Behavioral Rehearsal

Description of the Strategy

According to the tenets underlying social learning theory, social skills may be markedly improved through observation and practice of relevant target behaviors, particularly when accompanied by accurate feedback. In behavioral rehearsal, the primary method for improving social skills in children, a facilitator first assists the child in identifying the social skill deficit to be addressed. This is usually accomplished by asking the child, or significant others who have observed the child in social situations, to report problems the child had experienced during social situations. Social skill deficits are also identified by observing the child in naturalistic settings (e.g., school playground, classroom, family dinner, basketball game) or during simulated social scenarios with a confederate. Deficits vary widely but are often related to problems in (a) responding appropriately to others who are rude or socially offensive in some way (i.e., negative assertion) and (b) initiating positive interactions (i.e., positive assertion).

Once the behavioral deficits are determined, the facilitator assists the child in generating behaviors that are likely to be socially effective (e.g., speaking clearly, providing a compliment, engaging other person in small talk) in the identified problem social situation (e.g., asking a girl for a date). Relevant social skills may be identified from outcome studies, brain-storming sessions with the child during an individual session, or from other children in a group setting. The facilitator models the identified skills with the child, portraying the other person in the scenario (e.g., girl to be asked for the date). Subsequent to this interaction, the child should be asked to first report the skills performed by the facilitator that were admired. The child should be given an opportunity to provide suggestions that might improve the facilitator's performance or that might be idiosyncratically effective for the child. The child is instructed to attempt the skills that were modeled while the facilitator enacts the role of the other person in the scenario. Immediately after the child's performance, the facilitator descriptively praises the specific skills that were performed well and asks the child to state what was liked about the performance. Feedback should also be provided that is relevant to improving the child's performance.[Page 740]In this process, it is best to ask the child what improvements could be performed, praise the child for these suggestions, and offer feedback relevant to further improvements that could be performed, if any. Last, the child should be assigned homework to practice the skills at home or school, including recording of the date, time, situation, behaviors that were practiced effectively, response of others to the practiced target behaviors, and experienced feelings consequent to the interaction.

The initial target skill should be a behavioral repertoire that the child will have the ability to acquire fairly quickly. As the child becomes accustomed to the procedures of behavioral rehearsal, additional skills should be taught. The complexity of the situations being rehearsed should be tailored to the developmental level of the child and should also generally increase in difficulty with practice and consequent skill development. Although the training may occur in group or individual sessions, the format is essentially the same.

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