Here are the instructions to practice social skills. Because practice makes perfect, we encourage you to do this with your parent. Again, it might feel cringy at first, but please try it out!
- Pick a social skill to practice: Think of a social skill you would benefit from working on. Review the skills in the four categories described on the Social Skills page and pick a relatively easier one to start.
- Find a time and place to practice: Determine a time and place that is ideal to practice this skill with your peers.
- Choose an appropriate reward: If you feel anxious about the task, work with your parent to come up with an appropriate reward for completing the task. Depending on the difficulty of the tasks, you may consider writing a mission plan.
- Role-play with your parent: Right before you are to engage in the task, role-play the skill with your parent. Play the part of your friend first, while your parent plays the role of your friend. Then, switch roles, and play yourself.
- Practice with a peer: Now it’s time to do it for real! Practice your skills with a peer or peers. Every once in a while, check in with your parent about how everything is going.
- Reward: Cash in on your reward!
- Reflect on the interaction: After practicing, reflect with your parent on how it went.
Planning a Social Coaching Mission Plan Step
Sally and her mom continued coming up with ideas for topics Sally could talk about or what might come up while Rita is comes over. Then, they role-played, with Sally’s mom playing Sally and Sally playing Rita. During this time, Sally’s mom modeled the target social behavior, which was asking questions about what Rita likes or finds interesting. After doing this a few times, they switched roles, and Sally played herself. They tried different variations of how the conversation could go, and before they knew it, Rita and her mom had arrived.
Now it’s your turn to practice preparing for a social coaching mission plan step. Use this Planning a Social Coaching Mission Step worksheet to pick a social skill to work on with your parent and plan out how you both will practice this skill together.
If you want to turn social coaching into an additional mission plan, use the Mission Plan Planning Worksheet to write out the mission plan with your parent!
