4 Tips on Taking Data During Social Skills Group

 Taking data during social skills group can be a challenge. Generally, group sessions are more chaotic than one-on-one therapy sessions, and with more kids running around, it can be seriously hectic. Here are a few tips on how to get those data points in before the end of the day:

1. Be ready

n  Try to set out data sheets before kids start arriving, and review goals so you can address whatever questions you may have about a given goal or program. Getting your data sheets ready early prevents a little bit of the stress that comes with the start of the day, and knowing you’re already on top of data can help put you in a confident mindset that you might find yourself valuing when one of your kids has just thrown your glasses across the room for the 11^th time.

2. Narrow your goals

n  Any kid can have a ton of programs in their therapy binder, so pick the goals that are most appropriate for group and reinforce social skill building. You probably aren’t going to be able to fit math drills into the schedule in between art time and team relay race, but you can definitely practice intraverbal skills or manding. Narrow your goals to what fits best for social group, and make sure they’re appropriate for an environment where there’s going to be a lot of peer interaction. If one of the goals involves a kid being separated from the group for extended periods of time, it’s probably not the best goal to be working on during social group. Your social group goals should be ones that could naturally be accomplished during the normal course of group play. For more information on individualizing goals for social group, check out our post here.

3. Make sure you know your goals!

n  Make sure you know goals for each of the kids, and what counts as a correct versus a prompt in the data box. It is always a good idea to precisely define correct and incorrect responses so there is no confusion. Find ways to remember all the various goals that your kids have, whether you’re working with specifically one kid out of the group or several. I sometimes write abbreviated versions of my kid’s goals for the day on my hand in washable marker so that I can glance at it throughout the day and wash it off before I leave. Post-it-notes, symbols, or just plain memorization work just as well. While the goals are already written down, it’s a good idea for you to have some way to remember them easily.

4. Find time to take data!

n  Finding time to actually record data can feel impossible in the middle of activities. Correct trials or prompt marks are probably best recorded as they occur at the risk of forgetting exactly what happened, but written summaries of behavior, demeanor, and activities can be written during any semi-down time you have. Good times to get some of that writing in are during lunch or snack time, as most kids will probably be preoccupied with eating. Timed reinforcement periods, if you have any, when your kid will be busy playing with whatever preferred object serves as their reinforcement during social group are also a great time to hunker down with a pen and one ear out for commotion and get some of your writing done. Take some time to figure out the natural flow of the day-when do you need to be most actively involved? When are there a few minutes to jot down some notes? It’s going to be rushed no matter what, but the rush of social group is what makes it fun!