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Uncovering potential
for over 50 years
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A southern California
school and therapy
center for students, ages
six months to 21 years,
who have special needs
in the areas of language,
learning and behavior, as
well as typical peer models
through Grade Six.
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Components of Social Skills Groups
There are six components to an effective social skills group:
Structure: The younger our students are, either chronologically or developmentally, the more structure our groups have. Structure helps our students feel more safe and comfortable by making the environment more predictable. The more predictable the environment the better students are able to focus on the material presented. The structure is lessened as our students mature so that the groups take on a more “real world” atmosphere.
Consistency: The consistency of our groups is facilitated by posting the schedule for all to see. We keep the same basic components of relaxation and whole body listening for every group. The students are frontloaded with the information about what we will be doing in group that day. At the end of a group, we tell the students what we will be doing in their next group.
Multi-modal instruction: Our students learn in a variety of ways; auditory, visual and kinesthetic. It is important for us to present information in all of these ways so that all students are able to maximize their learning.
Repetition: All children need to have lessons repeated in order to learn new information. This is vitally important for our students with special needs. They may not be focused, they may get only part of the material, or they may get it when it is presented but not retain the information. The more we repeat, the greater chance that all of the students will learn and retain the information being presented.
Modeling: Demonstrating the behavior that we want our students to learn is important. They can learn from modeling by both staff and peers. Calling attention to desired behavior is both reinforcement and modeling. Modeling combines both visual and auditory learning.
Rehearsal: Rehearsal gives the students an opportunity to try new skills and gives staff an opportunity to evaluate how well the students understand and can demonstrate the skills they have learned. Rehearsal can take two forms:
1. We can create an artificial situation during group time and have the students role play the skills.
2. When a situation arises in the classroom or on the playground, we can coach the students through the situation. This is why we provide a time for social interaction at the end of every group.
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