Targeted Support through Social Skills Instructional Groups Part 1: Social Skill Deficit Framework

Targeted Support through Social Skills Instructional Groups

Part 1: Social Skill Deficit Framework

Lori Newcomer, Ph.D.University of Missouri

Felicia D. Hagerstrom, JD.AEA 267 / Waterloo Community Schools

• Social Skills Part 1 (9:15-10:30)– Social Skill Deficiency Framework– Assessment

• Social Skills Part 2 (10:55-12:10)– Planning groups and delivering intervention

Primary prevention (universals) works when students…

• have multiple, nonaggressive coping repertoires for managing frustration and perceived personal threats

• are experienced and adept at acquiring adult approval and willing to be deferential to adult authority

• are able to regulate their anger along a continuum of intensity appropriate for the situation at hand.

• able to inhibit impulsive behavior in conformance to a stated rule or the general mores of socially acceptable behavior.

Larson 2005

Social Skills vs. Social Competence

• Social skills are a specific group of behaviors that an individual exhibits in order to complete a social task

• Social tasks are things such as peer group entry, having a conversation, making friends, or playing a game with peers

• Social competence is an evaluative term (given certain criteria) that an individual performed a social task adequatelyGresham & Elliott (1991)

How do we determine social competence?

……..the eye of the beholder

A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

Felicia D. Hagerstrom, JD.PBIS District CoordinatorAEA 267 / Waterloo Community SchoolsWaterloo, [email protected]

A cultural perspective

• Children from culturally diverse groups are likely to engage in

behaviors that are at variance with the culture of the school.

• By the year 2035 close to 50% of children in the United States

will come from racial and ethnic minority families, immigrant

families, or both (Rogers & Sirin, 2009)

• 9 out of every 10 teachers are white and from nonimmigrant

backgrounds. (Cartledge & Milburn, 1996)


• Culture……provides standard for perceiving, believing, evaluating, communicating, and acting

(Triandis, 1996)

…is learned (not innate), shared (not specific to the individual), dynamic (not static), and incorporates values that dictate behavior

(Peoples & Bailey, 1991)

A cultural perspective • Increasing diversity of students in schools underscore the

need to view social behaviors within the cultural context• Culture provides a framework through which to filter actions

as people negotiate their daily lives• Social behaviors of culturally and linguistically diverse

students need to be understood to distinguish differences and deficits (Irvine, 1990)

• Research suggests that students’ aptitudes intents or abilities can be misinterpreted due to differences in language use and communication style is a mismatch exists between home culture and school culture (Rogers – Sirin & Sirin, 2009)

A Cultural Perspective

“Any educational or training system that ignores the history or perspective of its learners or does not attempt to adjust its teaching practices to benefit all of its learners is contributing to inequality of opportunity”

(Wlodkowski and Ginsberg (1995) (p. 26)

A Cultural Perspective• Sense of self and space• Communication and language• Dress and appearance• Food and eating habits• Time and time consciousness• Relationships, family and friends• Values and norms• Beliefs and attitudes• Mental processes and learning style• Work habits and practices

A cultural perspectiveRead this article

“Urban Teachers’ Professed Classroom Management Strategies Reflections of Culturally Responsive Teaching”Dave Brown West Chester University

Examples:- “Black children expect the authority figure to act like the authority figure”

(Delpit p.35)- African American “call response” (Gay 2000)- Ability to maintain side conversation (Brown, p.281) - Urban students resent a lack of decision making- Perception of authority (Delpit 1995)- Asian students laughter and smile (Gay 200)

A Cultural Perspective

• Culture is a predominant force.• The dominant culture serves people in varying

degrees.• People have both personal identities and

group identities.• Diversity within cultures is vast and significant.• Individuals and groups have unique cultural

values and needs.

A Cultural PerspectiveWhat can we do?

• Encourage staff to increase their familiarity with cultural differences in expressiveness, communications styles, role of authority, use of language

• Encourage staff to increase their familiarity with cultural specificity of their own behavior

• Teach behaviors that are socially relevant to culturally and linguistically diverse students.

• Acknowledge students cultural identity as a strength• Carefully review operational definitions of behavior violations• Disaggregate ODR data

(Tobin & Vincent, 2010)

A Cultural PerspectiveQuestions for Reflection

• How does my own cultural background affect how I interact with children, adults and families in our school?

• How does the language and cultural background of our students and their families impact how they interact with our teachers, and our school?

• How does the cultural background of our staff affect how we interact with the students, adults and families in our schools?

• For Whom is the Path Most Clear?


• Attend to– Cultural relevance of skills taught– Communication style of learner– Manner in which skills are presented– Affirm students and empower to achieve within

own subculture and mainstreamed school environment

A PARENTAL PERSPECTIVE

A parent perspective

• Research has demonstrated that parent participation can enhance the acquisition, generalization and maintenance of social skills (Hagger & Vaughn, 1995; Schloss, 1984)

• However, parents typically asked to support SS instruction, but are not invited to identify skills or participate in program development.


• Parents characterize social skills as (a) getting along and (b) exhibiting traits of character

• Essential skills parents identify include:– Proficiency in the ability to discern the motives of

others– Skills in communication– Empathy– Skills in interpreting social cues

(Kolb & Hanley-Maxwell, 2003)


• Priority: Self-Awareness– Ability to recognize personal emotion– A reflexive process that incorporates personal

efficacy, self-concept and self-esteem (Pool, 1997)– Students learn self-awareness by understanding,

controlling and expressing their thoughts and feelings (Taylor & Larson, 1999)


• Priority: Self-control / managing emotions– Self-regulation– Constructively resolve conflicts– Problem solving– Decision making– Managing emotions


• Empathy– Recognize the emotions of others– Effective communication and listening– Understand the feelings and perspectives of

others– Interpret nonverbal cues (facial expressions, tone

of voice, body language)


• Handling relationships– Get along with others– Establishing and maintaining relationships– Self-assertion– Relationship and friendship skills– Interpret the dynamics of social interactions– Discern motives of others– Understand nonverbal social cues.


• Assertion– Assertion: effectively meet one’s need through

expression while respecting the rights of others (Thompson, Bundy & Broncheau, 1995)

– Initiating conversation– Giving and receiving compliments– Responding appropriately to comments


• Peer Interaction Skills– Sharing– Listening– Complimenting– Helping – Encouraging peers


• Motivation and Self-efficacy– Skills to make positive changes– Skills to competently execute social interactions– Belief that goals can be obtained– Positive thinking, optimism, enthusiasm, self-

confidence

Teacher Ranked Top 101. Listen to others2. Follow the steps3. Follow the rules4. Ignore distractions5. Ask for help6. Take turns when you talk7. Get along with others8. Stay calm with others9. Be responsible for your behavior10. Do nice things for others

Stop and think…

• What significant differences exist between what parents want from social skills instruction and what teachers want.

• How can we involve parents in the development and generalization of social skills instruction.

• What additional challenges are presented at the secondary level?

Another important question

• Have we identified what our goal is when we start a social skills group?– Social skills– Compliance training– Social/emotional learning– Problem-solving– Aggression replacement / anger management

Basic Assumptions on Social Skills• primarily learned behaviors.• deficits can be acquisition (“Can’t do”) or

performance (“Won’t do”) problems. • are comprised of specific and discrete verbal and

nonverbal behaviors.• include both initiations and responses.• interactive by nature.• highly contextual.• deficits & competing problem behaviors can be

identified & treated.

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Classification of Social Skills

• Acquisition Deficits– Absence of knowledge for executing skill or failure to discriminate

which social behaviors are appropriate in specific situations (can’t do)

• Performance Deficits– Skill is present in repertoire, but student fails to perform at acceptable

levels (won’t do)

• Fluency Deficits– Lack of exposure to sufficient or skilled models of social behavior,

insufficient rehearsal/practice or low rates or inconsistent delivery of reinforcement of skilled performances

Actions & Interventions

Social Skill Strengths: student knows and uses social skills consistently and appropriately

Reinforce to maintain desired social behaviorUse student as a model for other students

Performance Deficits Use behavior techniques to increase student practice and performance of desired social behavior

Frequency Deficits Provide extensive opportunities to practices across a wide range of exemplars

Acquisition Deficits Direct instruction of the desired social behavior

Competing Problem Behaviors Use behavior techniques to reduce interfering behaviorsCollect further information (e.g. FBA - direct observations, interviews, comprehensive assessment of problem behaviors).

Competing Problem Behaviors

Interfering or competing problem behavior are combined to classify social skill deficits

• Internalizing or overcontrolled behaviors (e.g., anxiety, depression, social withdrawal)

• Externalizing or undercontrolled behavior patterns (e.g., aggression, disruption, impulsivity)

Why Assessment?

• Screening and selection of students for social skills interventions

• Classification of specific types of social skills deficits

• Selection of targeted skills and competing problem behaviors for intervention

• Functional assessment• Evaluation of the effects of the intervention

Social Skills Rating Scales

Look for:• Large and representative standardization

samples.• Adequate psychometric properties• User-friendly availability

Screening ToolsNorm Referenced and Standardized

• SSIS (Social Skills Improvement System)– Elliott & Gresham, 2008 (Pearson, PsychCorp.)– Teacher, Parent, Student Rating Scales– Assesses 3 domains (a) social skills, (b) problem behaviors, (c)

academic competence• Walker-McConnell Scales of Social Competence and School

Adjustment (SSCSA)– Walker & McConnell, 1995 (Wadsworth Publishing)– Elementary subscales: (a)Teacher-preferred Social Skills, (b)

Peer-preferred social skills (c) School Adjustment– Adolescent subscales: (a) Empathy, (b) Self-control, (c) School

adjustment, (d) peer relations

Missouri Prevention CenterUniversity of Missouri


• School Social Behavior Scales 2nd Ed. (SSBS2)– Merrell, 2002 (Brookes Publishing)– Ages 5 - 18– Measures 2 domains: (a) social competence, (b) antisocial

behavior. • Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS).

– Pro-ed– Two Scales: (a) social skills and (b) problem behavior– Ages 3 – 6– School and Home ratings– Social Skill subscales: Social Cooperation, Social

Interaction, and Social Independence; Problem Behavior subscales: Externalizing Problems and Internalizing Problems.


• Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders, 2nd Edition (SSBD)– Walker & Severson, 1992 (Sopris-West)– K-6– Multiple gating procedures


Targeting Specific Social Skills for Training

1. Determine specific social skill deficits2. Identify competing problem behaviors3. Evaluate social validity of targeted social skills

(significance, acceptability, importance)

Linking Assessment Results to Intervention

Competing Problem Behavior Acquisition Deficits Performance

DeficitsFluency Deficits

Present•Aggression•Oppositional behavior•Violent behavior•Noncompliance•Threats to others•Bullying•Anxiety•Depression•Withdrawn•Impulsive

Absent

Social Skill DimensionBehavior Dimension




Present

Absent •Direct Instruction

•Modeling

•Behavior Rehearsal

•Coaching





Present: verbal and physical aggressionReductive procedures (e.g. reinforcement techniques, group contingencies, reprimands, time-out, response-cost, overcorrection)

•Direct Instruction

•Modeling

•Behavior Rehearsal

•Coaching

Absent





Present:

Absent •Manipulate antecedents and consequences

Intervene with:•Peer initiations•Contingent social reinforcement•Group contingencies



Competing Problem Behavior

Acquisition Deficits Performance Deficits Fluency

Deficits

Present: Presence of significant emotional response

•Manipulate antecedents and consequences

Teach self-control strategies; stimulus control training that teaches discrimination skills

Intervene with:•Peer initiations•Contingent social reinforcement•Group contingencies

Absent


Taxonomy of Social SkillsFive Broad Dimensions• Peer relations (e.g., complimenting others, offering help,

inviting peers to play)• Self-management skills (e.g., controlling temper, following

rules, compromising)• Academic skills (e.g., completing work independently, listening

to teacher direction, producing acceptable quality work)• Compliance skills (e.g., following directions, following rules,

using free time appropriately)• Assertion skills ( e.g., initiating conversation, acknowledging

compliments, inviting peers to play) (Caldarella & Merrell, 1997)

Now I understand social skills, how do I set up groups?

Social Skills Part 2 (10:55-12:10)Planning groups and delivering intervention

Targeted Support through Social Skills Instructional Groups

Part 2: Planning & Teaching Social Skill Groups

Lori Newcomer, Ph.D.University of Missouri

Social Skills vs. Social Competence

• Social skills are a specific group of behaviors that an individual exhibits in order to complete a social task

• Social tasks are things such as peer group entry, having a conversation, making friends, or playing a game with peers

• Social competence is an evaluative term (given certain criteria) that an individual performed a social task adequatelyGresham & Elliott (1991)

Classification of Social Skills

• Acquisition Deficits– Absence of knowledge for executing skill or failure to discriminate

which social behaviors are appropriate in specific situations (can’t do)

• Performance Deficits– Skill is present in repertoire, but student fails to perform at acceptable

levels (won’t do)

• Fluency Deficits– Lack of exposure to sufficient or skilled models of social behavior,

insufficient rehearsal/practice or low rates or inconsistent delivery of reinforcement of skilled performances

Actions & Interventions

Social Skill Strengths: student knows and uses social skills consistently and appropriately

Reinforce to maintain desired social behaviorUse student as a model for other students

Performance Deficits Use behavior techniques to increase student practice and performance of desired social behavior

Frequency Deficits Provide extensive opportunities to practices across a wide range of exemplars

Acquisition Deficits Direct instruction of the desired social behavior

Competing Problem Behaviors Use behavior techniques to reduce interfering behaviorsCollect further information (e.g. FBA - direct observations, interviews, comprehensive assessment of problem behaviors).

Social Skill Programs

• First Step to Success – Grades 1-3; students with externalizing concerns – Walker et al., 2009– Screening, school intervention, parent training

• Incredible Years – Early elementary– Webster-Stratton, 2008– Parent, teacher & child programs

Evidence Based Social Skill Programs

• Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS)– Early elementary; Upper elementary/middle– Elliot & Gresham, 2008– Screening (student/parent/teacher), integrity

measures, student booklets, video clips, skill step cue cards, parent communication forms

– Classwide Social Skills, Small Group


Evidence Based Social Skill Programs• Second Step

– Pre-K through middle school– Committee for Children– Self-regulation and problem solving. Pre-teach in small

group before teaching to whole class.• Skillstreaming

– Early Childhood – Adolescent– Goldstein & McGinnis, 2005– five skill groups: Classroom Survival Skills, Friendship-

Making Skills, Dealing with Feelings, Alternatives to Aggression, and Dealing with Stress


Evidence Based Social Skill Programs• Strong Teens

– Merrell, Carrizales, Feuerborn, Gueldner, Tran, 2007 (Brookes)

– Secondary– scripts, sample scenarios and examples, creative

activities, and "booster" lessons• Think First

– Larson, 2007 (Guilford)– Secondary– consequential thinking, attribution retraining,

problem solvingMissouri Prevention Center

University of Missouri

Selecting & Grouping Students

• Consider– Experience of trainer– Work space– Time available– Interpersonal dynamics between students– Groups of 3 to 6, 2 x per week for 45 – 60 mins.– Two trainers

Parental Permission

• Should not be first contact• Encourage participation in assessment• Involve parents in homework assignments

Working with Student Groups

Provide and consistently follow ground rules for group interactions. • Attendance: Voluntary, but strongly recommended• Punctuality: A basic social skill that allows maximum amount of effective

interactions to occur.• Participation: One of the best predictors of success in the program• Confidentiality: Encourage all to respect the confidence of the group, but note it

cannot be guaranteed.• Take Turns Speaking and Be a Good Listener: Basic social skills, student often find

it difficult to refrain from interrupting.• Provide Corrective Feedback: Encourage students to share feelings with you and

others; stress the value of specific, constructive criticism or corrective feedback• Homework Assignments: Treat homework as an important activity; complete

homework in a timely and careful fashion.

Training Sessions

• Most effective:– Focus on one skill intervention at a time

• Provide 3 or 4 adaptations of skill• How to “read” or evaluate varying social situations

– 3 to 6 students– Minimum 45 minutes – maximum 60 minutes– 2 or 3 x per week for 8 weeks– Booster sessions every 2 – 4 weeks

Monitoring Student Progress

• Change in treatment setting• Change in related settings• Pre-treatment and Post-treatment ratings• Direct observation during role play• Brief periodic interviews with teachers

ACQUISITION DEFICITSDirect Instruction

BASIC SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING MODEL PROMOTING SKILLS ACQUISITION

Modeling Coaching Behavioral Rehearsal Social Problem Solving

ENHANCING SKILL PERFORMANCE Peer Initiation Strategies Cuing and Prompting Reinforcement Based Strategies Group Oriented Contingency Systems Behavioral Contract School-Home Notes

REMOVING INTERFEREING PROBLEM BEHAVIORS Differential Reinforcement Techniques

o DRO o DRL o DRI

Response Cost Positive Practice Timeout Systematic Desensitization

FACILITATING GENERALIZATION Training Diversely

o Using sufficient stimulus exemplars o Using sufficient response exemplars

Teaching Relevant Behavior Teaching Functional Mediators

o Program Common Social Stimulus o Self-mediated Generalization

Elliott & Gresham, 1991

Sample Session

Greet students and introduce session goal(s)5 mins.

Define the featured social skill3 mins.

Initiate “Tell” phase5 mins

Initiate “Show” phase10 mins.

Initiate “Do” phase with role-play15 mins.

Review and provide homework assignment5 mins.

Provide feedback about group’s performance and specify date/time for next session

2 mins.

Instructional Approach

• Tell (coaching)• Show (modeling)• Do (role play)• Practice (behavioral rehearsal)• Monitor Progress (feedback)• Generalize (apply in multiple settings)

Tell (coaching)

1. Provide learning objective for featured social skill

2. Introduce the skill by asking how it will be helpful to students and situations in which they could use the skill.

3. Define a specific skill.4. Discuss why the skill is important.5. Outline steps for performing the behavior.

Show (modeling)

1. Model the behavior– Model positive behavior– Model negative behavior

2. Model discreetly each of the major steps for enacting the featured skill.

3. With student helper, direct a role play of a typical situation.

4. Lead a discussion of alternative behaviors to accomplish the social behavior objective.

Do (behavior rehearsal)

1. Ask students to define the skill2. Ask students to state the steps required to

accomplish the skill3. Repeat critical steps for enacting the

behavior.4. Ask students to model the skill in role plays.5. Ask other students to provide feedback for

the student using the skill in the role plays

Practice

• Have pairs practice the skill steps and provide each other with feedback.

• Encourage the skill in class sessions outside of these lessons.

Monitor Progress

1. Ask students to think about how well they are progressing with the social skill.

2. Have students self-monitor their use of the skill.

Generalize

1. Give homework assignments to use skills in other settings or with other students.

2. Communicate skill to parents, other teachers and school personnel who work with student. Provide scripts to precorrects and reinforce.

GeneralizationRecruit a generalization support person• Observation and feedback• Issue friendly greetings• Use discreet, positive feedback• Offer descriptive feedback• Occasionally inquire about progress • Relay positive feedback from other staff

members

GENERALIZATION

• Train Diversely– Using sufficient stimulus exemplars

• Vary situations and settings in sessions• Use different people, places, things, etc. in role-plays• Vary ways in which you teach the skill(e.g. modeling, coaching,

instruction, etc)– Using sufficient response exemplars

• Teach multiple ways to respond to the same social situation• Use brainstorming to generate with group ways in which a

person could respond to a given situation• Demonstrate how the students could use the same behavior in

different ways (e.g. using words, gestures, voice tone, volume. etc)

Generalization

• Teach Relevant Behaviors– Teach behaviors that have a high probability of

being reinforced in other environments.– Brainstorm with the group additional behaviors

that may be relevant in a given social situation

GeneralizationTeach Functional Mediators• Use common social stimuli

– Incorporate peers from generalization environment into training– Use behavioral contracts and home notes to involve parents

• Use self-mediated stimuli– Teach “self-talk” script:

• What is the problem?• What are some things I could do?• What is the best thing to do now?• What will happen if I do this?• OK, I’ll do it.• What happened when I did it?

Generalization

• Teach students to self-monitor own behavior – Decide what they will record– Determine how they will record the behavior (e.g.

how often, how long, etc)– Determine how they will use the self-monitoring

data.• Use homework assignments to facilitate

generalization across settings.

SOCIAL SKILLS CLUB

Targeted Group Interventions Social Skills Club

• Elementary School– Enrollment 423– 60% free & reduced lunch– 50% minority

Targeted Group InterventionsSocial Skills Club

Goals• Reduce office referrals by 25%• Increase ratio of positive interactions teachers

have with students• Reduce office referrals for students identified

as at risk through data tracking procedures


Key Elements in Process• School-wide contingency based incentive

system• Implemented school-wide corrections

procedures for adults to use• Implemented social skills club


Elements of Social Skills Club• Organization/Structure• Identification/Referral• Functional Assessment• Design of Generalization Support• Data Collection & Decision Making


• Parent letters to extend “invitation”– Voluntary participation– Presented as prevention/support– Encouraged parent participation


Instructors• Special Educator with fluency in social skill

instruction • General Educator• Access to technical assistance and resources


Group Management• Two adults!• Club expectations linked to school-wide

expectations• Rules and expectations for group participation in

role play• Planned fun• Reinforcement system (Dancing Dolphins) linked

to school-wide system


Curriculum & Delivery of Instruction• Collected and prepared materials from a variety of

sources.• One hour per week after school for one semester• Attention to pre-requisite skills for participating in

lessons.• Structured format: Teach, Model, Role play, Review,

Test & Homework


Generalization• Posters of each lesson given to classroom

teachers to display in class and use as visual prompt.

• “Club” participants present weekly social skill lesson to from club to their class.

• Staff instructed on how to prompt and reinforce

PERFORMANCE DEFICITS

Use behavior techniques to increase student practice and performance of desired social behavior

Beyond Basic Social Skills Training

• Social Problem-Solving• Interpersonal Skills• Situational Perception• Anger / Aggression Control• Stress Management• Empathy

Social Information Processing Model

1. Encoding of social cues in immediate environment2. Interpreting the meaning of those cues3. Identifying personal goals or outcomes4. Generating possible behavioral responses to the

interpreted cues5. Deciding on a response and evaluating its

potential outcome6. Engaging in selected behavior

Crick & Dodge, 1994

Social Problem Solving

1. Provide general orientation to the problem.2. Define and formulate the problem by asking

questions.3. Generate alternative solutions by brainstorming.4. Specify consequences of each solution5. Specify requirements to implement solution

(e.g. who, what, when, where and how)6. Verify outcomes

IDEAL

Identify the problemDescribe the optionsEvaluate the outcomesAct on itLearn from the lesson

ENHANCING SKILL PERFORMANCE

Peer Initiation Strategies • Peers used to initiate and maintain social interactions

with socially isolated or withdrawn students• Recruit confederate peers for peer-initiation training of

social skills (students with peer status and self-confidence)

• Train peer confederates in social-initiation strategies.• Prepare peer confederates for initial rejection of initiation

attempts• Periodically conduct booster sessions to retrain peer

confederates to discuss unique problems they may be having in social situations

ENHANCING SKILL PERFORMANCE

• Cuing and Prompting• Reinforcement Based Strategies• Group Oriented Contingency Systems

– Interdependent, Dependent, Independent• Behavioral Contract• School-Home Notes

What the research has demonstrated:

• The most effective SST strategies are a combination of modeling, coaching and reinforcement procedures (Gresham, 1981; Hollinger, 1987)

• Evidence for the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral procedures (e.g., social problem-solving, self-instruction) is far weaker (Ager & Cole, 1991; Gresham, 1985)

• Better intervention effects occur with prolonged and intensive training.

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What the research has demonstrated:

• Effect sizes much lower for students with EBD and SLD.

• More effective for children described as withdrawn– Largest effect sizes on social interaction

• Least effective for children described as aggressive or unpopular.– Lower effect sizes on aggression and peer

acceptance• Average treatment time of 30 hours of

instruction (2.5-3.0 hrs x 10-12 weeks) produces lower effect sizes.

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Lori Newcomer, [email protected]

Documents

Targeted Support through Social Skills Instructional Groups Part 1: Social Skill Deficit Framework