50 Social Skills for Teens

[Badshah Mamun]

50 Social Skills for Teens

Our family understands some of the difficulties that can come with teaching social skills. We are working everyday to help teach my brother specific social skills. We have tried different ways to help him learn these skills. We have used modeling behaviors, talking through different situations, social stories, social situation cards, and videos to show the different social skills.

We have created a list of 50+ social skills that we feel are valuable for teens to learn as they start their transition into adulthood. We hope you can find this list helpful!

how to talk with peers
asking for help
accepting criticism
how to stay safe in new situations
understanding sarcasm
how to tell someone no
stranger safety
resisting peer pressure
problem solving skills
understanding how my actions affect others
understanding my own feelings
being able to understand feelings of peers
following directions
how to handle conflict with others
how to work as a group/team
how to listen to someone speaking
understanding nonverbal body language
understanding safety with social media/technology
safety with sex
safety with dating
how to talk about your own interests with peers
when it is appropriate to laugh/cry
when it is good to smile
how to show respect to others
good manners
how to show interest in what another person is talking about
how you would act around a "boss or authority figure"
how to talk with friends
how to act when we get mad
how to walk away from situations
how to act in a public area vs private area
how to act at a party
how to talk about your own strengths/weaknesses
how to ask for directions
how to call 911 if you are in danger
how to talk with or ask questions with doctors (medical appointments)
how to make a phone call to schedule something
how to talk on the phone
what your own body language looks like when talking with someone
how to go to the grocery store to purchase groceries
what to do when you are in danger
what to do if there was an active shooter (I wish I didn't even have to think about this situation)
what to do if you don't feel well (sick)
how to have a conversation with someone you don't know
how to speak up in a group
how to appropriately text someone on the phone
how to appropriately post information on social media
how to travel safely
accepting differences
how to stay on topic
showing empathy
how to get along with people you may not like
waiting in a line
patience

How can we help our loved ones learn social skills?
There are various ways we can help our loved one learn social skills. We all learn in different ways. We need to remember to have patience and kindness when working on these skills. Some social skills come easy to some and not for others. Be respectful and kind when working on these skills. Here are a list of ideas on ways you can work on social skills.

Model appropriate social behavior
Practice the social skills with adults and peers
Talk through different situations
Create social stories or social scripts for the situations
Become involved in social groups
Become involved in acting groups
Become involved in team building groups or high interest activities with peers
Participate in sports activities
Watch videos, showing how to work on the social skills

Source: https://learningforapurpose.com/2018/03/22/50-social-skills-for-teens/