Social Skills Strategies for Development: A Guide for Parents

1. Social skill and strategies. Libby Brown Manager SERU June 2019

2. Social Skills Strategies • What do I mean by social skills • Developmental sequence • Behaviour as communication • How to support your child develop the social skills they need. • SERU resources.

3. Social skills • Are both innate and learned • They generally follow a developmental sequence and can be taught. • Parents play a critical role. • A socially competent person knows how to behave in different situations.

4. A milestone of infancy is joint attention. This is the building block for many parts of social communication, including play, cooperation, sharing an imagination, and working as part of a group. Once this milestone is reached, complex communication develops rapidly.

5. Interactive Play

6. Social thinking • Social skills are more than behavior- we need social thinking. We need to select which skill to use in which situation. • We all need a sense of humor but how to teach it!!

7. SOCIAL THINKING • The ability of individuals to think socially develops naturally and becomes intuitive for most of us. But for many individuals this process is anything but natural. Individuals with social learning challenges may find it extremely difficult to think about what others are thinking and to use their social competencies in the exact moment they are needed

8. Behaviour as communication • Behaviour has a purpose • What is being communicated? • Is there a better way of communicating the need? • Language? • Shared interest • Lack of understanding- sensory, theory of mind • Social thinking-

9. Social Competency Model

10. Social Competency Model

11. Interoception • Conscious perception of an internal body state • It is essential for children to understand their own bodies and emotions before they can learn about emotions and feelings. • Interoception enables students to develop a sense of belonging and a meaningful way of interacting.

12. Interventions • Teach the skill needed e.g. how to ask for help • Chance to practice the skill being taught- transfer to the situation • Teach about internal feelings/emotions • Social thinking- social detective

13. Programs • Jed Baker • Mark LeMessieir- What’s the Bus • 5 point scale- understanding yourself and your feelings • Way to A • PALS- early years- role play puppets • Box full of feelings • Stop think do • Michelle Garcia Winner

14. Jed Baker

18. PALS social skills program

19. Way to A

20. SOCIAL THINKING • We consider the context; take in the thoughts, emotions, and intentions of the people; and (when needed) use that information to determine how we respond. How we think about people affects how we behave, which in turn affects how others respond to us, which in turn affects our internal and external emotional responses. It's an incredibly complex process that most of us take for granted.

21. Social Thinking

22. Self regulation- executive functioning • Understanding self and others • Managing strong emotions • Being sympathetic • understanding others perspectives

23. Whole school level • Mind Matters • Kids Matters • Bullying interventions • Positive Psychology • Positive Behaviour Support