As part of the initial assessment, participants engage in a Social Skills and Effective Communication Assessment that targets their ability to cope with common social stressors; identify emotions and the triggers for those emotions; respect the personal boundaries of various groups of people; and engage in basic and complex conversations with community members, staff, and peers. Participants work on social skills through a blend of facilitated discussion, role playing, and real-time modeling in the community.
Example: A participant has a tendency to interrupt other people’s conversations, and becomes extremely upset and yells when other people interrupt her conversations. She has goal of being pleasant toward others and respectfully asserting herself when others do things that bother her. Through role playing she practices waiting appropriately for a conversation to be over before responding to others when they interrupt her. She then practices these skills in real-life situations.