There is research to support that social skills training for children can be effective (Spence, 2003) but there is also much research that states social skills training has limited benefit for children with social deficits, especially those children with concomitant issues resulting from ADHD or autism. (Sheridan & Dee, 1996; Frankel, Myatt, Cantwell, & Feinberg, 1997). Working with children in a one-on-one setting does not show particular effectiveness in helping them transfer learned skills to the home and school environments (Pfiffner & McBurnett 1997). Working in groups is necessary for change to take place (Maglione et al., 2012). “Stepping Stones Social Skill Development Program” is a social skills group therapy program for children and their parents. This study used the SSIS (Social Skills Improvement Survey) to compare the Social Skills levels of children that have just begun the program with children who have completed the program. Our results showed that children who have gone through the Stepping Stones program score significantly higher in 5 of the 7 subscales of the SSIS: Communication, Assertion, Empathy, Engagement, and Self-Control.
Cohen, Dov M., "The Efficacy of the Stepping Stones Social Skills Development Program" (2016). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 7075.
Bachelor of Arts
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2016 Dov M. Cohen