Promoting social competence in deaf students: the effect of an intervention program

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a social skills training program on the social skills and social behaviors of deaf children in a mainstream setting. The study used a pretest/posttest design. The participants consisted of 18 severely and profoundly hearing-impaired children (ages ranged from 9;1 to 13;6) who were enrolled in three elementary schools in the Canary Islands. Results indicated that the intervention succeeded in improving students' social problem-solving skills, especially in making comprehensible the steps implied in the solution of interpersonal problems; the intervention also led to significant improvement of deaf students' assertive behavior as rated by their teachers and by themselves. Significant differences in social or academic integration as judged by companions in a sociometric questionnaire were not found.