How do I teach social skills?
While many children will learn social skills through incidental learning by watching others, some skills may need to be directly taught. The issue with social skills is that they are not black and white. Social interactions are not predictable. For instance, you could spend time teaching a child the steps needed to call a friend to make plans. You may troubleshoot that the parent may pick up the phone or that the child may not be home but you cannot troubleshoot for every possible event. Maybe the other child is shy and refuses to get on the phone, maybe the other child does not want to make plans, maybe you have the wrong number, etc. Most children are adaptable and can deal with these alternate routes. Other children, however, tend to be rigid and inflexible and these unpredictable outcomes may lead to distress. Prior to starting a new skill, it is important to teach a foundation to build on.
Coping Skills – teaching children how to cope
- Mindfulness
- Zones of Regulation
- Sensory Toolkit
Growth Mindset- teaching children to have a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset
- Big Life Journal Activities
- Refer to page on Growth Mindset
Turn- Taking
- Use of Board Games and Cards
- Roll a pencil back and forth to take turns during a conversation
Perceptive- Taking- understanding someone else’s perspective
- Use of Scenarios
- Dissecting Text in Books
- Analyzing Characters and Scenarios in TV and Movies
Initiating Conversations
- Conversation Starter Cards
- Role-playing
- Reading Body Language
Social Skills
- Develop a concrete, simple social story to be read with the child daily.
- Google social stories