Social Skills Instruction for Adolescents with Emotional Disabilities: A Technology-Based Intervention

Abstract

This study explored the use of multimedia, student-generated social skills lessons coupled with teacher facilitation to improve the social skills of middle-school students with emotional disabilities. The effects of teacher-led social skills instruction and the combination of teacher-led and multimedia student-generated social skills instruction on the perceived social behaviors of the students were compared. Maintenance of perceived student social skills over time was examined. Also evaluated were the effects of traditional and combined interventions on student knowledge of social skills. The results indicated that both interventions were effective in improving the students' social skills and their knowledge of social skills. Teachers, parents, and students all perceived that student social skills improved over the course of the study. Students appeared to have maintained the improvements from both interventions over the maintenance periods. The participating teachers perceived that the combined intervention was more effective than the traditional intervention in improving maintenance of social skills. However, parents and students did not perceive any differences in the effectiveness of the two interventions or of the two interventions over time on improving students' social skills performance.

Social Networking Web Sites Teaching Appropriate Social Competence to Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

“…W. Maag, 2005). Therefore, students with EBDs cannot be left out of the equation when it comes to providing them with skills related to these new environments (Cumming, 2007;Fitzgerald, 2005;Mikami et al, 2007). These venues of interaction may provide students with the opportunity to participate in their own social competence development in ways that never before have been imagined.…”

Teaching Online Social Skills to Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

“…The goal of social skills instruction is to teach individual social skills to mastery, thereby improving a student's overall ability to interact socially within the environment. This increase in social competence often results in more positive outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (Cumming et al, 2008;Gresham, Sugai, & Horner, 2001;Maag, 2005).…”

“…Students with EBD often lack the general social skills needed to participate in both school and community environments (Fitzgerald, 2005;Grehsam, Sugai, & Horner, 2001; Hill & Coufal, 2005;Johns, Crowley, & Guetzloe, 2005;Lane et al, 2008;Mikami et al, 2007). In school, deficits in appropriate social skills have been linked to lack of peer relationships, deficits in academic subjects, low levels of engagement, and high drop-out rates (Cumming et al, 2008;Gresham, Sugai, & Horner, 2001;Gresham et al, 2010;Fitzpatrick & Knowlton, 2009;Hill & Coufal, 2005;Lane, Givner, & Pierson, 2004;Lane et al, 2008;Miller et al, 2005). As adults, people with EBD often experience difficulty finding and keeping employment (Elksnin & Elksnin, 2006;Lane, Givner, & Pierson, 2004) and run a higher risk of developing psychological disorders (Gresham et al, 2010).…”

“…This rejection can result in a lack of connection to school, which is related to attendance and engagement with instruction (Panacek & Dunlap, 2003). The lack of peer connection and ability to build interpersonal relationships has a direct impact on post-secondary opportunities (Cumming et al, 2008;. Elksnin and Elksnin (2006) stated that the most important skill needed to be successful at work is the ability to collaborate and communicate with others.…”

“…Effective social skills are essential for success within the school setting, during post-secondary transition, and for life beyond the boundaries of school (Cumming et al, 2008;Herbert-Myers, Guttentag, Swank, Smith, & Landry, 2006;Konold, Jamison, Stanton-Chapman, & Rimm-Kaufman, 2010;Segrin & Taylor, 2007). The use of effective and appropriate social skills by students at school can lead to positive peer and teacher perceptions, which often results in higher student achievement and positive feelings about school (Konold et al, 2010;McClelland, Morrison, & Holmes, 2000;Meier, DiPerna, & Oster, 2006;Segrin & Taylor, 2007;Warnes, Sheridan, Geske, & Warnes, 2005).…”