What is the difference between Social Skills, Emotional Regulation & Social-Emotional Learning?
Social Skills can be Evaluated and Taught Directly
Social skills are very important to bolster feelings of connection, belonging and overall well-being. Children and teens who have difficulty socially can learn these skills through proper evaluation and targeted support. Our psychologists and speech language pathologists are able to evaluate skill areas that require development and teach skills to your child/teen or young adult. Evidence-based programs such as PEERS™ (used extensively in ASD), Friends for Life™ and Everyday Speech™ are used in one-on-one and small-group settings within our practice.
Emotional Regulation Difficulties are Challenging to Deal with Alone
Some children and teens have difficulty dealing with feelings and emotions such as anger, frustration, excitement and sadness. We can support you and your child/teen with emotional regulation challenges by providing support to parents/guardians (and teachers, as needed) so that they are better equipped to help with these challenges at home and school. Direct support is also provided to your child or teen by teaching emotional awareness and self-regulation strategies.
At Spirit, we tailor our intervention for SEL to your child/teen. Intervention may include a blend of evidence-based programs such as MindUp™ and Second Step™ in addition to home and school-based strategies.
Benefits of Social-Emotional Learning
An SEL approach helps children/teens process and integrate their social and emotional skills in home/school. According to research, social-emotional learning offers the following benefits:
Academic success.
Developing stronger social-emotional skills improves the academic performance of students. In a 2014 meta-analysis, SEL was shown to raise achievement scores by an average of 11 percentile points. The ‘soft skills’ that children/teens develop through SEL are shown to improve their attitudes towards home/school and as a result, increase their performance in the classroom. When a child/student knows that his or her feelings will be heard and respected, it’ll be easier for that child/teen to relax and focus at home/school.
Fewer behavioural problems.
Children/teens who have strong SEL skills are less aggressive and disruptive in home/school. Studies have shown that the long-term benefits of strong SEL skills are 10% fewer psychological, behavioural, or substance abuse problems by the time your child or teen reaches the age of 25. For example, if a child/teen can learn to find his or her voice and express anger appropriately, it could prevent him or her from acting inappropriately and damaging relationships.
Less emotional distress.
SEL children/teens also have fewer occurrences of depression, anxiety, stress and social withdrawal as evidenced by measures like the Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. Research suggests that SEL programs actually affect central executive cognitive functions which improves children/teens’ inhibitory control, planning, and ability to switch attention from one task to the other. Essentially, as children/teens practice the new behaviours that they learn in SEL programs, they develop stronger self-regulation skills.
Positive social behaviour.
Children/teens get along better with others, as reported by fellow students, teachers, parents, and independent observers. Social interaction skills and self-knowledge — essential for children/teens to develop and maintain positive, productive relationships with peers, parents and teachers— are hallmarks of SEL. Close relationships definitely make students want to perform better in school and engage more effectively at home.
SEL outcomes may seem quite straightforward or even intuitive. However, they actually need to be learned—mostly through observation, experience, and direct guidance. Not everyone has the opportunity to learn such concepts at home or school. SEL is a set of skills that are learned through time, patience and commitment from all involved and always in a safe and caring environment.
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Sources: http://www.casel.org/social-and-emotional-learning/ and Durlak, J., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The Impact of Enhancing Students' Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions (PDF). Child Development, 82(1), 405-432.
SEL is a process wherein individuals learn to acquire the tools, knowledge, and skillsets so that they can:
Understand and manage their emotions
Set and achieve positive goals
Feel and show empathy for others
Establish and maintain positive relationships
Make responsible decisions