School and Social Skills

Until today I had never given thought to how a disability or a delay in reading or writing could affect ones social skills. It did not take me very long to realize that not being able to read or write at or above the level of your peers could have a hugely negative affect on your social skills.

Reading is the best way to increase vocabulary. Having a sufficient vocabulary to communicate what you want to say as well as to comprehend what is being said to you is incredibility important in social social situation. Writing is actually putting into words what you want to say, which is also very important in communication. Both reading and writing help students to learn how sentences should be structured.

As a teacher, if I were to encounter a student who was having difficulty with socialization due to delays in their reading or writing there are a few things that I would do. I would instigate more group work and place that student with children who were very effective and talkative communicators. I would also encourage their parents to read aloud to them at home, and do what I can to read aloud to the student myself or have an assistant do it when it was appropriate with the lesson. At that point I would also being writing letters to the student and ask that they write them to me in return. If the student is not comfortable with doing this I would provide them with a journal that they could write in and show me only if they wanted to.

I am sure that as I continue my education I will learn other ways to help students improve their socialization skills, and I will be sure to ask the teachers that I come in contact with if they have ever seen this and how they helped their students overcome it.