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.

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

Specific learning disabilities are some of the most prevalent disabilities in schools. Many students with specific learning disabilities come to school lacking social skills, while most of their typically developing peers arrive at school with social skills that are a part of their behavior repertoire. Participants for this multiple probe design were identified as students with specific learning disabilities and social skill deficits based on the School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS) and the Home & Community Social Behavior Scales (HCSBS). The intervention consisted of a treatment package that included social skill lessons, children's literature books, and skill-step reviews. Social skill lessons were taught to participants, along with their peers, in the general education classroom. Results indicated that during the intervention and maintenance periods, all four participants were able to recite all the steps to each social skill taught. Limitations are discussed in detail.

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.

A flexible, ready-to-use activities program to help special students in grades 6-12 The updated new edition of this valuable resource offers an exciting collection of 200 ready-to-use worksheets to help adolescents build the social skills they need to interact effectively with others and learn how to apply these skills to various real-life settings, situations, and problems. The book provides 20 complete teaching units focusing on 20 basic social skills, such as being a good listener, "reading" other people, and using common sense.

That children are capable of pathology—not only such conditions as ADHD and learning disabilities, but also such "adult" disorders as anxiety and depression—stands as a defining moment in psychology’s recent history. Within this recognition is the understanding that the social skills deficits that accompany these disorders must be targeted for assessment and treatment to ensure optimal functioning in school, with peers, and in later transitions to puberty and adulthood. Social Behavior and Skills in Children cuts across disciplinary lines to clarify the scope of assessment options and interventions for a wide range of disorders. A panel of leading scholars reviews current research, discusses social deficits unique to specific disorders, and identifies evidence-based best practices in one authoritative, approachable reference. This volume: Discusses theoretical models of social skills as they relate to assessment and treatment. Analyzes the etiology of social behavior problems in children and the relation between these problems and psychopathology. Reviews 48 norm-referenced measures of social skills in children. Examines the range of evidence-based social skills interventions. Addresses challenging behaviors, such as aggression and self-injury. Focuses on specific conditions, including developmental disabilities, conduct disorders, ADHD, chronic medical illness, depression, anxiety, and severe psychopathology. Social Behavior and Skills in Children is an essential reference for university libraries as well as a must-have volume for researchers, graduate students, and clinicians in child, and school psychology, special education, and other related fields.

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2010 in the subject Pedagogy - Orthopaedagogy and Special Education, course: Human Exceptionalities, language: English, abstract: The social competence is very important to survive successfully in society. Everybody needs to be socially competent for living a better life in society, having good relationships and interactions with others. Researchers have concluded that deficits in social competence can affect later success in life. Social competence has frequently been cited as a critical component of life adjustment (e.g., Epstein & Cullinan, 1987; Neel, 1988). In particular, the importance of social competence and related personality features has been stressed for individuals who have mental retardation or other developmental disabilities (e.g., Balla & Zigler, 1979). As a consequence, social skills instruction has increasingly been recognized as a key component to be included in intervention programs for students who are mildly mentally retarded. (Gable. A.R & Warren. F.S., 1993). The American Association on Mental Retardation (2002), defines mental retardation as "Mental retardation is disability characterized by significant limitation both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before age 18". (p.1). Social skills are specific behaviors that facilitate interpersonal interactions and maintain a degree of independence in daily functioning. Social competence involves the use of those skills at the right times and places, showing social perception, cognition, and judgment of how to act in a particular situation and how to adjust one's behavior to meet different situations (Greenspan, 1979, 1990; Kerr & Nelson, 1989; Sargent, 1989).