The effect of a self-management device on the acquisition of social skills in adolescent males with SED

Research on people with severe emotional disorders indicates that they often fail to thrive in career settings. When compared to those with other disabilities, this failure to thrive leads to inflated rates of incarceration and hospitalization. One of the reasons for this failure is that individuals have deficits in social skills that affect performance at the work place. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a self-management device on the acquisition of pre-vocational social skills. Eight male students with severe emotional disorders who demonstrated poor behavior in their career to work program were participants in this study. The students were trained to use hand-held computers to self-manage social skills relevant to the employment setting. The students gradually increased the use of the device in three different classroom settings including a vocational education class. Teachers used a point sheet at the end of each class to collect data on the extent to which social skills were displayed by students. A multiple baseline across settings single subject research design was used in the implementation of the intervention and in the analyses of the data. Results indicated that a self-management package that included a hand-held computer can assist students with SED to perform social skills identified by employers as critical for workplace success. Future implementations of the self-management device, including methods to increase social skill generalization and maintenance, are discussed.