Social Skills:

• Maintaining appropriate eye contact and body space

• Understanding social conventions

• Developing empathy for others

• Understanding emotions of others

• Taking on another’s perspective in different situations

• Perceiving and predicting reactions of others

• Using observation to determine appropriate behavior in new social situations

• Initiating peer interaction and joint play

• Turn taking

• Sharing

• Decoding facial expressions and body language

• Conversational techniques

• Greetings

• Conflict resolution

• Interacting with peers/adults/authority figures

While many children learn social skills naturally, through real-life social situations, children with special needs often must be taught social skills. Results of research focused on early social skills training reported improvement in social responding, social interaction initiation, peer relationships, self confidence, and over time, a higher quality of life. Social skills training is most effective when implemented in natural/functional settings and are best acquired through observation, modeling, rehearsal, feedback, reinforcement, and instruction.

Rabon Communication Enhancement in Sugar Land, TX recognizes the need for teaching social skills training and has implemented an intense social skills program. The Social Skills Class meets Fridays from 4-8p.m. and Saturdays from 8:30-2p.m., for 10 consecutive weeks. On Saturdays, the group is taken on various field trips, which provide the natural setting needed to generalize practiced social skills. Children who attend RCE’s previous social skills group demonstrated great progress and had a blast!