Students with physical disabilities may feel isolated or rejected by classmates and sometimes by school staff in the classroom. By providing social skills training and intervention strategies, teachers and peers can support and engage in appropriate social engagements with students who have physical disabilities and help these students with appropriate social engagements. There are identified social skill deficits that students may have that contribute to feelings of social isolation and social interventions that can change those dynamics.
Social Skills Deficits
Teachers should identify the social skill deficits and scaffold social learning opportunities and training to address student needs. If the student's IEP (Individualized Education Plan) provides for assistive technology, then teachers are required to implement the necessary technology in the classroom. Software technology that provides tutorial support for students could include Webkins at www.webkins.com that allows elementary students interactive social skills' training in conversational prompts and appropriate engagement.
A skill-based approach to social skill acquisition could address dealing with peer interactions and group collaboration on projects along with providing social modeling and coaching training for students with physical disabilities to practice appropriate social engagements. Other social skills deficits that students could practice would include proper communication skills, conflict resolution or getting academic or behavioral needs met in the classroom.
Social Skills Interventions
- Teachers should use the direct approach in teaching social skills. By providing social skill inclusion in instructional engagement, teachers can directly engage students in developing and practicing the appropriate social skills in the classroom.
- By providing problem-solving opportunities or social skill scenarios that students can engage in and reflect on, teachers can make cooperative learning fun for all students in the classroom.
- Have students keep reflective journals and write in it how they would handle specific social skill prompts such as handling conflict with another student or asking for help in moving around the classroom.
- Create peer support groups so that students with physical disabilities can have friends in the class who make them feel welcome and supported during social engagements and group projects.
- The student's IEP should provide social skills needing additional interventions and the necessary interventions that could be used to promote and develop student's social skills and peer interactions.
Students with physical disabilities are no different than other students who need to develop social skills and peer engagement in the classroom. The more inclusive social skill instruction is for students in their daily routine and learning expectations, the greater student response will be in meeting their own social needs, in and out of the classroom.