Social Skills Prioritization: Gathering Consensus From Parents, Students, and Teachers

The ability to interact with others in socially appropriate ways is critical for functioning in the community, school, and at home. These interaction skills are considered to be a crucial component of social resiliency and are believed to be important developmental skills, particularly for children/youth with disabilities. This article discusses the prioritization process concerning the importance of specific social skills to be taught in school through the perceptions of parents, teachers, and students. This involves the participants viewing specific social skills with a focus on the importance of their usage within the contexts of home/community, school, and with peers. The collection of data from the three informant groups is discussed, and the building of consensus through the prioritization of the social skills is presented and illustrated. The resulting prioritization list of skills then determines the order of the skills to be taught through a social skills curriculum.