Learning Disabilities
Curry School of Education
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Social Competence
Social competence refers to the skills necessary to be accepted and fulfilled socially. There is considerable evidence that social competence may present problems for some children with learning disabilities.
Some aspects of social competence include:
- peer relations: Peer relations is the extent to which same-age peers accept or reject other students; some students with learning disabilities have difficulties in relating well with their peers.
- self concept: Students with learning disabilities seem to have different levels of self-concept, or feelings of self-worth and -esteem in different areas. Their academic self-concept is often lower then their general or social self-concept. This fits with the characteristics of LD; individuals with LD have disparities between their general ability and their performance in academics; if they see themselves as O.K. in general but weak in academics, that is a pretty accurate self-evaluation.
- social skills: Social skills includes the skills to interact with others such as outgoing, initiating, and cooperating behavior.
- adult relations: Learning disabilities may effect a child's relationship with adults, most significantly teachers and parents.
- social perceptions: Children with learning disabilities may overlook or misinterpret social cues from others, causing them to display inappropriate or unexpected behavior.
- attributions: Attributions refers to people's ideas concerning the cause of events. These ideas influence social behavior. Students with learning disabilities may often attribute their successes and failures to factors such as luck or others' efforts rather than to their own efforts (e.g., working hard).
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This page developed by Holly and JohnL