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Abstract

To investigate the usefulness of an in-school social skills program with learning disabled adolescents, 30 LD secondary students were equally divided into an experimental group and a control group. Both groups were pretested on the Piers-Harris Children s Self-Concept Scale and the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation—Behavior. The experimental group was part of a 16-week social skills awareness program that met five days a week, for one hour per day; the control group received no such treatment. The treatment consisted of discussion sessions using the Innerchange Human Development Program, which was supplemented by the Pal Filmstrip Series and the Guidance Associates Sound Filmstrips. Both groups were posttested on the same measurement scales used for pretests. Grade point averages also were investigated to see if there was any significant change during the experimental semester. Significant differences between groups were found on the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale and on the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior; no significant differences were found on grade point averages. It was concluded that sufficient evidence existed to support the effectiveness of social skills awareness programs in LD classrooms.

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Social Skills

Abstract

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References