Social Skills Lesson

Describe the inappropriate behavior: Suzanne Miller has difficulty

maintaining relationships with peers; she sometimes pushes and/or hits
them and is in their personal space.

Rationale for a new behavior: It is important for Suzanne to learn a

replacement behavior in order to maintain meaningful relationships with
the people that she is around, including both peers and adults.

Describe the appropriate behavior: Suzanne needs to understand that

there are boundaries between herself and others. She has to be able to
learn that there is an appropriate distance to stand from another person in
order to refrain from pushing, hitting, or touching.

Skill Components:
1. The teacher will explain to Suzanne what the term personal
space means.
2. The teacher will explain to Suzanne that is appropriate and polite
to stand an arms length away from another person.
3. The teacher will tell Suzanne that if there is any reason for her to
be any closer to someone, she is to ask the other person permission
to be in their personal space.

Model demonstration: A way for the teacher to demonstrate this

concept to a student who is trying to learn personal space is to place a
hula hoop on the floor. The teacher will stand in the middle of the hula
hoop. Suzanne, the student learning the appropriate replacement
behavior, will stand on the outside of the hula hoop. The teacher will ask
Suzanne to put her arm out to realize the distance that she is from the
teacher. The teacher will continue to explain how the space inside of the
hula hoop is the person space of that person. There is no reason to be in
the hula hoop of another person.

Student practice: In order to simplify the hula hoop lesson but continue
to provide the approximate distance of a persons personal space, the
teacher can have Suzanne hold out her arm to visually see the distance
when standing next to someone (whether it be a peer or adult).

Natural setting practice: The natural setting practice can be completed

the same as the student practice to allow Suzanne to have a visual
reinforcement.

Homework assignment: Suzanne can practice maintaining personal

space while at home.

Individual or group reinforcement strategy: The teacher can create

the lesson for the whole group using the hula hoops to reinforce the
meaning of personal space. For a cheaper alternative, the teacher can lay
out sections of newspaper on the floor. Each student will stand on a
piece of the newspaper and put their arms out. If they are touching
another person, they will move their paper to create an appropriate
distance between themselves and that person. This will provide a visual
representation which uses their selves in the situation.