Teaching social skills

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Teaching social skills

• Alex Kelly

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Who am I?

• Speech and Language Therapist
• 23 years in NHS
• 13 years in Hampshire
• 8 years managing SLT services
• Set up Alex Kelly Ltd in 2007

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Alex Kelly Ltd

• Training and consultancy in social skills around
  the UK and abroad
• Schools - provider of SLT into 10 local special
  schools and 17 mainstream schools
• Speaking Space Day Service for adults with LD
  or autism

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Why do we need to teach social skills?
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Integration
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Young offenders
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95
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Quality of life
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Success in future
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What do we mean by being socially unskilled?...

• What do we see?...

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Social skills

• Non verbal behaviour Verbal behaviour
• Body Language Conversational skills
• The way we talk

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93 non verbal
55 body language
38 the way you talk
7 verbal behaviour
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Start or end a conversation
Listening
Taking turns
Relevance
Questions
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So how can we work with these children in the
most effective way?

• What are the keys to a successful approach?

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3 steps

1. Assessment knowing where to start
2. Intervention knowing how to teach social skills
3. Evaluation being able to assess whether you have
   been effective

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3 steps

1. Assessment knowing where to start
2. Intervention knowing how to teach social skills
3. Evaluation being able to assess whether you have
   been effective

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Step ? knowing Where to start

• The hierarchical approach

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• 1. Self awareness self esteem
• 2. Nonverbal communication
• 3. Verbal communication
• 4. Friendship skills
• 5. Assertiveness

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Step ? how do we teach it?

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The 4 step plan

• 1. BEHAVIOUR what is it?
• 2. RULES what are they?
• 3. MOTIVATION what is it?
• 4. STRATEGY which is the best to use?

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behaviour

• Step 1

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• Behaviour is not the issue
• or
• Tell me that if I hit people, I cant go
  trampolining, because I value trampolining more
  so I wont hit them
• Roz Blackburn

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rules

• Step 2

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• Step 3

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strategy

• Step 4

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Strategy 1. The persons environment

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Strategy 2. talk it through or draw it

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Strategy 3. write a social story

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Strategy 4. a visual cue or schedule

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Strategy 5. a reward system

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Strategy 6. use of media

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Strategy 7. role play modelling

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Strategy 8. social skills group

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IN summary
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Social competence is key to achieving a good
quality of life

• Some children will need help to learn social
  skills

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• I can only know what I am told or taught or
  shown
• and
• I can play the social game but only when I have
  been taught
• and
• social skills are rules and we thrive on rules!

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and

• Developing social skills will also help children
  to develop healthy peer relationships

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but remember

• Use a hierarchical approach to teaching social
  skills

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and

• Use the environment and other people to back up
  what is being taught

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and finally

• Have fun!

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Any questions?

• alex_at_alexkelly.biz
• www.alexkelly.biz
• 02380 987134