Abstract

For social success a student must not only demonstrate social competence but have the ability tointegrate emotional intelligence EI and executive functioning EF as well January Casey Paulson 2011 Communicative effectiveness is often hindered in students with deficits in these areas To address these challenges it is not uncommon for this population to participate in a myriad of interventions collectively referred to as social skills training SST These types of interventions are frequently provided within the context of a one-on-one setting or a small group referred to as a social skills group SSG Moore Montgomery 2007 To date SST provided through a SSG service delivery format has been conceptually viewed as a modelfor younger students and or students with proficient language skills and limited interfering behaviors Cook et al 2008 The purpose of the current study was to determine if modifications to an SST curriculum teaching emotional learning through self-regulation and selfawareness as well as the development of EF skills provided in SSG service delivery format could be effective for students with moderate to severe communication deficits