Social skills development
Last updated:There is a range of strategies that can be used to increase social understanding and develop social skills at any age. These include:
Structured Social Skills Group
There are many types of structured social skills groups that can support social interaction difficulties across all ages. They may be offered in schools, in pre-schools or in the wider community. These groups are structured, and use prompting or scaffolding as needed to support students’ performance related to the goals of the activity. Some have an interest focus such as Lego, while others focus on skill development.
Social Narratives
Social Narratives are narratives that describe social situations in some detail. They highlight relevant cues and offer examples of appropriate responses.
Social narratives are individualised according to an individual’s needs. They are quite short and will include pictures or other visual aids.
Social narratives can help children and young people develop greater social understanding, stay safe and enhance their social interaction skills. They include descriptions of situations, events or activities and specific information about what to expect in that situation and why.
Social narratives can be useful in many circumstances. For example, developing self-care skills like cleaning teeth or saying thank you. They can also be useful as a behavioural strategy, such as what to do when angry or how to cope with obsessive feelings.
Social Narratives can also help with:
- Explaining how others might behave or respond in a particular situation.
- Coping with changes to routine and unexpected distressing events. This includes a teacher’s absence, moving house or a bad storm.
- Giving feedback to someone about an area of strength, achievement or to encourage self-esteem.
Social narratives work by breaking down information in a literal, basic way. They can explain sequencing (what comes next in a series of activities or steps), and ‘executive functioning’ (planning and organising).
All these things can reduce anxiety and create more comfortable feelings for children and young people.