Social Skills 101: 

These are a few articles I came across while searching new ideas.

Social skills and academic achievement.

What does the research have to say about social skills interventions and programs for children with disabilities? This Evidence for Education reviews the findings of research and includes examples of social skills interventions that can be applied in both classroom and home settings.

http://nichcy.org/research/ee/social-skills

Learning difficulties and social skills: What's the connection?
This article explores the meaning of social competence and how learning difficulties can affect a student's ability to read social cues and respond in ways that promote relationship building. Tips for parents on how to build their child's social skills are included.
http://tinyurl.com/afudzmv

Your child's social and emotional skills.
The National Center for Learning Disabilities offers this rich suite of resources on social skills and young people with learning disabilities.
http://www.ncld.org/parents-child-disabilities/social-emotional-skills

Social skills toolbox.
From Do2Learn, this robust toolkit focuses on improving social skills and behavior, and includes lots of graphic organizers and tools.
http://www.do2learn.com/organizationtools/SocialSkillsToolbox/index.htm

Teaching social skills to those who don't have them (yet).
Lots of useful insights and practical guidance in this article.
http://www.behavioradvisor.com/SocialSkills.html

PBIS World

This website is rich with resources on positive behavioral interventions and supports, with over 200 pages of content and lots of links to worthwhile articles and tools for addressing a wide range of student behavior issues. When you enter the site (via the link below), you'll see the many areas you can explore. "Lack of Social Skills" is one of them. But look at all the others!

http://www.pbisworld.com/

Michelle Garcia has the patent on Social Thinking. Kelly Bleckley's article "20+ Tips and Strategies for Volunteer and Group Leaders: Supporting Individuals with Social Learning Challenges in Your Group" offers practical advice and hands-on strategies any adult can use to make group activities go more smoothly. Kelly Bleckley is a speech-language pathologist who worked at the Social Thinking clinic in San Jose and is currently working in the private and public school setting in Marin County, CA. She is a volunteer in a youth program and is actively working with local organizations to help integrate and support students with social learning challenges. Read the full 10-page mini-guide article on SocialThinking.com and feel free to share it with group leaders in your community!