Social skills may impact a student with a disability more than the disability itself. Learn the social deficits and challenges associated with disabilities, as well as strategies to support social skill development. A variety of professionals share their success strategies so readers (parents, teachers, counselors, psychologists, and others working in the disability field) can incorporate them into their professional "toolbox" and practice. Included are strategies from special educators, school counselors, licensed professional counselors, an occupational therapist, and a psychologist. Current issues such as bullying are explored in addition to ways professionals and universities should be involved in supporting social skills of students with disabilities. A special section on working with parents includes a handout with strategies parents can use while social skills are developing in their child. Book jacket.

A flexible, ready-to-use program to help special students in grades K-5 learn appropriate ways to behave among others The revised and updated second edition of this bestselling resource book provides ready-to-use lessons--complete with reproducible worksheets--to help children become aware of acceptable social behavior and develop proficiency in acquiring basic social skills. The book is organized around three core areas crucial to social development in the primary grades: Accepting Rules and Authority at School, Relating to Peers, and Developing Positive Social Skills. Each lesson places a specific skill within the context of real-life situations, giving teachers a means to guide students to think about why the social skill is important. The hands-on activity that accompanies each lesson helps students to work through, think about, discuss, and practice the skill in or outside of the classroom.

"Peer supports really work: They help all students learn, make the most of teacher and paraprofessional time, and foster important social connections among students. This is the concise, practical guide every middle and high school needs to implement peer support strategies - including cooperative learning and peer tutoring - to benefit students with moderate to severe disabilities and their peers." "Filled with photocopiable planning, implementation, and evaluation tools, this must-have guide will help educators and paraprofessionals create schools where all students - with and without disabilities - achieve academic and social success."--BOOK JACKET.

Pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) include autism and a range of other neurological disorders. While at least 250,000 Americans have been diagnosed with PDD-NOS-one-third of whom are children-twice as many may remain undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Parents of a young child with undiagnosed PDD may suspect any number of things, from autism to severe allergies. Pervasive Developmental Disorders: Diagnosis, Options and Answers is for parents (or newly diagnosed adults) who struggle with this neurological condition. Medications, therapies, and educational techniques can address symptoms and improve the lives of people with PDD. In some cases, the results can be spectacular. Weaving in a range of stories from parents who are raising children with PDDs, author Mitzi Waltz covers topics such as: . Getting a diagnosis, including preparing for a diagnostic interview in a medical, psychiatric, or school setting, with descriptions of all diagnostic tests and checklists/questions used by professionals .Treatment options such as: medications and supplements; sensory integration; occupational, physical, and speech therapy; behavior modification; "floor time" play and talk therapy; and parenting techniques . Coping with diagnosis and treatment, including emotions and support systems, insurance, and educational plans

"This book expands upon the knowledge base and provides a compendium of intervention strategies to support and enhance the acquisition of social skills and children and youths with visual impairments ... Part 1 ... addresses social skills from a first-person perspective. The second part ... examines how theory seeks to explain social development and influences assessment and practice ... Part 3, ties personal perspectives and theory to actual practice. Finally, Part 4 ... offers numerous examples and models for teaching social skills to students who are blind or visually impaired, including those with additional disabling conditions."--Introduction.

This text is a clear and current description of the instructional strategies that can be immediately applied across age groups and disability labels. An evidence-based instructional methodology is provided, which has proved to be effective in teaching skills to students and adults with disabilities. Signature topics include: (1) a community-referenced functional curriculum; (2) how to assess and analyze skills; (3) teaching skills; (4) functional academics; (5) teaching employment skills; (6) functional skills in community; (7) functional skills in residential settings; (8) teaching social skills; (9) self-determination and self-advocacy skills; and (10) self-management skills. Each chapter includes Key Point Questions, Windows to the World Case Studies, Best Practice Recommendations, Future Research Issues, Discussion Questions, and School and Community-based Activity Suggestions to illustrate, extend and clarify a systematic approach to improving the functional skills of individuals with disabilities. These features allow the reader to explore and apply effective instructional strategies across domains such as employment, community, residential as well as the skills necessary to enjoy recreation and leisure opportunities. The most unique feature is that it is written specifically for practitioners in the field, not for academics. The format, readability, and detailed description of instructional methodology make it a valued resource for instructors responsible for improving the skills of learners with disabilities.

A large proportion of students with disabilities (SWD) have social skills deficits that make it difficult for them to succeed in school, work, and life. This quantitative, quasi-experimental, non-equivalent, pretest-posttest, control group study was designed to explore whether SWD can better transfer their learned social skills to natural settings, improving their chances at independence and success, with the use of reinforcement in natural settings. The researcher included 86 students with disabilities from a school district in a predominantly white, middle class, rural Utah town. The researcher and teachers used Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) in this study to provide instruction in social skills to SWD. The Social Skills Rating Scales (SSRS) are scales that were created to measure the success of the SSIS. The researcher used these scales to determine the baseline data for each of the students and to measure the change in social skills behavior of the participants from the pretest to the posttest. The difference in pretest to posttest scores of the control group was compared to the difference in pretest to posttest scores of the experimental group. The researcher used an ANCOVA to determine if there was a significant difference in the amount of change in the pretest to posttest scores of the experimental and control groups upon completion of the study. The results showed an improvement in the social skills scores for both groups after the SSIS program. The experiment group achieved better results, although these results were not statistically significant. Future research should replicate the study while focusing on different demographics and specific disabilities. The theoretical framework for this study was Bandura’s social learning theory.