Social Skills For Individuals Research Articles

The assessment of social functioning in individuals with mental retardation: a review.

Social skills deficits and excesses are a defining aspect of mental retardation (MR). Research indicates that there is an established relationship between social skills and maladaptive behaviors. A number of studies demonstrate that the social competence of individuals with MR and comorbid psychopathology can be enhanced with social skills training. However, to design an effective training package, an accurate assessment of adaptive and social functioning must first be conducted. Unique problems arise when assessing social skills in individuals with severe and profound MR (i.e., individuals often have limited verbal repertoires). Thus, a clinician must often rely on observable behavior and caregiver report rather than self-report. The three most common methods for assessing social skills are behavioral observations, role-playing, and checklists. These assessment strategies will be discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.

The effects of antiepileptic medications on the social skills of individuals with mental retardation

Prevalence rates of epilepsy are much higher among persons with developmental disabilities compared to the general population. Anticonvulsant medication is the most common method of treating seizure disorders. Many of these antiepileptic medications (AEDs) are associated with various side effects, which may have detrimental effects on the social skills of those with developmental disabilities. The present study investigated the effects of AEDs on the social skills of individuals with mental retardation (MR) residing in an institutional facility. The social skills of 130 individuals were assessed by the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills for Individuals with sEvere Retardation (MESSIER). Sixty-five of these individuals were diagnosed with a seizure disorder and received only one AED at the time of this study. These individuals were taking one of three AEDs (carbamazepine, valproic acid, or phenytoin). Participants belonging to one of these three medication groups were matched with residents for age, gender, level of MR and race, who did not have seizures or receive AEDs. MESSIER scores of each medication group were compared to its respective control group. Those individuals receiving phenytoin presented less positive social skills than their matched counterparts in the phenytoin-control group.

Reliability of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills in Individuals with Severe Retardation (MESSIER).

Recently, the concepts of social competence and social skills have become important aspects of the evolving definitions of mental retardation. However, no psychometrically sound instruments exist for assessing social skills in lower functioning developmentally disabled people. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills for Individuals with Severe Retardation (MESSIER)--a new scale designed to measure social skills in adults with severe developmental disabilities. The authors conducted a preliminary evaluation of the test-retest and interrater reliability of the MESSIER. It was determined that the MESSIER has high stability across raters and good stability over time. In addition, good internal consistency was established with coefficient alpha. Potential uses for the scale and directions for future research are discussed.

Long term maintenance of language and social skills

This paper discusses long-term maintenance issues as they relate to the language and social skills of individuals with developmental disabilities and autism. Long-term follow-ups of echolalic and appropriate speech (upwards to 57 months) and social skills (8 years) will be presented as examples of what can be learned about maintenance from long-term follow-ups. A maintenance strategy will be presented that employs characteristics of early parent–typical toddler interactions as a means for prompting language impaired individuals to use physical/natural cues. The paper concludes with some recommendations regarding the study of maintenance. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An Examination of the Convergent Validity of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills for Individuals with Severe Retardation (Messier) with Sociometric Ranking

An Examination of the Convergent Validity of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills for Individuals with Severe Retardation (Messier) with Sociometric Ranking

Peer-mediated social-skills training and generalization in group homes

A multiple baseline across subjects design was used to evaluate generalization effects of a peer-tutoring procedure to teach social skills for individuals with developmental disabilities. Three residents with poor social skills living in community-based group homes served as participants in this study. Generalization data were collected during four conditions: (i) baseline (ii) social-skills training by therapist (iii) social-skills training by peer-tutor, and (iv) follow-up. Results demonstrated that participants did not generalize trained social skills to untrained settings (i.e., living room of a group home and community bowling alley) until the first participant was trained as a peer-tutor to train two other participants. These results were maintained 6 months after training was withdrawn. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.