Maximizing Social Contact for Secondary Students with Severe Handicaps

1986 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregg Chin-Perez ◽  
Dan Hartman ◽  
Hyun Sook Park ◽  
Sharon Sacks ◽  
Alice Wershing ◽  
...  

This article describes a secondary program for students with severe handicaps which attempts to maximize the social contact between handicapped and nonhandicapped persons. The program selectively integrates students into academic and other regular education courses. Nonhandicapped peers are used for tutoring purposes as well as research assistants in a social skills training project. A survey completed by a variety of important others indicated substantial improvements in the behavioral repertoires of the students with severe disabilities, particularly in the area of social skills.

Author(s):  
Παρασκευή Ντούσια ◽  
Αντώνης Κατσαμάγκος ◽  
Μαρίνα Οικονόμου

Ten individuals with schizophrenia and two with schizoaffective disorder received group training in social skills, including conversation skills, friendship skills, and dating skills as well as problem-solving skills. The training, coupled with case management, was administered twice per week for one hour each session for a total of 5 months. The primaryoutcome measures were the Social Contact and Communication subscales of the Life Skills Profile, the WHOQOL-BREF, and the Self-efficacy/self-esteem subscale of the Empowerment Scale. Based on these, participants’ social functioning, community functioning, and self-efficacy perceptions were assessed respectively. Measures were taken at pre-treatment and post-treatment. Patients’ social functioning andcommunity functioning improved over time whereas self-efficacy beliefs did not significantly change. Patients who completed homework assignments frequently improved more in social contact compared to patients who completed homework assignments infrequently. Findings suggest that social skills training for outpatients with chronic mental illness leads to acquisition of social skills that are important in everyday life. Case management is a critical aspect of treatment that enhances learning and transfer of social skills outside the immediate training setting. Benefits from social skills homework assignments mainly depend on the type of homework.


2016 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory L. Lyons ◽  
Heartley B. Huber ◽  
Erik W. Carter ◽  
Rui Chen ◽  
Jennifer M. Asmus

Abstract Although enhancing the social competence of students with severe disabilities has long remained a prominent focus of school-based intervention efforts, relatively little attention has focused on identifying the most critical social and behavioral needs of students during high school. We examined the social skills and problem behaviors of 137 adolescents with severe disabilities from the vantage point of both special educators and parents. We sought to identify areas of potential intervention need, explore factors associated with social skill and problem behavior ratings, and examine the extent to which teachers and parents converged in their assessments of these needs. Our findings indicate teachers and parents of high school students with severe disabilities rated social skills as considerably below average and problem behaviors as above average. In addition, lower social skills ratings were evident for students with greater support needs, lower levels of overall adaptive behavior, and a special education label of autism. We found moderate consistency in the degree to which teachers and parents aligned in their assessments of both social skills and problem behavior. We offer recommendations for assessment and intervention focused on strengthening the social competence of adolescents with severe disabilities within secondary school classrooms, as well as promising avenues for future research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik W. Carter

For adolescents with severe disabilities, efforts to enhance the social dimensions of schooling are widely advocated, yet rarely implemented. The peer interactions and relationships so critical to school success and individual well-being can be elusive for many students with intellectual disability, autism, and multiple disabilities. This article highlights promising approaches for enhancing the social lives of secondary students with severe disabilities. The author presents five areas of intervention for secondary schools: student-related factors, peer-related factors, support-related factors, opportunity-related factors, and context-related factors. Attention then turns to how various peer-mediated approaches—peer support arrangements, peer network interventions, and peer partner programs—can be drawn upon to address one or more of these important factors. Recommendations are offered for (a) implementing multicomponent interventions, (b) addressing fidelity in the context of individualized interventions, (c) measuring the social-related impact, (d) promoting changes in social outcomes that have widespread and long-term impact, and (e) encouraging schoolwide and sustained adoption of these approaches.


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402110088
Author(s):  
María Auxiliadora Robles-Bello ◽  
David Sánchez-Teruel ◽  
Nieves Valalencia-Naranjo ◽  
Francisca Barba Colmenero

Background/Objective: Researchers have traditionally reported that individuals with Down syndrome possess a strength in their social development, yet the opposite occurs with Asperger’s syndrome. Based on this premise, we sought to assess effectiveness of the social skills training program. Method: Thirty adolescents aged 11 to 14 years with Down syndrome and Asperger’s syndrome participated in the study. Results: Significant differences between both groups were detected in the posttreatment measures and a connection was found between adolescents’ learning potential and the benefits gained. Conclusions: The training program is effective at improving the social skills under evaluation in adolescents with Down syndrome; however, this benefit is greater among adolescents with Asperger’s syndrome.


2021 ◽  
pp. 030802262110229
Author(s):  
Selma Ercan Doğu ◽  
Hülya Kayıhan ◽  
Ahmet Kokurcan ◽  
Sibel Örsel

Introduction This study aimed to assess the impact of a holistic combination of Occupational Therapy and Social Skills Training on occupational performance, social participation, and clinical symptoms in people with schizophrenia. Method 60 people with schizophrenia were randomly assigned to two groups. One group received standardized Social Skills Training once a week for a total of 10 sessions, while the other group received a combination of Occupational Therapy and Social Skills Training once a week for a total of 16 sessions. Results A greater increase was determined in the scores of COPM total performance/satisfaction and the Community Integration Questionnaire in the Occupational Therapy and Social Skills Training group. Furthermore, these achievements were sustained in the Occupational Therapy and Social Skills Training group compared to the Social Skills Training group at the 6-month follow-up. Conclusion The clients received the combination of Occupational Therapy and Social Skills Training showed a better improvement compared to the Social Skills Training group in terms of occupational performance, social participation, and severity of clinical symptoms. The use of Occupational Therapy in a holistic approach in psychosocial rehabilitation of people with schizophrenia can increase their functionality and social participation. Further studies are needed to assess long-term effects of Occupational Therapy in schizophrenia.


2021 ◽  
pp. 107429562110208
Author(s):  
Skip Kumm ◽  
Jacob Reeder ◽  
Erin Farrell

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are likely to require interventions to help them navigate the social demands of the school environment. Several meta-analyses of social skills interventions have been conducted, which have provided guidance and demonstrated the effectiveness of social skills training for students with EBD. This article details a framework for teaching and practicing social skills interventions. Included in it are descriptions of several social skills strategies and ways in which the teaching of them can be individualized to meet the needs of students with EBD.


Author(s):  
Eleni Laskaraki ◽  
Anastasia Alevriadou ◽  
Eleni Rachanioti

Employability skills are necessary for youth with Intellectual Disabilities (IDs) to successfully navigate their transition from educational settings to autonomous adult life. Most importantly, research evidence has shown that individuals with IDs appear to perform adequately on job tasks, yet they frequently face inadequacies in the social aspects of work life. Although much of the existing employability research has focused on social skills training related to employability for individuals with other disabilities, people with IDs are underrepresented in the literature. Thus, this review aimed to provide insight into the existing social skills interventions that promote employability in transition-age youth with IDs. Results indicated that although there is a limited number of studies regarding intervention programs on improving social skills related to employment for individuals with IDs, the majority of them positively impacted target behaviors, thus highlighting the need for further empirical research.


1991 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 73-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun-Sook Park ◽  
Marlene Simon ◽  
Phyllis Tappe ◽  
Thom Wozniak ◽  
Beverley Johnson ◽  
...  

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. e030471
Author(s):  
Danielle Varley ◽  
Barry Wright ◽  
Cindy Cooper ◽  
David Marshall ◽  
Katie Biggs ◽  
...  

IntroductionSocial skills training interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically focus on a skills deficit model rather than building on existing skills or encouraging the child to seek their own solutions. LEGO-based therapy is a child-oriented intervention to help improve social interactional skills and reduce isolation. The therapy is designed for school-age children with ASD and uses group-based play in a school setting to encourage peer relationships and social learning. Despite the reported potential benefits of LEGO-based therapy in a prior randomised controlled trial (RCT) and its adoption by many schools, the evidence to support its effectiveness on the social and emotional well-being of children with ASD is limited and includes no assessment of cost-effectiveness.Methods and analysisThis multicentre, pragmatic, cluster RCT will randomise 240 participants (aged 7–15 years) with a clinical diagnosis of ASD to receive usual care or LEGO-based therapy with usual care. Cluster randomisation will be conducted on a school level, randomising each school as opposed to each individual child within a school. All prospective participants will be screened for eligibility before assenting to the study (with parents giving informed consent on behalf of their child). All participants will be followed up at 20 and 52 weeks after randomisation to assess for social, emotional and behavioural changes. The primary outcome measure is the social skills subscale of the Social Skills Improvement System completed by a teacher or teaching assistant associated with participating children at the 20-week follow-up time point.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval has been obtained via the University of York Research Ethics Committee. The results of the trial will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and will be disseminated to participating families, education practitioners and the third sector including voluntary and community organisations.Trial registration numberISRCTN64852382; Pre-results.


1974 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Argyle ◽  
Bridget Bryant ◽  
Peter Trower

SYSNOPSISA comparison is made between two forms of treatment for patients with interpersonal difficulties—one, an established treatment in the form of brief psychotherapy, and the other, social skills training, a form of behaviour modification designed to provide or improve the social skills necessary for successful social interaction. In a pilot study using social skills training, six out of seven patients showed marked clinical and social improvement. In the controlled trial, there was evidence that both types of treatment improved behaviour, but that social skills training tended to maintain its effect for longer, even though psychotherapy patients had more than twice the number of therapy hours.


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