2 0 WAYS T

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Robin H. Lock, Dept. Editor

Enhance Social and Friendship Skills

K A R I N C H U R C H , C H A R L E E N M. G O T T S C H A L K ,
AND

J A N E N. L E D D Y

Social interactions and friendships in and outside of school are important for all students. However, students with attention deficit disorder (ADD) frequently engage in behaviors that interfere with their socialization. Here are 20 ways teachers can enhance the social and friendship skills of their students. Assess students mastery of a wide range of social skills using observations, interviews, rating scales, and checklists. Identify the social skills that should be the focus of instruction, and examine the reasons why skills within students repertoires are not performed consistently. Engage in behaviors and use language that fosters the belief that all students are valued and accepted members of the class. For example, use language that relates to students strengths (You are a good person. Youre thoughtful and sensitive to peoples feelings), rather than their difficulties or limitations. Smith, Salend, and Ryan (2001) offered a checklist that teachers can use to evaluate their language, as well as guidelines for using language that can promote students learning, acceptance, socialization, and selfesteem.

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Use childrens literature to teach social skills and how to establish friendships. Cartledge and Kiarie (2001) and DeGeorge (1998) offered suggestions of childrens books that can be used to teach students about social and friendship skills.

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Employ social skills instructional programs to promote positive interactions with others. For example, Jarvis ClutchSocial Spy (Levine, 2001) helps adolescents understand the demands of social life. A variety of social skills programs are available (Elksnin & Elksnin, 1998), but teachers need to carefully select the program that addresses their students unique needs. Programs should also be evaluated in terms of effectiveness, cost, target

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group and setting, ease of use, instructional approach, depth of content, and generalization and maintenance (Carter & Sugai, 1989; Sabornie & Beard, 1990).

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Use videos to explore appropriate social interactions and promote friendships. The pause and replay functions of videos allow students and teachers to view and analyze social situations and plan and evaluate responses. Guidelines for using videos to teach social skills are available (Broome & White, 1995; Elias & Taylor, 1995; Salend, 1995). Break the cycle of students feeling isolated by structuring academic assignments that encourage students to interact with their classmates. For example, students can work together on assignments in cooperative learning groups or in learning centers. When using cooperative groups, make sure that all students have the opportunity to perform various roles.

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Remember that social skills are culturally based. Therefore, it is important for teachers to understand and be sensitive to the culturally based behaviors of students and use a variety of activities to foster acceptance of individual differences (Salend, 2001). They also can show students how to play ethnic games and encourage students to play in diverse groups. Teach students simple, noncompetitive, enjoyable games that dont require a great deal of skill or language. Ideas for noncompetitive games can be found on the following Web sites:

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http://www.cooperationgames.ca/ http://www.acsamman.edu.jo/~misc/teacher/fullerton/pe.html http://www.sedl.org/scimath/compass/v01n02/models.html

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Help students recognize nonverbal language in social situations, and introduce them to the conversational patterns that may occur in a particular setting. For example, coaching, modeling, and role playing can be used to help students acquire the nonverbal and verbal language skills necessary for asking how to be included in a game already in progress (Cartledge & Kiarie, 2001). Help students read the clues in social situations, and teach them about the unwritten rules that guide social interaction. For example, students can learn that voice levels and gestures that are acceptable on the playground may not be acceptable in the classroom and practice and visualize the amount of space required when interacting with others by pretending that each student exists in a bubble. Make the rules of social situations simple and clear. For example, teachers can work with students

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Offer rewards that foster positive interpersonal strategies and encourage social interaction. For example, after students engage in cooperative tasks, praise them and allow them to engage in an activity of their choice for an allotted period of time. Create a classroom environment that promotes social interaction among students. For example, decorate the classroom with visuals and bulletin boards that address social skills and provide students with access to age-appropriate materials that they like to use with others.

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to establish classroom rules and routines for transitioning from one activity to another (Salend, 2001) and praise students for complying with the rules. Students can also be made responsible for monitoring the rules (e.g., give them jobs such as maintaining a watch or a timer that can be set as a reminder to assist the class in preparing for transitions).

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Teach students learning strategies to cope with problematic social situations. One such strategy is called SLAM: STOP whatever you are doing, LOOK the person in the eye, ASK the person a question to clarify what he or she means, and MAKE an appropriate response to the person (Hallahan & Kauffman, 2000, p. 242).

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Set social behavior goals and acknowledge and comment specifically on displays of appropriate social behavior without making comparisons. For example, after Max and Mary play appropriately, they can be praised with the following statement: You both played well and were very polite to each other. Teach students to reflect on the positive and negative outcomes of situations and evaluate the effectiveness of their strategies. For example, after a social activity, students can be asked to respond to the following questions: What did you do to get the others to play with you? How well did it work? How do you think the others felt about your actions? and What did you learn from this situation? Encourage students to develop outside interests as a way to interact with other classmates. Music, art, drama, dance, athletics, and after-school activities provide natural starting points for developing friendships. Falvey, Coots, and Terry-Gage (1992) have provided a range of after-school activities for students of all ages.

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Encourage students to share peer-related concerns. Show understanding when students express emotions such as, I get so angry and frustrated when I lose games. It makes me feel so stupid. Identifying these feelings acknowledges the expectations students have for understanding their social successes and expresses respect for their unique social needs.

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Involve family, students peers, and community members. For example, communicate with families about social skill goals and strategies for achieving them and pair students with peers or adults who will be good role models and mentors. Students who do not have successful relationships in school may find them outside of school (Bos & Vaughn, 1998).
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Obtain additional information about teaching social and friendship skills. Some useful resources include Making Friends (Meyer, Park, GrenotScheyer, Schwartz, & Harry, 1993) Good Friends Are Hard to Find (Frankel, 1996) www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/social_skills/ behavior_management .html http://ldonline.org/ld_indepth/social_skills/ lavoie_quest.html

Studies, SUNY at New Paltz, 75 South Manheim Blvd., New Paltz, NY 12561; e-mail: KAC513@aol.com

REFERENCES
Bos, C. S., & Vaughn, S. (1998). Strategies for teaching students with learning and behavior problems (4th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Broome, S. A., & White, R. B. (1995). The many uses of videotape in classrooms serving youth with behavioral disorders. Teaching Exceptional Children, 27(3), 1013. Carter, J., & Sugai, G. (1989). Social skills curriculum analysis. Teaching Exceptional Children, 21(3), 3639. Cartledge, G., & Kiarie, M. W. (2001). Learning social skills through literature for children and adolescents. Teaching Exceptional Children, 34(2), 4047. DeGeorge, K. L. (1998). Friendship and stories: Using childrens literature to teach friendship skills to children with learning disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 33, 157162. Elias, M. J., & Taylor, M. E. (1995). Building social and academic skills via problem solving videos. Teaching Exceptional Children, 27(3), 1417. Elksnin, L. K., & Elksnin, N. (1998). Teaching social skills to students with learning and behavior problems. Intervention in School and Clinic, 33, 131140. Falvey, M. A., Coots, J., & Terry-Gage, S. (1992). Extracurricular activities. In S. Stainback & W. Stainback (Eds.), Curriculum considerations in inclusive classrooms: Facilitating learning for all students (pp. 229237). Baltimore: Brookes. Frankel, F. (1996). Good friends are hard to find. Los Angeles: Perspective Publishing. Hallahan, D. P., & Kauffman, J. M. (2000). Exceptional learners (8th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Levine, M. D. (2001). Jarvis clutchsocial spy. Cambridge, MA: Educators Publishing Service. Meyer, L. H., Park, H.-S., Grenot-Scheyer, M., Schwartz, I. S., & Harry, B. (1993). Making friends. Baltimore: Brookes. Sabornie, E. J., & Beard, G. H. (1990). Teaching social skills to students with mild handicaps. Teaching Exceptional Children, 22(2), 3538. Salend, S. J. (1995). Using videocassette recorder technology in special education classrooms. Teaching Exceptional Children, 27(3), 49. Salend, S. J. (2001). Creating inclusive classrooms: Effective and reflective practices (4th ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill/Prentice Hall. Smith, R. M., Salend, S. J., & Ryan, S. (2001). Watch your language: Closing or opening the special education curtain. Teaching Exceptional Children, 33(4), 1823.

Persons interested in submitting material for 20 Ways To . . . should contact Robin H. Lock, College of Education, Box 41071, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 76409-1701.

ABOUT

THE

AUTHORS

Karin Church, MS, is a special education teacher for the Ulster County (NY) Board of Cooperative Services (BOCES) and an adjunct professor in the Special Education Program at the State University of New York at New Paltz. She works with students with emotional and behavioral disorders, including students with attention deficit disorder and students with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Charleen M. Gottschalk, MS, is a special education teacher for the New Paltz (NY) Central School District and an adjunct professor in the Special Education Program at the State University of New York at New Paltz. She holds a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification in the area of exceptional needs and has extensive experience supporting students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Jane N. Leddy, MS, is a general education teacher in the Greenwood Lake Union Free School District and an adjunct professor in the Special Education Program at the State University of New York at New Paltz. Her interests include implementing inclusionary models to support the learning of all students. Address: Karin Church, Department of Educational

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