityChildren are taught tobecome aware of key factors in a socialsituation and react differently depending onthe situation.

3. Goal IdentificationChildren are taught toproceed from goals producing long-rangegratification.

4. EmpathyChildren are taught to take therole of another.

5. Alternative ThinkingChildren are taughtto predict likely outcomes for problemsituations using alternative problem solvingstrategies.

6. Consequential ThinkingChildren aretaught strategies for predicting likelyoutcomes of problem solving methods aretaught.

7. Procedural ThinkingChildren are taughthow to get from a chosen alternative to adesired goal.

8. Integrating SkillsAll of the components ofthe interpersonal problem solving approachare incorporated into a single process.

Although there are many skills and behaviorswhich must be taught to increase the socialcompetence of individuals with mental handicaps,the timing of instruction is also important.

When to Teach?

In some form or another, social competencemust be taught at all times in a child's life. Inparticular, reinforcement of social affect andsocially appropriate behavior will always bewarranted. However, not every social competencymust be addressed as soon as it is perceived as adeficiency. Decisions on when to teach aparticular skill are related tn the characteristics ofindividual children. Browning and White (1986)emphasized that instruction should be matched to

the ages of the children and their cognitiveabilities. For example, a child with a mental ageof four is not likely to have a well-developedconcept of what is "fair" and what is "not fair." Ifthe child is still young, hr or she may develop theseconcepts with little intervention. In contrast, somestudents have so many deficits that it is necessaryto tackle the most obtrusive problem or potentiallymost valuable skill first. In other words, a systemof priorities must be established for the individual.

Determining when to teach a particular skirlcan be accomplished by responding to tlfollowing questions:

1. Is the skill deficient or inadequate?2. Does the student have the cognitive ability to

learn the skill?3. Will the student have an opportunity to

practice the skill?4. Does changing the student's behavior have

importance to significant others in thestudent's life?

5. Is the skill needed in current or futureenvironments?

6. Is acquisition of the skill essential to remainin the current environment?

Affirmative answers to these questions may leadto the conclusion that the skill should be taughtimmediately. If an answer is negative to one ofquestions 2-5, the skill may be taught at, a laterdate. If the response to question 6 is affirmative,the skill may be taught, but the behavior may haveto be shaped through use of behavioral analysistechniques rather than being taught throughinstruction requiring the learner to applycognitive strategies. Methods for how to teachskills are discussed in the following section.

How to Teach!

No single approach to building social compe-tence is totally satisfactory. Approaches selectedfor use will depend upon a wide range of variablesincluding age, mental ability, practiceopportunities, communication skills, and a host ofconcerns related to unique needs of individuals.Further, improving social competence is alongitudinal matter. Efforts must be madethroughout every person's entire school career. Itis unlikely that a lesson or two on how to makefriends will result in the individual establishingclose personal relationships. The individualmust have sufficient self-esteem, confidence, andrisk taking ability to make friends. At the sametime, they must have the following:


1. The ability to understand how their closefriend feels and thinks.

2. The moral and ethical judgments to berespected by a friend.

3. The ability to solve social problems thatassist in sustaining friendships.

To state this more broadly, the individual musthave attained sufficient social affect, adequately

rform social skills, and exercise socialognition to become socially competent.

fraproving Social Affect

Early on authorities believed that if we simplydealt with the self-concept of children with mildmental retardation by removing them from thefrustrations of regular education, then sociallymaladaptive behaviors would disappear (Kirk &Johnson, 1951). Not all, but several studiesindicate that students in special classes do tend tohave somewhat better self-concepts than similarlyhandicapped students in regular educationclasses. However, this does not mean that theyhave better social skills or that they are better likedby others. It only means that they think better ofthemselves.

With the current mandate to educate childrenin the least restrictive environment, it is veryimportant to work on social affect in a variety ofways. Because affect is part of all social behavior,this aspect of social competence is best taught whenintegrated into all instructional areas as well asbeing taught directly. Many sound practices maybe infused into everyday academic, self-care, andvocational instruction. In addition, building ahealthy social affect begins as soon as a childenters school. Attempts to shape effectivebehaviors such as cheerfulness, good posture, goodgrooming, independence, and optimism should beongoing throughout the student's school career.Regular and special education teachers canpositively impact social affect in a variety of waysincluding: providing instruction and activitiesin which the individual with disabilities can besuccessful; reinforcing smiling, making eyecontact, expressing enthusiasm; and providingappropriate opportunities to demonstrateassertiveness. Further, simple correctivefeedback on behavior such as posture andgrooming will assist in developing an affectwhich contributes to social acceptance.

In many cases, efforts to build social affect willtake more than those of the special educationteacher. Success has been achieved through the useof peer confederates reinforcing and prompting


interactions (Stain & Odom, 1986), adultconfederates (Sargent, 1983), and classmates(McGinnis & Goldstein, 1984). Strain and Timm(1974) were abk to increase cooperative play ofdisabled and nondisabled peers by reinforcing thechildren without disabilities for initiatinginteractions and cooperative play.

Simply integrating students into regularclasses is unlikely to improve social affect andsocial skills (Gresham, 1982; Jenkins, Speltz, &Odom, 1986; Johnson, Johnson, & Maruyamma,1983). However, interventions can facilitateinteraction and improved self-concept. Aprocedure which works well in regular classsettings is cooperative learning where studentsengage in cooperative goal setting. The result ofthis procedure when tested was that the studentswith handicaps engaged in twice as muchinteraction in cooperative learning environmentsas they do in competitive learning situations.They had better self-esteem and relationshipsmaintained during periods of free play (Johnson& Johnson, 1983). To date, no other attempts toimprove social affect have proven to be equal tocooperative learning strategies. Another benefitfrom cooperative learning is that students withoutdisabilities are more accepting of their peers withdisabilities (Ballard, et. al., 1977).

A few direct instructional techniques have beenused to improve social affect. In most instancesthose techniques are mixed with attempts to dealwith social cognition. A variety of materials werepublished in the late 1960s and early /Os to teachchildren behavior such as understanding feelingsand being optimistic. Typically, these materialscontained stories and were followed by groupdiscussions. There are no published studies oftheir use with children with mental disabilities.Recently, Browning and White (1986) usedinteractive video media to deal with affectconcerns including "being positive" and "beingresponsible." The methodology of teaching socialaffect directly resembles other aspects of directinstruction. This often includes presentation of astory or film and then discussing the importantlearning points of the media used.

Impacting Social Cognition

Social cognition and social affect are so closelylinked that most authors do not separate the two.Much of what the professional literature describesas affective instruction will be identified as socialcognition in this chapter. Work in the area ofsocial thinking has been worthwhile, but someresearch indicates that it must be accompaniedwith specific skill instruction to be successful and

have long-term benefits for individuals withmental retardation (Castles & Glass, 1986).Although not as powerful as social skills training,instruction in the area of social cognitionaddresses some important elements of socialcompetence untouched by most specific skilltraining approaches. An additional positiveattribute of training in social cognition is thatstudents are given strategies for dealing with awide range of problems and conditions. Incontrast, specific skill training tends to focus onnarrowly defined operations. The majority of theresearch has been conducted in areas such as roletaking ability and social problem solving.

The traditional 'methodology for teaching skillssuch as social probkm solving usually includedthe story followed by discussion format (Gcldstein,1974). More recently, Elias and Maher (1983)developed a model for teaching social-cognitiveproblem solving skills. To teach these skills theyused television video tapes, discussion, and roleplaying. They further point out that knowledge ofchildren's cognitive ability at different ages isvery important. According to the authors, use ofvideo tape and film is especially valuable for thefollowing reasons:

1. TV activates a range of sensory modalities.It also stimulates motivation, attention, andis easily recalled.

2. There is a synergistic learning effect whentelevision is combined with discussion thatpromotes learning of a general cognitivestrategy.

Some of the materials that they identify are vid,Jutaped series that can be obtained from:

Catalogue of Television and AudiovisualMaterials

Agency for Instructional TelevisionBloomington, Indiana

Examples of age-appropriate materials include:"You and Your Feelings" for second graders; andat the fourth grade level, "But They Might Laugh"for coping with embarrassment. Materials suchas these have worked well with a variety ofchildren, but they are riot specifically validated foruse with children with disabilities.

Vaughn, Ridley, and Cox (1983) validated theirproblem solving training procedures withchildren with mental retardation andpreschoolers. The procedures included discus-sions, modeling, and rehearsal. Through theseprocesses, students demonstrated significantgains in interpersonal problem solving compared

17

to controls. Students increased responserepertoires to include tra ling, sharing, gettingassistance from others, and wai',ing.

Another useful approach for ,nhancing socialcognition is the use of techniques of cognitivebehavior modification. This is accomplished byteaching response strategies to students which theycan apply at appropriate times. The individualuses verbal self-instruction to deal with problemsituations. Students are taught by having themverbalize their thinking during simulatedproblem solving and decision making sessions.Strategies are rehearsed and then applied whenneeded. Browning and White (1986) used thisprocedure in conjunction with videos focused onareas including "being positive," "relating toothers," "knowing your rights," and "beingresponsible." In addition to verbal rehearsal ofstrategies, they use self-talking, workbooks,homework, role plays, and expansion games.Bash and Campbell (1980) have a similar pro-cedure they call "thinking aloud" where studentsverbally rehearse thinking responses andalternative solutions to social problems. Thedifficulty with these procedures is that they arehighly reliant on language that many individualswith mental retardation have little skill using.However, with adequate practice, cognitivebehavior modifications have been usedsuccessfully with individuals with mild mentalretardation.

The methodology used to teach social problemsolving, role taking, social inference, and thoseother areas of social cognition is very similar totechniques used to train specific social skillsdiscussed in the following section.

Teaching Specific Social Skills

Several authors advocate direct instruction ofsocial skills (Cartledge & Milburn, 1980;McGinnis & Goldstein, 1984; Mesibov & La Greco,1981; Sargent, 1983; Stephens, 1979 and 1981;Strain, 1977; Strain, Shores, & Timm, 1977; Strain& Wiegermink, 1976). The procedures used fordirect instruction are all very similar. They relyheavily on modeling, role playing, practice, andfeedback. Social skills differ slightly from socialthinking in that they are overt behaviors related tospecific social needs such as making anintroduction, sharing, or staying out of fights.The instructional procedures identified in theremainder of this project manual exemplify directinstruction procedures of specific social skillswith adaptation and consideration for thecharacteristics of learners with mental


retardation. While it is powerful, directinstruction needs to be followed up with additionalinstruction and practice. The technique describedin the following section provides an excellentfollow-up to direct instruction, and it has evenproven successful with learners with moderateretardation.

A Follow-up Teaching Procedure

For populations without disabilities, coachingas a teaching method proved to be as effective asmodeling (Oden & Asher, 1977). In contrast, LaGreca, Stone, and Bell (1983) found that modelingwas more successful than coaching alone forteaching social skills. Although slightly weakeras an initial teaching strategy, coaching remainsa powerful maintenance and generalizationstrategy. The Boys Town Schools Social SkillsCurriculum and Training Model (Black, Downs,Bastien, & Brown, 1984) is a coaching approachwhich contains some very useful components thatcan be effectively adapted for use with studentswho have intellectual deficiencies. Based upon theTeaching Family Model developed by Phillips,Fixsen, Phillips, and Wolf (1979), theircurriculum and teaching strategies are focused atimproving the social behavior of institutionalizedbehavior disordered adolescents. As a feedbackand reteaching system, the Complete TeachingInteraction component is a structured and veryuseful tool for facilitating maintenance andgeneralization of learned social skills. At BoysTown, this procedure is used for initial instructionon a social skill. For the students with milddisabilities, this procedure is recommended aspart of a follow-up to direct instruction because itappears to be too reliant on verbal instruction to beused as the only approach to teaching social skillsto students with mental retardation.

The Boys Town model is based upon the premisethat social skills teaching is most effective whenthe problem arises. For example, when a studentfails to accept criticism, that is time to teach thatskill. To be able to teach the skill, the teacher mustbe very accurate at observing and describingbehavior. Training in these skills isrecommended before implementing a proLeduresuch as described in this model. Once thebehavioral deficiency is identified, the teacher orother educator initiates a ten step teachinginteraction consisting of the following steps:

1. Expression of affection which may includesmiles, physical contact, use of the student'sname, or a statement of affection.


2. Initial praise I empathy is a positivestatement related to a student's accom-plishments feelings.

3. Describe inappropriate behavior involvestelling the student exactly what he or she wasdoing inappropriately.

4. Describe appropriate behavior involvesdescribing or demonstrating an alternativebehavior.

5. Rationale provided to the student to pointout the benefit or consequences for engagingor not engaging in certain behaviors.

6. Request acknowledgement is a check forunderstanding. Some steps may needelaboration or repeating if the student doesnot understand.

7. Practice is required to make sure the studenttruly understands how to perform the skill.

8. Feedback is provided to the student to re-inforce and/or correct performance duringthe practice component.

9. Consequences are provided to teach studentsthe relationship between their behavior andthe results of their behavior.

10. General praise is offered to end the sessionpositively and reinforce the student forparticipating in the teaching/learningexperience.

This model gives its users a powerful way toreact to the specific deficits and mentaldisabilities. Since it is primarily a coachingapproach, it is recommended as a support orfollow-up methodology rather than an initialinstruction method.

Summary

Enhancing social competence of individuals

with mental retardation is a long term goal ofspecial educators. This goal cannot be accom-plished unless the concern is addressed broadlyand longitudinally. The breadth of concernincludes taking actions which improve socialaffect, social skills, and social thinking.

Social affect represents appearances that theindividual presents to others. These behaviors,such as cheerfulness and good posture, can betaught through infusion into other learningactivities. They are reinforced through attempts tofacilitate interaction and cooperation with others.

Social skills represent overt behaviors used in avariety of social contexts. They include groups ofskills related to initiating and respondingappropriately in personal interactions andnumerous skills related to socially acceptablebehavior in a variety of environments. Many ofthese skills can be taught directly, but instructionmust include efforts to facilitate fTeneralization.

Social cognition represen.J the thinkingcomponent of social competence. Some aspects ofsocial cognition can be enhanced through use oftechniques such as role playing, training use ofstrategies, and cognitive behavior modification.

Research evidence indicates that no singleapproach to improving social competence issufficient. Educators must continually reinforceappropriate social affect, teach social skills, andinstruct individuals on use of thinking strategiesto understand and solve problems in socialsituations. Although elements of all instructionalprocedures are contained in this manual, the usermust be careful not to believe that they haveadequately addressed efforts to improve socialcompetence simply by using the lessons providedon the following pages. Building socialcompetence must be addressed in all instructionand experiences provided to disabled learners.

Clinai Voir Ivo

Direct Instructionof Social Skills

2(1

Children learn social skills through imitatingchildren, parents, and other adults that theyencounter during the course of daily living.Except for some intensive instruction andreinforcement by parents on manners, much ofwhat children learn in the social area can bedescribed as incidental. Unfortunately, childrenwith disabilities, and especially children withmental disabilities are notoriously inadequate intheir incidental learning. As a consequence, theyare often deficient in social skills and fail toae-:rue acceptance by peers and adults. In'Addition, many children with disabilities tend toincur social rejection as a result of exhibitinginterfering and socially repugnant behaviors.These conditions affecting lives of children withmild mental retardation contributed to the need todevelop methods for teaching social skills

Some of the materials developed for teachingsocial skills to children with cognitive delay arecontained in this publication. You will find anexplanation of an assessment procedure,explanation and directions for using directinstruction lessons, suggestions for following upon instruction, and 100 social skills lessons.

This program is designed for use with childrenand youth who spend at least a portion of the dayintegrated into general education classes. Thesocial skill lessons were developed along an age-related, expanding milieu concept and include:

1. Getting along with teachers and schoolofficial s.

2. Getting along with peerr..3. Getting along in the community.4. Getting along on the job.

At the elementary level, lessons are directedtoward skills performed in the schoolenvironment. For junior high students,instruction emphasizes social skills used inschool and community environments. At the highschool level, lessons address peer-relatcd,community-related, and work-related socialskills.

Types of Social Skill Deficits

As conceptualized by the project developers,there are four types of social skill deficits:

1. Skill deficits occur when the students simplydo not have the skills in their behavioralrepertoire. For exa aple, a youngster maynot know how to make an introduction and,therefore, never makes an introduction.

Direct Instruction of Social Skills 13

2. Inadequate skill perfornance deficits occurwhen students perform social skills, butleave out some critical component. Forexample, a child starts conversation with astranger but fails to succeed because skillcomponents such as deciding on the righttime to approach the person and establishingeye contact are neglected.

3. Performance deficits mean that the studentspossess the skills but simply do not use themwith sufficient frequency. For example, ayoungster stays on task only about half thetime.

4. Self-control deficits occur in two types.First, there are obtrusive behaviors whichinterfere with other students or the condint ofa teacher's lesson. These include thingssuch as talking in class, acting out. out ofseat, and other similar behaviors. There arealso excessive behaviors which may subjecta youngster to social ridicule. Examples ofthese include such things as sloppy eating,rose picking, and talking to self in anaudible voice.

Assessing Social Skills

Social skills can be assessed through a varietyof procedures including teacher rating scales,pupil rating scales, sociometric exercises, andnaturalistic observation. While all of thesemethods provide useful information, this programmakes use of a double checking teacher ratingsystem. The first check involves rating studentson a list of one hundred social skills. The secondcheck consists of comparing the skills identifiedas deficient on the first rating against a taskanalysis for the particular skill. A copy of thechecklist is located in Appendix B. A taskanalysis is prepared for each of the lessons.

The rating given by a teacher helps todetermine the type of treatment that a childreceives. Based upon a 0-3 rating scale:

21

3. A rating of 3 indicates that the childpossesses the skill, performs it withsufficient frequency, and has no need fortraining.

2. A rating of 2 indicates a performance deficitwhere the child possesses the skill, but doesnot perform it with sufficient frequency.The most appropriate treetment is one whichincreases the frequency of the behavior.

14. Social Skills for School and Community

Treatment will ordinarily consist of sometype of manipulated consequences.

. A rating of 1 indicates that the childperforms the skill, but performs itinadequately. This rating calls for a secondlevel check against the task analysis for theskill. Direct instruction of the skill may bethe most appropriate treatment.

0. A rating of 0 indicates that the child does notpossess the skill. Direct instruetion of theskill is the most appropriate treatment.

Checklist Example

The student adequately and appropriately:

68. smiles when encountering acquaintances.69. listens when encountering acquaintances.70. participates in group activities.71. helps peers when asked.72. accepts ideas diffPrent from own.

P-IR-1I-IR-1I-IR-2I-IR-3I-IR-4

N: A rating of N means that the rater has had noopportunity to observe the skill. Theappropriate response to this rating involvesincreased student observation or themanipulation of events designed to evokeuse of the skill.

NA: A rating of NA means that the skill is notage appropriate.

Teaching Social Skills Lessons

Teaching social skills can be undertakenthrough a variety of procedures. Goldstein (1973)and Oleberg (1984) emphasizes a problem solvingapproach. Strain and numerous associatesemploy antecedent manipulation and behaviormodification techniques, and several otherspresent a direct instruction approach (Cartledge &Milburn, 1980; Mesibov &LaGreco, 1981; Stephens,1979 and 1981; Strain, 1977; Strain, Shores, &Timm, 1977; Strain & Wiegermink, 1976).

The lessons contained in this program arebased on a direct instruction model. All lessonsconsist of a six-step (6) procedure including:

1. Establishing the need - The purpose of thisstep is to help students to see the relevance ofthe skill and consider consequences for notperforming the skill.

2. Identifying skill components - The purposeof this step is to present and verbally

rehearse the sequence of actions.3. Model the skill - Modeling is employed

because it facilitates learning more rapidlythan other procedures.

4. Role playing the skill - This step is used tohave students exercise the skill and receivefeedback on the skill performance.

5. Practice - The practice steps generally occurafter the presentation and are used to accountfor memory problems of the learner withcognitive delays. Feedback is also givenduring practice to refine skill performanceand assure maintenance of the skill.

6. Generalization and transfer - This step isdesigned to encourage students to performthe skills in settings outside the specialclass, with different people, and at differenttimes.

Rationale for Qmtent of Lessons

Many of the direct instruction lessonscontained in this program are similar to SocialSkills in the Classroom by Thomas Stephens(1P78) and Skillstreaming the Adolescent byGoldstein, Sprafkin, Gershaw, and Klein (1980),but differ in that the lessons are adapted to matchthe learning characteristics of children and youthwith mental retardation. These include specialconsideration for deficits in discrimination,attention, memory, and generalization.

Discrimination

Due to the fact that youngsters with mentaldisabilities lack the ability to discriminate theessential components of social skills, twoprocedures are used in each lesson to assiststudents in identifying the skill components.First, each skill is task analyzed to identify theskill components and then the essentialcomponents are presented to the students. Second,when skills are modeled, the critical componentsare narrated and emphasized while they are beingperformed. This procedure includes what isdescribed in many of the lessons as thinkingaloud.

Attention

Considerable research indicates that childrenwith mental retardation have difficultymaintaining attention to task. Attempts toenhance attention are made in modeling and role

22

playing. Modeling brings some novelty to theinstructional setting and role playing enhancesattention through provision of active participationand feedback incentives.

Memory

The major deficits in the memory process ofchildren with mental retardation are inadequaterehearsal and verbal mediation strategies. Toaccount for the lack of rehearsal strategies,rehearsal is imposed upon the learner in a numberof ways. This includes oral rehearsal of skillcomponents, role playing the skills, completinghomework to practice skills, scheduling reviewsessions, and giving in-school situations where aparticular skill must be exercised. In an effort togive students verbal mediators to help learn thesocial skill, different age-appropriate strategiesare utilized. At .the primary level, labeling andunison rehearsal of the skill components are usedto help guide students through a sequence ofactions. In some cases special chants or poem likeverses were created to assist in the verbalmediation. For older students, a procedure called"Thinking Aloud" is used for verbal rehearsal.In some cases writing the skill components is usedfor direct rote rehearsal, discussion is used toincrease verbal elaboration, and reading the skillcomponents on homework are all designed toencourage language mediators for assistingstudents to follow a sequence of actions.

Generalization

In nearly all previous attempts to teach socialskills to learners with cognitive aelays, thestudents failed to generalize the skills learned.Generalization is not likely to occur unlessstrategies which enhance the likelihood ofgeneralization are employed. In part, attempts tocreate language mediators contributes togeneralization, but these are not enough. Avariety of generalization procedures are includedin each lesson. They include such tactics as selfreporting, reteaching in different environments,transfer and fading of reinforcement systems,changing trainers, supportive cuing in differentenvironments, and reinforcement forgeneralization.

Simulation vs. En Vivo Training

For persons without disabilities, simulationtraining which involves the procedures describedin the guide has proven to be very effective.Unfortunately, individuals with mental


disabilities frequently fail to generalize from thistype of instruction. En Vivo (meaning in reallife) instruction is provided in real life situations,such as in regular classrooms, on the playground,in the community, and on the job. Each type oftraining has its advantages and both should beused.

Simulation training carried out in theclassroom allows more opportunity to providestudents with practice and feedback on how theyperform specific tasks. Teachers can model,correct, and reinforce behavior in ways that allowthem to shape appropriate performance on the partof the student. This training can be critical, butsimulation training alone is insufficient due totransfer problems between simulation and reallife settings.

En Vivo instruction is necessary becausenaturally occurring antecedents andconsequences will only be present in real lifesituations. En Vivo training alone may also beinsufficient for some students. We can accuratelyassume that students have had many real lifeexperiences with all the natural antecedents andconsequences and they are still exhibiting socialskill deficiencies. In addition, some social skillsthat are critical to social acceptance occur at suchlow frequencies that opportunities to teach them areseldom present. Thus, the concentratedsimulation training offers some benefit to thosewho require the skills to be broken down intodiscrete steps and trained.

The most appropriate way to directly teachsocial skills is to do as much as possible in naturalsettings. This should also be complemented by thesimulation training.

Instruction for Carrying Out a Social SkillsLesson in Simulation

After assessing needs, group studentsaccording to their need to acquire or refine specificsocial skills. Lessons generally go best whenstudents are made aware of the sequence ofinstruction and spend some time gettingcomfortable with the idea that they will be engagedin discussions and role playing. For someyoungsters, role playing is believed to be a veryunpleasant experience and a teacher will have tohelp these students work through this difficulty.

Read Lessons in Advance

As the instructor, read lessons completely priorto attempting to teaching them. Some of the lessonsrequire advanced preparation of materials thatare relevant for use with the particular students

`)4.


being taught. For example, for a group with poorlanguage skills, a teacher may need to preparefeedback and script cards to use during modelingand role playing steps. In other lessons the teachermay wish to solicit the assistance of a competentrole model or another adult. Further, somelessons may require use of special props thatshould be on hand before beginning instruction.In addition, homework forms must be copied inadvance of the lessons prepared for secondarystudents.

Modify the Lesson

An additional reason for reading lessons inadvance is to determine whether or not the lessonsshould be modified to make them more ageappropriate or more relevant to a particular groupof students. For example, the lesson onresponding to teasing and name calling is writtenfor the junior high level because problems in thisarea tend to be more intense at that age level. In aparticular setting, a teacher may wish to modifythe content of the lesson to address the issue in away that is relevant to either a younger or oldergroup. As long as all six steps are followed whenteaching the social skill lessons, teachers shouldfeel free to alter the content of the lessons toaddress individual student needs and learningcharacteristics.

Getting Set Up

The lessons presented in this guide requirevarious kinds of materials and simulatedsettings. In some cases, materials must beprepared and arranged in advance of instruction.Other lessons require assistance from other adultsand preparation of students to play roles.

Instructional Procedures and Prowsses

After all the preparatory activities, each of thelessons contains six explicit steps and severalimbedded processes designed to enhanceacquisition of social skills. Each of the steps andprocesses are explained in the followingparagraphs:

Establishing the Need (Step I)

All direct instruction lessons begin withestablishing the need for the skill. Essentially,the teacher creates conditions or provokesthinking which will make students personallyaware of the need to acquire and employ aparticular skill. Most lessons begin with

questions, a story, or a puppet skit that introducesthe skill. Through discussion of personalexperiences or the introductory story, studentsidentify reasons why a skill is necessary andestablish consequences for knowing or notknowing the skill. For the most part,consequences should be elicited from studentsrather than be provided by the teacher. However,some students with mental retardation will needprompting to elicit consequences.

The purpose of this step is too enhance attention t,othe instruction by making the topic personallymeaningful. In addition, the discussion of need isan excellent lead to the next instructional step.

Identify the Skill Components (Step 2)

After establishing a need for the skill, theteacher should list the skill components. Forintermediate and higher levels, the steps should bewritten on poster board, chalkboard, or overheadprojector. These skill components may be elicitedor provided, but eliciting the steps maintains theinvolvement of the students.

Once the skill components are listed, a varietyof techniques should be used for rehearsal. Foryoung children rote rehearsal should be imposedfor part of the instruction, and rehearsal should becued to elicit recall and recitation. Rote rehearsalmay consist of unison reading of the skillcomponent listed on the chalkboard, repetition of apoem that presents the skill components, writingthe skill steps on homework forms, and daily-Jcitation of the components. For older children, averbal elaboration strategy is more ageappropriate and more successful than roterehearsal. Verbal elaboration consists of teacherlead discussions covering each step of the skill.Through discussion, a variety of aspects of theskill steps are repeated, paired with associativeinformation, and made personally relevant to thestudents.

Rehearsal of the skill components should occurover an extended period. One helpful procedure isto post the skill steps and then review themoccasionally to facilitate distributed practice. Asecond procedure is to directly query students ontheir recollection of the skill components.

Model the Skill (Step 3)

Both live and symbolic modeling are effectivewhen teaching social skills. Live modeling mayconsist of a teacher, another adult, or a competentpeer acting out how the behavior is performed.Symbolic modeling serves the same purpose, butuses video tapes, movies, and puppets to

demonstrate the skill. Modeling also helpsmaintain attention to the lesson. When puppetsare used with primary level children, they becomequite aroused. The older students seem toappreciate seeing their teacher and others theyknow perform before them.

Think Aloud (Imbedded Process)

Due to the poor discrimination skills ofhandicapped youngsters, each of the skillcomponents must be identified during the course ofmodeling the entire skill. This can be doneduring symbolic modeling by stopping andnarrating the scene being played out. For livemodeling, the teacher or other competent modelcan use the "Think Alcud Procedure." Whenusing this procedure, the teacher is able todemonstrate the cognitive steps of many of thesocial skills. The following example is providedto illustrate the "think aloud procedure:"

Skill: Making invitations

Thinking aloud: "Gee, I don't have anything todo by myself. I think I'd like to go swimming. Itwould be nice to go with Bob Adams. I think I'llask Dob. I think that I'll do it right now."

Approaches Bob.

Speaking: "Hi Bob! How would you like to goswimming this afternoon, my mom will driveus."

Bob responds: "Sorry, I can't right now."

Speaking: "Ok, I'll try to find someone who'snot busy."

In the example above, the following skillcomponents were modeled and narrated throughthe think aloud procedure:

1. Choose what you want to do.2. Decide if you want someone to play with or

come with you.3. Decide who you want to invite.4. Choose a time to invite the person.5. Make the invitation.6. If the person cannot, play or come, ask

someone else.

In addition to modeling and narrating the skillcomponents, students may be asked to recite ordiscuss the skill steps they observe.

For some lessons, modeling the skill more than


one time is necessary. Each time the skill ismodeled, the context is changed to demonstratethat the skill should be generalized to a variety ofconditions or settings. For example, the skill forresponding appropriately to name calling mightbe modeled for playground, home, classroom, andschool bus settings. The person doing the namecalling Tray be an adult, a peer, or a sibling.

Role Play of the Skill (Step 4)

During the role playing portion of the lesson, anumber of attempts are made to address thelearning deficiencies of youngsters withdisabilities. Attention to the lesson is facilitatedby active role taking, active rehearsal, andgiving pupils feedback responsibilities. Feedbackassignments may be made verbally or through useof feedback cards. When giving verbalassignments, the teacher simply tells each studentto watch for a single specific skill component. Thefeedback cards do the same as verbal assignment,but may be collected after each newly role playedsituation and redistributed to give class membersa new skill component to concentrate on while afellow student performs.

Feedback coming from classmates and theteacher serves the following purposes:

1. Feedback enhances the students'discrimindtion of specific skillcomponents.

2. Feedback helps to shape the skill to arefined performance level.

3. Feedback serves as a reinforcer and helpsmaintain the skill once it is acquired.

For some children, prompting is a veryimportant aspect of the role playing part ofinstruction. These pupils need to be reminded ofeach step to perform the task correctly. Afterpromoting a child to correct performance, the skillcomponent or skill itself should be reinforced withpraise or some other reward to assure that thecorrect behavior will occur again. When a childrequires a great deal of prompting, the skill shouldbe retaught at a later date and practicedextensively.

Generalization deficiencies also are addressedduring role playing sessions. By creating anumber of simulated conditions, pupils areprovided with a variety of circumstances underwhich the skill should be used. When possible,each time 3 different student role plays the skill itshould be for an altered circumstance. Forexample, if one student role plays negotiating witha supervisor, the next might role play negotiating


with a parent and then with a co-worker.

Practice (Step 5)

For a new skill to be maintained andeventually generalized, it must be practiced.Children with disabilities need considerablepractice in learning Evademic skills and thesame efforts must be made to teach social skills.Practice may be carried out in a variety of ways.The following list is a compilation of suggestedpr i. ice activities:

1. Whole skill prompts - When opportunitiesarise during times subsequent to an initialinstructional session, the teacher promptsskill performance with statements and cueswhich help the child initiate the sequence ofthe skin components. A typical prompt to anelementary school pupil would be somethinglike "Show me how you are supposed to payattention," and "Tell me how to ask someoneto play and then you can go ask someone toplay." The nature of the prompts must bechanged to fit the particular child.

2. Coaching - For children who are unable toexecute a particular skill in total, a studentmay be coached through the skill on a step bystep basis. This procedure may be used inlieu of modeling to help involve a child incorrectly role playing the skill. Coachingsimply means telling the student what to doand then providing feedback. The followingdialogue should illustrate the procedure:

Teacher: "We are going to practice thegreeting skill today. First, John, I want youto look me right in the eye."

Student: (makes eye contact)

Teacher: "Good, now I want you to smile andsay Hi, Mr. Jones."

Student: (smiles) "Hi, Mr. Jones."

Teacher: "Good John, but you have to keeplooking me in the eye. Let's try again. Lookme in the eye, smile, and say Hi, Mr.Jones."

Student: (smiles and maintains eye contact)"Hi, Mr. Jones."

Teacher: "That's right, now ask me afriendly question..."

3. Skill challenges - Skills may be practiced bychallenging students to exercise the skill.Classes should be informed that they will berequired to carry out skill challenges. Askill challenge occurs when a contrivedsocial or classroom situation is createdwhere a pupil must demonstrate use of aparticular skilL For example, after theinitial instructional session on the skinrelated to giving help, the teacher says:"Ann, I want you to ask Melinda to help youmove this stack of books to the MediaCenter." The pupils are then given feedbackon how they performed their respective roles.Each student should be challengedindividually at least once after a lesson hasbeen taught.

4. Homework - The lessons generally call forformal homework at the junior and seniorhigh levels and informal homework forelementary age children. For junior highstudents, a camera ready homework form isavailable in Appendix B. Middle schoolstudents proved to be too slow in copying skillcomponents from the chalk board toefficiently use the general homework formused with high school age students. Thegeneral form requires that students write theskill components. Writing the skillcomponents constitutes an imposedrehearsal of the skill components.Homework forms are used when the skill ispracticed outside the special educationclassroom. They constitute both a practicetool and NI attempt to facilitategeneralization and transfer.

5. Skill Review Sessions - Approximately onceor twice per month up to four social skills arereviewed in a class session. These sessionsconsist of a review of r,asons for using theparticular skills, the s1:11 components, andmodeling by one or two proficient classmembers.

6. Daily role playing - Not all students requiredaily r. :I play, but some pupils will need torole plaf the skill several times to be able togive a refined performance. Throughfeedback given during and after the roleplay practice sessions, skills will be shapedto correct performance.

7. Skill of the week - When a new skin isintroduced, it may be emphasized by postingthe skill components. At least once per dayduring the week, the skill components areorally rehearsed.

8. Reteaching the lesson - The same lessonmay be retaught (usually in an abbreviated

26

form) at a later date. Reteaching wouldnormally occur several weeks after it hasbeen taught the first time.

9. Reteaching at different levels - Several of thesocial skills will need to be retaught asstudents become older. For example, thelesson on coping with teasing may be taughtfor a playground and classroom context atthe elementary level where the primaryproblems are related to name calling,however, the skill may need to be retaught tohigh school students with an emphasis oncoping with the type of teasing that occurs ina work setting.

Generalization (Step 6)

Unless efforts are made to facilitategeneralization, the instruction provided in theclassroom is likely to go to waste. Therecommended procedures are often easy to neglect,but teachers should be vigilant in their efforts toencourage generalization. Special educationteachers must remember that many of theirstudents are under their stimulus control. Socialskills that occur in the special class will notalways occur in other environments. Thephenomena is similar to the difference inbehavior of children when they have a substituteteacher and their own regular teacher. Eachlesson contains at least two suggestions forpromoting generalizations, but teachers shouldmake an effort to use any other additionaltechniques appropriate. Some of the methodsrecommended include:

1. En Vivo instruction - Teach the social skilllesson in a real life situation. This reducessome of the transfer problems which areinevitable when instruction is provided inspecial class settings. It increasesmotivation and makes better use of naturalcues and consequences.

2. Prompting skill us in differentenvironments - Skills which relate to theschool environment may be prompted by anumber of different individuals. Thespecial education teacher should solicitassistance from regular class teachers,playground monitors, lunchroom monitors,and the school office staff. Theseindividuals can then use the whole skillprompting techniques discussed previously.This procedure may also be used withparents serving as the prompters.

3. Feedback in different environments - Solicitthe assistance of regular class teachers,


school officials, and parents by providingthem with a list of the skill components or aprecise description of the skill. Ask that theygive the children feedback on performanceof the skill.

4. Reinforcement in different environments -Ask regular class teachers, administrators,and parents to point out the specific socialskills to students and praise or otherwisereward children for exercising skills taughtin the special class. Do not specify the type ofreinforcement because children shouldbecome conditioned to the reinforcementsthat are likely to be delivered naturally bythe people in their environment.

5. Reteaching in a natural setting - Sometimesa skill may be taught in simulation first andthen retaught in the setting where it shouldnaturally occur. For example, a lesson onfo;lowing lunchroom rules may be retaughtin the actual school lunchroom. For olderstudents, trips into the community whereskills are retaught should be considered tohelp facilitate generalization and transfer.The skill may be practiced in a variety ofsettings. For example, for the skill onrespecting public property, role playing maybe repeated at several community locations.

6. Reteach or practice with a change inconstellation - If a skill is taught andpracticed one time with the whole class,practice the skill with a different individualand a different size group. For some skills,this may include having the same lessontaught in the regular classroom, practicingwith children brought in from differentclassrooms, and charging the role playingpartners of different sex and age.

7. Instruct and practice the skill with adifferent trainer - Ask other adults to teach,supervise, and give feedback onperformance of a particular skill.

8. Self-reporting - Ask students to report ontheir own usc of the skill. This means thatthe teacher should query students frequently.Accurate reporting of skill use should berewarded with praise or other suitablereinforcer s.

9. Self-monitoring - Students may be asked tomonitor their own skill use. Students maybe asked to take a 3 x 5 card with them to usein another environment. They are to markdown each time they use the skill. Forexample:

2 7


Name: John H

Place: Mrs. Adams roomSkill: Paying AttentionDate: 4-3-91Tally:

r7546441-

10. Reinforce generalization - Provide pupilswith reinforcement for generalizing socialskills learned in the classroom. In additionto the ten methods listed above, a variety ofother instructional aspects addressgeneralization. They include practice,developing verbal mediators, and trainingto a wide variety of examples.

Follow-up and Performance Deficits

Not all pupils will meet the performancecriteria for each of the social skills introduced inthe structured learning lessons. In many casesthe lessons should be repeated and followed up witha variety of interventions. In some cases a skillwill be adequately learned, but after instruction,the pupil still will have a performance deficit.Performance deficits exist when a student canperform a particular sceial skill but does notexercise the skill frequently enough. A number ofprocedures may be used to improve uponperformance and self control deficits. Themethods include: use of interdependentcontingencies, token economy, behavioralcontracts, social reinforcement, a variety ofprompting and cuing procedures, peer instruction,self-monitoring, and cognitive behaviormodification. The Boys Town proceduresdescribed in the previous chapter are powerfulmethods for responding to students withperformance and self-control deficits.

Some responses which may be used to follow updirect instruction, deal with performance deficits,and address special individual problems arediscussed as follows:

1. Token Economy - Token economies can beused to reinforce appropriate behaviors. Forexample, in one primary classroom cottonballs glued to a Santa Claus beard were usedas tokens to reward skills such as staying ontask, listening, and completing work.When Santa's beard was complete, theyearned an opportunity to have lunch at the

teacher's house. When the holiday was over,children were easily weaned from thereinforcement schedule.

2. Behavioral contracts - Behavioral contracts,where students are rewarded for exhibitingappropriate social skills, can be developedfor students who compulsively act out orpersist with some other socially unacceptablebehavior. Changing criterion contractswhere small increments of change areexpected each week are very useful fordeveloping social behaviors.

3. Peer instruction - Peer instruction has oftenbeen used to help students learn academicskills, and it is very effective when used toimprove social behaviors. Students with orwithout disabilities can be taught to prompt,give feedback, and praise specified socialbehaviors.

4. Cognitive behavior modification - Studentscan be taught to talk to themselvessubvocally. The procedure involves havingthe student describe to himself the conditionsor event, what the alternatives for behaviormight he, and then reward self with asubvocal statement such as "good for me."The following talking-to-self dialogue isprovided to illustrate the procedure. Theexample is for a student who is a habitualbelcher.

Student. "I am working at my desk and Ifeel like belching. What will happen if Iburp real loud?"

Student answering self: `The tQacher mightget mad, the kids might not Re it, and I'lldisturb class. What can I do?"

Student: "Well, I can hold the burp in or justtry to do it quietly."

Student: "I'll just try to hold the burp in orjust try to do it quietly."

Student: "I'll just try to hold it in for twominutes."

(Two minutes passes.)

Student: "Good for me, I was able to hold it infor two minutes. I'll give myself a checkmark."

5. Interdependent contingencies - Since no twostudents have identical social skill needs, asystem of interdependent contingencies may

28

be used to reinforce individual social skills.The procedure works as follows:

A different skill deficiency is identified foreach student. For some that may meanreduction of obtrusive behaviors, for some itmay mean increasing interaction, and forothers it may mean increasing task relatedperformance. When all of the students meettheir individual performance criterion, thewhole group is rewarded. A modifiedversion of this same approach is to have areward raffled each week. Each student hashis or her own behavior and performancecriterion. The more frequently a pupilreaches criterion, the more often a raffleticket is added to a box. A ticket is pulledfrom the box once each week and the winnerreceives the prize. The intermittent natureof the reward tends to help maintainappropriate behaviors over long periods oftime.

6. Home contingencies - Home contingenciessimply mean that the parent reinforces thepupil for appropriate behavior. For example,a student given more TV time when theteacher reports that the child performed somesocial skill correctly. Home contingencieshave several advantages when trying toencourage improved social behavior. First,the skill is emphasized when the pupil is outfrom under the stimulus control of theteacher. Second parents often are able to usemore potent positive and negativereinforcers to encourage appropriatebehavior. Third, the procedure helpsencourage a dialogue between school andhome that can be useful when addressing awhole range of problems.


Creating More Lessons

This program should not be construed as acomprehensive social skill curriculum. Instead,teachers are provided with twenty-five starterkssons at each instructional level. Students willdemonstrate problems in areas not covered or arenot compatibk with individual student needs,abilities, or ages. In these cases, teachers maywish to write their own lessons and add them tothese materials.

Since the methods used in this program haveresearch verification, teachers should considerfollowing the same six-step instructional format:

1. Establish the need2. Identify the skill components3. Model the skill4. Role play the skill5. Practice6. Generalization and transfer

In addition to following the format forinstruction, teachers must remain cognizant of theneed to assist students in maintaining attention,discriminating the various components of socialskills, using age-appropriate rehearsal strategies,and maintaining and generalizing what has beentaught.

Time and Repetition

Deficient social skills are not rapidlycorrected. Old habits must be extinguished ananew ones must be learned. Most of the followinglessons are prepared as introductory sessionswhich must be altered and repeated frequently.Some students will acquire a new social skill in asingle week while others may take two or threemonths to acquire the same skill.

Direct InstructionSocial Skill Lessons

;30

CLE:yoir ,saTeca

Social Shill Lessons(Primary Level)

Primary Lessons 27

Primary

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