Helping Your Child Develop Social Skills through "Scripting"

So what is "scripting". It's simply a different term for role-playing. In this case, it's role-playing social scenarios and situations. And it can truly prepare your child for a world that's continuously socially demanding. If you help your child develop their social skills early, it will help them maintain friendships and important relationships throughout high school and college. Not only is social acceptance in large correlation with happiness and well-being, it's a known recipe for financial success (in the future). Teaching your child social skills is a long and tedious road, but this suggestion can really help out. Make it a weekly task, and make it game-like. Sit down and write out scenarios (ie: you had trouble on your homework and couldn't complete it, how should you tell your teacher tomorrow morning and should you ask for her help after school?). I hope that spawns a myriad of ideas through your head, because simple play-time task can truly help your child in a lot of ways.

• Thinking about their behavior before, during, or after acting or speaking
• Using appropriate eye contact, voice, tone, expression
• Respecting others' personal space
• Learning to participate appropriately in groups
• Being assertive without being pushy
• Handling peer pressure
• Being in control of their feelings
• Give and responding to criticism, constructive and not-so-constructive
• Disagreeing with others
• Settling conflict and mediating it
• Compromising and negotiating
• Dealing with failure or being left out (Mayo 1)

This sort of thing is applicable to all students, and I for one suggest it. That is, unless you know for sure your child is a sociable person already. But it is especially a great practice with students on the autism spectrum or with ADD, anxiety or depression. It can help them address their aggression, fear, and anxieties. At first, children will probably come off awkward during scripts. They are scripts, and it's hard to get a script down to begin with but eventually, your child will get the hang of it and become more spontaneous and comfortable. I'm not saying they'll become an actor, but this will help them find themselves, be themselves, and bring this ability to school and life. 

Who needs scripting?

Children who don't seem to fit in with others in class and school are easily identifiable by peers and teachers and may be isolated because of what they do or do not do. School can be a jungle for children like this, and this isolation could continue throughout their lifetime, causing grief and possibly maladjustment in school, delinquency, and problems as adults (Mayo 1). Socially different is a term that refers to students who have trouble maintaining social acceptance. They may have trouble with close encounters with unfamiliar others, poor eye contact, creating or closing conversations, and even self-control. Students with social skill deficits have a lack of knowledge, a lack of practice or feedback, a lack of cues or opportunities, a lack of reinforcement, and the presence of interfering behavior. Four components in training students with scripting include: modeling, role-playing, performance feedback, and transfer and training (Mayo 2).

What can a typical lesson provide?

Scripts should match life experience at home and in school. Discretely ask your teacher about your child's social behavior if you're worried and suspect them of having social difficulties. Find out what they are, and go over them during scripts. Basic social abilities, such as greeting someone or starting a conversation, are a great place to start off. Steady eye contact, conversation starting/stopping, and respecting personal space are all recommended to be taught in every script/role-play. Encourage your child to be open about their experiences so you can focus your scripts on bettering the future for them; help them understand how scripting will help them, even if it starts off strange. Keep pushing on with it if you feel it important. Be humorous in your scripts: this will help keep the child interested. The world loves humor, and your child will probably have a humor that mimics yours in some ways.

Resources

Mayo, Patty. Waldo, Patti. Spivey, Becky L. Super Duper Handy Handouts (2013):  http://www.superduperinc.com/handouts/pdf/366%20Scripting.pdf