Why don't most schools offer social skills sessions?

[Anonymous]

I keep hearing this complaint over and over again that kids have social skills as goals in IEP but most schools are completely inflexible about providing any actual help like a lunch session. Instead they claim they are helping with the goals as push in services by the gen ed teacher which the gen ed teacher never provides.

I've heard this from enough parents at every school DC has attended to know that there would be tons of kids who need this Why are they so resistant to providing actual instruction as part of the IEP?

If your child's school has sessions how did they get set up in the first place and how do they work?

[Anonymous]

My kid in NOVA had lunch sessions. Not sure they were value added but they were there.

[Anonymous]

Yes, OP. It's infuriating. In my experience, teachers are super reluctant to give up their downtime.

Following for thoughts, suggestions, support.

[Anonymous]

School schedules are usually pretty tight and there isn't room to add another class. Lunch time groups are one way to go but the school has to have available staffing to cover these. You might have better luck asking for an afterschool class. Our school has some enrichment classes that meet in the immediate afterschool period. Parents have to pay for them, but it would be much cheaper than an outside of school individual session if a group could get together and ask the school to organize it through an outside provider. Our school does this for kids who need more speech services than the school can provide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP. It's infuriating. In my experience, teachers are super reluctant to give up their downtime.

Following for thoughts, suggestions, support.

I mean, I wouldn’t be eager to give up one of the few minutes in the work day I had to pee and gobble down some lunch. We need more professionals in the schools to do this sort of intervention, not expect that teachers should give up their bathroom breaks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP. It's infuriating. In my experience, teachers are super reluctant to give up their downtime.

Following for thoughts, suggestions, support.

The horrors!!!

[Anonymous]

Because “social skills classes” are not actually not all that evidence-based and are not a related service that most districts include. It could fall within the purview of a social worker pull-out but it’s weird that you think extra hours could be added to the general ed teacher’s schedule for it. Furthermore, the best way (only way?) to improve social skills is through real life practice, so the best approach would be a lunch bunch or a group pull-out, or in fact a general ed teacher who is given consultation on how to encourage socializing in the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP. It's infuriating. In my experience, teachers are super reluctant to give up their downtime.

Following for thoughts, suggestions, support.

As a special ed teacher, I can tell you there's no downtime. What you are asking is that the teacher give up their one block of time they can use to meet with a colleague to plan interventions for students, observe a student in the lunch room to problem solve behavior, call a parent about an urgent concern, etc . . . The teacher has probably made a judgment that those things are of greater benefit to students than working on social skills outside of the natural environment where generalization is rare. I'm not saying that is, or isn't true. I don't know the kid in question, or the other kids whose needs they are balancing. But that's likely what the teacher is thinking.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure what school system you are in...but FCPS does offer social skills groups. Many students have social skills goals. Some are addressed via pull-out groups for explicit teaching and lessons on social skills. Some are addressed in the general education setting by a special education teacher. Social skills should definitely be addressed by general education teachers too in the general education setting in those "teachable moments" with peers.

[Anonymous]

Also adding that students need help to generalize social skills and apply them to real life situations with peers- so during the classtime is very appropriate for teachers to work on social skills. Students also cannot miss class or be pulled out of the LRE unless it is required. And there is only so much time in the day for students to receive instruction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also adding that students need help to generalize social skills and apply them to real life situations with peers- so during the classtime is very appropriate for teachers to work on social skills. Students also cannot miss class or be pulled out of the LRE unless it is required. And there is only so much time in the day for students to receive instruction.

I agree with this. I am grateful for the social skills groups my DS got in elementary because he made friends with the other kids. But in retrospect he missed a lot of class and had so many pullouts that I think he was confused about how school actually works (you do the work the teacher assigns in class). It took him quite a while to figure this out in MS and I had to decline all pullouts except the one he really needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP. It's infuriating. In my experience, teachers are super reluctant to give up their downtime.

Following for thoughts, suggestions, support.

You mean they want to be paid for each hour they work?! What is this, a democracy?!

I agree we need more programming in this area (and many areas impacting SN kids like mine). But the whole point is that it needs to be systemic and a well-planned curriculum - not at the whim of a teacher who does her best to throw advice to my kid on her lunch break or whatever. Even though it’s great that she is trying, she shouldn’t have to do that and it isn’t the gold standard anyway.

[Anonymous]

This is one way nonpublics are different. When we were in public the guidance counselor was supposed to do programming like this but instead spent her time organizing charity drives. I still hate her for doing this and ignoring the kids in special education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I keep hearing this complaint over and over again that kids have social skills as goals in IEP but most schools are completely inflexible about providing any actual help like a lunch session. Instead they claim they are helping with the goals as push in services by the gen ed teacher which the gen ed teacher never provides.

I've heard this from enough parents at every school DC has attended to know that there would be tons of kids who need this Why are they so resistant to providing actual instruction as part of the IEP?

If your child's school has sessions how did they get set up in the first place and how do they work?

Because it's the parents responsibility.

[Anonymous]

The general teacher doesn't have time, OP. Please understand this. They're worked off their feet.

My kid is now in college, and what he had was a group conversation pull-out that was billed as "speech therapy" on his IEP, but was actually a social skills class for kids with autism and ADHD. It was led by the the smartest, most experienced, SLP I have ever known. She was a treasure. She taught all the basics of autistic-friendly communication, with imagery to help them be less inflexible in their thinking. My kid could not tell me much about his day, but he did tell me about her group and what they did there.

She retired some years ago. I am sure she bettered the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of students in her long career.

We tried private social skills groups, and none were helpful. I think it really comes down to the individual person and how good they are at their job.