Teaching Social Skills: Second Steps and Similar Programs

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Teaching Social SkillsSecond Steps and Similar
Programs

• Bruce Stiller, Ph.D.

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Behavior Must Be Taught

• We believe behavior should be taught -- the same
  way we teach reading and other academic skills
• We identify the correct skill we model it we
  differentiate the correct behavior from the most
  common errors we practice to mastery we
  reinforce correct responses at a high rate
  initially and then intermittently, and we correct
  errors by reteaching the skill

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Basic Format for Teaching Social Skills in Second
Steps

• Broad Skill areas or units are identified.
  Examples Empathy Training Impulse Control
  Problem Solving Anger Management/Assertiveness
  Friendship Skills
• Social Stories/Discussion to generate
  thought/interest
• Use of Role Play to teach/practice new skills or
  replacement behaviors

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Whole Class v. Targeted Group

• Teaching an entire class is likely to impact the
  behavior of Green Zone students who need minimal
  instruction. It is not likely to impact the
  behavior of Yellow or Red Zone students
• To impact Yellow Zone students, use a small group
  format to allow time for lots of practice for
  each student.

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Key Considerations for Targeted Group Instruction

• Do not teach to an entirely homogenous group. It
  can be extremely difficult to establish a
  prosocial group norm if all of the students have
  moderate to severe rates of antisocial behavior
• Include prosocial plants (students who are
  leaders and good role models)

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Key Considerations for Targeted Group Intervention

• For Green Zone students, the instruction itself,
  with occasional re-teaching at instructional
  moments will often get results
• For Yellow Zone students, the Social Skills
  instruction will most likely need to dovetail
  with a Behavior Support Plan such as CICO
• For Red Zone students, the Social Skills
  instruction will almost certainly need to be
  integrated into a Behavior Support Plan

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Getting Instructional Control

• Establish group rules and a prosocial norm during
  the first class meeting
• Use and model research validated behavior
  management strategies

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Basic Management Strategies

• Expectations and routines are explicit and clear
• Expectations and routines have been practiced to
  mastery
• Students receive high rates of positive feedback
  - once approximately every 5-10 minutes
• Ratio of positive to corrective feedback is at
  least 41
• Frequent review of expectations -- especially
  following a bad day
• Routines are efficient
• Instruction flows at a good pace. There is a
  minimum of dead air

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Making it Come Alive

• Preview the lessons -- choose the ones from that
  are appropriately paced for your particular
  students. Modify as appropriate
• Pacing -- keep it moving fast during the
  discussion phase

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Role Playing

• Reserve adequate time for role playing. Repeat
  the lesson as many times as necessary for
  students to become skilled at role playing
• Generate role plays that are meaningful for your
  class. Think about the common errors you have
  seen your students make in context
• Invite students to brainstorm some common
  scenarios that apply to the skill being taught,
  and use those scenarios for your role plays

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Role Playing

• Model the Positive Example first.
• Model the Most Common Errors only after the
  prosocial skill has been modeled

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Role Playing

• Student Role Plays -- Teacher plays antagonist
  students volunteer to play hero.
• Students may not play the antagonist in front of
  the class

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Role Playing

• Feedback Provide behavior specific positive
  feedback to each student
• Students may provide positive feedback only.
  Precorrect for this
• Feedback Only the teacher may provide
  constructive, corrective feedback
• Practice to Mastery

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Transfer to Natural Settings

• Transfer will not occur unless you program for
  transfer
• Precorrect students prior to activities where
  this is high probability of errors
• Reteach the appropriate skill in context. my
  turn your turn

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Transfer to Natural Settings

• Integrate Social Skills instruction into a
  Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)
• Attach contingencies to the students using the
  replacement behaviors (student earns point for
  trying student earns consequences for refusal)
• Catch Students Being Good (you never know when
  you get a surprise)

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Functional Behavior Theory
Behavior is purposeful (there is a payoff, a
maintaining consequence) Behavior is predictable
(patterns) Behavior is changeable if we can make
it Irrelevant (not triggered) Inefficient (not
easiest way to get payoff) Ineffective (not
rewarded)
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Common Functions of Behavior
Obtain or get objects, activities peer
attention adult attention choices (control)
Avoid or Escape task, activity peers adults
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Teaching a Prosocial Replacement Behavior

• Identify an appropriate behavior that will get
  the student the same thing that the inappropriate
  behavior currently gets him/her.
• Model the replacement behavior
• Have student practice to mastery
• When the opportunity arises in the real
  setting, prompt the replacement behavior
• Reinforce the students attempt to use the
  replacement behavior

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Identify the Replacement Behavior

• An appropriate Replacement Behavior
• Serves the same function as the problem behavior
• The replacement behavior is a member of the same
  response class as the problem behavior
• Is as, or more efficient than the problem
  behavior
• physical effort, schedule of reinforcement, time
  to reinforcement
• Is socially acceptable

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Which of the Following are Appropriate
Replacement Behaviors?

• Jason is nine and cries when asked to do
  difficult tasks. The crying is maintained by
  avoiding or escaping the tasks.
• Possible Replacement Behaviors
• More rewards for doing tasks
• Asking for a break from tasks
• Asking to do something other than the tasks
• Requesting adult attention
• Asking to have soda after tasks are done

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Which of the Following are Appropriate
Replacement Behaviors?

• Jason is nine and cries when asked to do
  difficult tasks. The crying is maintained by
  avoiding or escaping the tasks.
• Possible Replacement Behaviors
• More rewards for doing tasks
• Asking for a break from tasks
• Asking to do something other than the tasks
• Requesting adult attention
• Asking to have soda after tasks are done

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Which of the Following are Appropriate
Replacement Behaviors?

• Leslie is 12, has severe intellectual
  disabilities, does not use words, and hits her
  head. Head hitting is maintained by adult
  attention during work periods.
• Which is the best Replacement Behavior
• hide under her desk and be ignored
• sign for more to another student
• take completed work up to show the teacher
• move to sit by another student
• engage in stereotypies

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Which of the Following are Appropriate
Replacement Behaviors?

• Leslie is 12, has severe intellectual
  disabilities, does not use words, and hits her
  head. Head hitting is maintained by adult
  attention during work periods.
• Which is the best Replacement Behavior
• hide under her desk and be ignored
• sign for more to another student
• take completed work up to show the teacher
• move to sit by another student
• engage in stereotypies

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Behavior Support PlanJason S.

• Setting Event Strategies (make the problem
  behavior irrelevant)
• Build self esteem by giving the student a role
  in which he can excel. He is a good student.
  Pair him with a student who is not as
  academically able.
• Behavior Teaching Strategies (make the problem
  behavior inefficient)
• Teach student a replacement behavior that
  accomplishes the same thing
• the problem behavior accomplishes. 3 half hour
  sessions with school
• counselor on anger management, leading to the
  replacement behavior
• this is insulting. I want it to stop Prompt
  this behavior when he becomes agitated.
• Reinforcement Strategies (make the replacement
  behavior more rewarding)
• Student earns the class 5 minutes free time on
  Friday for each day he gets through class without
  an anger outburst.

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And Now for Extra Fun .

• Play the Concentration Game
• Teaches students to ignore distractions
• Students learn not to reinforce inappropriate
  behavior of peers
• Efficient use of time
• A truly fabulous reinforcer!!!

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Social Skills Programs

• Second Steps -- Committee for Children
  1-800-634-4449 www.secondstep.org/
• Steps to Respect -- Committee for Children
  1-800-634-4449 www.cfchildren.org/
• Be Cool -- James Stanfield Co., Inc.
  www.stanfield.com/conflict/htm
• Tools for Teaching Social Skills in School --
  Hensley, Dillon, Pratt, Ford, Burke 2005, Boys
  Town Press 29.95