This document provides suggestions for teaching social skills to students with emotional disabilities. It recommends selecting lessons based on age, ability level, and IEP goals, and teaching one skill at a time until mastery. Lessons should address both general skills like character and task management, and specific skills targeting recent behavioral incidents. Teachers are advised to model skills, allow practice through role playing and technology, provide feedback, and collect data on mastery before moving to the next skill.

1. SOCIAL SKILLS
INSTRUCTION
Suggestions for teachings
social skills to students with
emotional disabilities

2. WHAT TO TEACH
- Social skills lessons can come from many sources
- Consider age and ability level
- Select lessons related to IEP goals
- Select lessons related to desired replacement behavior
- Teach one skill until it is mastered

3. WHEN TO TEACH
As a general skill
– Lessons of character, task management
In response to a behavioral incident
- Strategies for managing anger/aggression
- Strategies for reducing “shut down” behavior
As a maintenance skill
- Lesson for problem solving, conflict resolution

4. HOW TO TEACH
- Address skills targeting recent behavioral incidents
first
- Provide time for modeling and practice
- Role play and/or technology use
- Review the lesson several times
- Get feedback from the student on how they are
using the skill
- Give specific positive feedback when the student
demonstrates the skill
- Collect data on the mastery of the skill
- Once mastered, over to another specific or
general social skill