• UPPER 4: Scenario and Social Plan Example
Other Uses of Social Engagement & the Steps to Being Social
Summary
APPENDICES
Social Engagement & the Steps to Being Social
The Four Skill Sets
• FOUNDATION
• LOWER 4 Steps to Being Social
• MIDDLE 4 Steps to Being Social
• UPPER 4 Steps to Being Social
Social Plan
Thank You
REFERENCES
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Social skills are essential to life success. In school, good social skills boost academic performance; increase students’ interest in learning; improves learner behavior; prevents and reduces bullying; and improves school climate (cf. Civic Enterprises et al, nd). At work, social skills are essential to employment success with recent trends revealing that requirements for social competence in the workplace have increased dramatically. Moreover, employment and wage growth is strongest in jobs that require high levels of both cognitive and social skills (cf., Deming, 2015).
Despite the recognition that social skills contribute heavily to life success, few curricula have focused on the skills that are foundational for social skills acquisition. Even fewer have addressed the needs of individuals across the spectrum—from a classic presentation to those with average-to-above average intelligence.
This wonderful book fills this void. It begins with instructional strategies for the most basic social skills; self-regulation, shared space with a skilled partner, shared pleasure, and shared focus. It then moves to strategies that address skills that range from proximity to growing connections. The book is (a) solid, (b) evidenced-based, (c) focused on the research in social engagement, (d) practical, and (e) easy to read and implement. Social Engagement & the Steps to Being Social is one of those rare books that can benefit the reader who is new to social skills instruction and the user who is a veteran instructor.
This book should be in every classroom and every job development site. It should be available to parents who foster the social development of their child and it should also be accessible to individuals on the spectrum so that they understand the complexity of engagement and social skills. I cannot recommend this book enough.
When asked to write the foreword for Social Engagement & the Steps to Being Social, I planned to read rapidly through it to gain an impression. However, I found the content so intriguing that I slowed my reading to ensure that I learned the information presented here and even read the book a second time. I know that you will do the same!
—Brenda Smith Myles, Ph.D.The Ziggurat Group
References
Agran, M., Hughes, C., Thoma, C. A., & Scott, L. A. (2014). Employment social skills: What skills are really valued? Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 39(2), 111-120.
Civic Enterprises, Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Bridgeland, J., Bruce, M., & Hariharan, A. (nd). The Missing Piece: A National Teacher Survey on How Social and Emotional Learning Can Empower Children and Transform Schools. A Report for CASEL. Washington, DC; Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning.
Deming, D. J. (2015). The growing importance of social skills in the labor market (No. w21473). National Bureau of Economic Research.
We began working together in 1987, providing occupational and speech-language therapy co-treatments for children who had sensory processing and communication struggles, including those with autism. As young therapists, we worked very hard to address the needs of the many amazing children we worked with and learned from week to week. Over time, however, we understood that there was something we had not studied in school or even thought much about that was an important link to success for so many. We realized that we needed to learn how to teach children not only motor and communication skills, but also how to use those skills in relationships with other people.
Over the past 25 years, we have been on a journey to discover, describe, and teach “social skills.” The model presented in this book has had many incarnations, from checklists to diagrams; we even conceived it as a picture frame one especially creative year! As we began conceptualizing the steps, we learned that each step should be broken down into still others, allowing for the opportunity to analyze “being social” and support those for whom it does not come naturally. As you will see, the “steps” are more of an escalator, ever moving and influenced by much that happens within the day-to-day interactions of a real person’s life.
Before we begin, we offer a few comments to help navigate the content. First, words associated with the model and used to communicate the specific definitions provided therein are in boldface, italicized, and capitalized. These include FOUNDATION, ENGAGEMENT, READY, LOWER 4, MIDDLE 4, and UPPER 4. The book is divided into four areas representing the skill sets of the model: FOUNDATION, LOWER, MIDDLE, and UPPER 4. Within each area is a description of the skills encompassed there, along with vignettes describing the social world of one individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). At the end of each section, skills are broken down into smaller sub-steps. Evidence-based practices (EBPs) to support the skills in each area are then described, followed by a case study. After FOUNDATION, you will find a description of general strategies that support ENGAGEMENT. At the end of LOWER, MIDDLE, and UPPER 4, one sample intervention objective and activity to match each step is provided. Note that these are included as a framework for developing activities for intervention and meant to spark your own creativity as you support the development of social skills at each step across people and settings in a variety of ways.
It is our hope that people who have an interest in promoting social skills – family members, teachers, therapists, and the individuals they care about so deeply—will find Social Engagement & the Steps to Being Social to be a meaningful and practical guide. Our goal is to address both a growing understanding of the nature of what it means to be in social relationships with others and how to “step on” to the learning process on any given day and over time. Indeed, as we have learned from many extraordinary teachers, the process can be exhilarating!
Why Are Social Skills So Important?
Have you ever had time with a friend that you have not seen in years and been amazed by the experience of picking up just where you left off? Natural conversation highlights the magic of reciprocal social interaction that is both self-sustaining and mutually satisfying. The ease of these moments can mask the dynamic interplay of the subtle yet complex skills required.
Social skills are the skills we use to communicate our
