Why are social skills so important?

I have been working with a colleague this week on a social skills program our sister organization, Turning Tides Community Outreach, would like to offer to high-risk kids in a low-income part of Halifax.  As part of that work, I have been taking a closer look at social skills and the many ways we rely on them to be successful.  I don't mean knowing what fork to use at dinner in a fancy restaurant.  Social skills help us know what to say, how to behave, and how to make good choices in a variety of situations.  When you think about it, those skills are criticial to successful functioning in life.  Earlier this week, I did some research on the National Association of School Psychologists website, and thought I'd share a bit of what I learned about social skills. 

Rhonda

Most kids pick up positive social skills every day through interactions with adults and other kids.  But not every child has positive role models, and others are unable to model what they see every day due to a learning disability or other cognitive impairment.  Poor social skills can affect academic performance, behaviour, social and family relationships and involvement  in extra curriculular activities. 

Here's some info from the NASP website on the consequences of poor social skills.

Students with poor social skills have been shown to:

• Experience difficulties in interpersonal relationships with parents, teachers, and peers.
• Evoke highly negative responses from others that lead to high levels of peer rejection. Peer rejection has been linked on several occasions with school violence.
• Show signs of depression, aggression and anxiety.
• Demonstrate poor academic performance as an indirect consequence.
• Show a higher incidence of involvement in the criminal justice system as adults.

The good news is that social skills can be taught.  At Bridgeway, Social Skills classes are part of the everyday curriculum for our kids because it's an area that students with learning disabilities and ADHD struggle with.  For many of our students, direct instruction of social skills have made a huge difference in their social relationships, behaviour and academic performance.

What do kids learn in a social skills class?  They learn about the importance of first impressions, introductions and small talk.  They learn to evaluate friendships and possible new friends, and how to behave and communicate with those friends (taking turns, listening, etc.).  They learn to extend invitations, be aware of the feelings of others, and how to communicate.  They learn how to problem solve, make choices, set personal boundaries and avoid fights.  Kids become more aware of themselves and others, and begin to overcome some of the barriers to success they had faced before because of their poor social skills.

What happens when kids have positive social skills?  Here are some of the consequences, again from NASP:

With a full repertoire of social skills, students will have the ability to make social choices that will strengthen their interpersonal relationships and facilitate success in school. Some consequences of good social skills include:

• Positive and safe school environment.
• Child resiliency in the face of future crises or other stressful life events.
• Students who seek appropriate and safe avenues for aggression and frustration.
• Children who take personal responsibility for promoting school safety.

Social skills support is available for any child in HRM and Dartmouth through Turning Tides Community Outreach.  Even if you're outside of those areas, give Angela Rudderham a call at 902-404-TIDE (8433) for more information on how you can help the child in your life.