Signs Your Child May Benefit From Social Skills Therapy
How we use vocabulary, grammar, and body language are an important part of expressive and social language. As we learn the unspoken social rules that dictate appropriate behavior we greet friends differently than professionals, tell stories aware of the listener’s perspectives, and are constantly sharing and waiting to take our turn. Some children have difficulty understanding all these unspoken rules and need clear instruction to use social skills that help them succeed with peers.
Social skills are consistently targeted by caregivers and educators, who set expectations and support kids to follow them. If more support is needed, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and mental health professionals can get involved.
So, when does your child need specialized help?
- Severe dysregulation during transitions
- Consistent difficulty sharing and taking turns
- Limited interest in social interactions
- Overtaking conversations with preferred topics (i.e., perseveration)
- Acting out physically (e.g., hitting others)
What strategies are typically used in social skills therapy?
- Visual schedules and visual timers for smooth transitions
- Modeling and prompting across settings
- Social stories, both general and specific
- Video self-modeling of preferred skill
- Play with peers to generalize abilities
