Enhancing Social Competence Through Language

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Many developmentally delayed children may be handicapped as much by their social and physical environments as by their primary disabilities (Mittler & Berry, 1977). A corollary to this premise is that the limits of these children's social competence may be more a function of how they are treated and cared for than the direct effects of the disability itself. As a frame of reference for discussing problems inherent in everyday environments of developmentally delayed children, I have chosen to concentrate on one aspect of social competence: language or verbal skills. In this paper four objectives will be addressed: (1) provide a rationale for the relationship between verbal behavior and social competence; (2) describe two problem areas that hinder the attainment of functional verbal skills and thus enhanced social competence; (3) offer a common solution to both problems; and (4) provide an experimental demonstration of a simple application of the recommended solution with preschool developmentally delayed children.