2. Define skills.

Skills are the abilities to do something well. They are required to perform everyday tasks. Skills can be categorised in several ways, for example, fine motor and gross motor skills, or skills to type. Certain skills are innate, and some of them are acquired.

3. What is your understanding of social skills and their relevance?

• Social skills are interpersonal behaviours which are learned or acquired by individuals and are important for establishing and maintaining socially rewarding relationships.
• A person is considered socially competent when they can engage in socially appropriate behaviour with others and is aware of their actions in relation to self and others.
• Communication is an important component of social skills, including both expressive and receptive domains. Expressive communication includes the content of speech, pitch of voice, and rate of speaking. Receptive communication involves understanding subtle cues in conversation.
• Social skills are necessary because individuals who lack them may find it difficult to interact positively with others and their self-esteem may be low.
• The foundation for learning social skills is laid during childhood, through socialisation, observing others, and receiving feedback on their actions.
• Social skills broadly aim at maintaining and establishing relationships, but some behaviours depicting social skills differ from culture to culture.

4. Define social skills therapy.

• Social skills therapy is a set of standard behavioural techniques or learning activities that enable children, adolescents and adults to establish or restore practical skills in domains required to meet the interpersonal, self-care, and coping demands of community living.
• It is given to those individuals (adults or children) who have social skills deficits in certain domains.
• It follows behavioural principles of learning, such as modelling, role-playing and reinforcement.

5. What are the pre-requisites before social skills therapy is planned?

• Before planning social skills therapy, an objective assessment of the patient's actual difficulties while interacting or relating with others needs to be undertaken.
• The severity of the disorder also needs to be assessed to help set realistic goals, and make an accurate assessment of the individual's capacity to acquire new skills.

6. Discuss modelling as a technique for social skills therapy.

• Modelling, also known as observational learning, is based on behavioural principles of learning.
• It involves a model who demonstrates a particular behaviour, and the individual who wants to learn the behaviour observes the model.
• Modelling can be done using live or symbolic models.
• Through this technique, desirable behaviours and social skills can be learned, and fears can be eliminated.

7. How will you ensure that generalisation of social skills is undertaken to the real-world setting from the therapeutic setting?

• To ensure the transfer of skills from the clinic setting to the real world, several steps can be taken:
  • The client should be explained the rationale, rules, and strategies for using the skills.
  • Enough time should be given for the practice of new skills correctly.
  • The client should be given opportunities to practice new skills in varied interpersonal settings.
  • Reinforcements should be given to the client on practicing appropriate behaviour.
  • Focus on developing internal reinforcement of the client.
  • Give frequent home-works to the client, focusing on practising the desired behaviour, involving family members to simulate situations at home.

8. Briefly describe some of the techniques that can be used to enhance the social skills of a child with ADHD.

• Social skills therapy for children with ADHD focuses on:
  • Helping children acquire appropriate social skills.
  • Making them aware of their behaviours, strengths, and limitations.
  • Enabling children to efficiently use social skills in different settings.
• The techniques for social skills training for children with ADHD often involve group settings.
• Parents and teachers are often coached to create a positive and responsive environment, using role-plays to demonstrate effective behaviours for interacting with the child.
• Techniques such as giving clear commands, and contingency management schedules for reinforcing positive behaviour are also taught to parents and teachers.

9. Outline the social skills deficit faced by children with autism.

• Children with autism often have varying levels of difficulty in social interaction. Key aspects of these difficulties include:
  • Inability to develop eye contact.
  • Failure to develop age-appropriate peer relationships.
  • Lack of social and emotional reciprocity.
• Communication skills of children with autism are often impaired, which includes delays in developing language, difficulty in initiating or maintaining conversations, difficulty understanding non-verbal cues, and repetitive use of language.

10. How does 'therapeutic community' help in developing social skills in individuals with Schizophrenia?

• A therapeutic community (TC) is a mostly residential setting that aims to rehabilitate individuals with chronic disorders, such as schizophrenia, by enhancing their social and vocational skills.
• It uses a community model, with an increased emphasis on group activities, such as community meetings and group psychotherapy sessions.
• In a TC, members make a commitment to follow the rules of the community, use resources effectively, and help each other get well.
• Open discussions are encouraged, and members are given the space to express themselves freely.
• Structures like mentor groups and buddies are implemented to encourage the development of interpersonal relationships.
• TCs also promote the development of self-reliance, responsibility and empowerment by providing residents the opportunity to take on various tasks related to the running of the community.

11. What precautions are undertaken while conducting social skills therapy?

• Before planning social skills therapy, an objective assessment of the patient's actual difficulties while interacting or relating with others needs to be undertaken and the severity of the disorder needs to be assessed.
• Therapists should move at a pace that does not overwhelm the client by focusing on changing too many behaviours at one time.
• Therapists should be cautious that patients do not feel inadequate for their present level of social skills.
• The therapy should have a clear focus.
• The therapy is complete only when the skill learned in therapy transfers to real-life situations, which depends on the client's motivation.