Social Skills

Social skills are essential for ākonga who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision, as they enable a sense of connection and the development of friendships and support networks. These are vital for long-term wellbeing. Participation allows individuals to observe, learn, and use new social skills, to nurture existing relationships and build new ones. Developing self-esteem and self-advocacy is key to positive self-identity, helping individuals value their strengths and understand their weaknesses. This fosters resilience and perseverance. Awareness of differing cultural and social contexts, and the ability to generalise skills across various situations, enhances social connections and overall wellbeing.

What ākonga will understand, know and do across their learning pathways

As ākonga develop social skills, capabilities and knowledge they come to understand that:

• Social participation and engagement encourages connection for growing and maintaining shared relationships.
  • The development of friendships and support networks is important to the long-term wellbeing of all adults and ākonga. Social participation helps people to observe, learn and use new social skills throughout life, to nurture existing relationships and build new ones.
• Developing and maintaining self-esteem and advocacy are key to positive self-identity.
  • Self-esteem encourages people to appreciate their strengths and recognise their weaknesses. This can build resilience and perseverance. Taking proactive steps can help access opportunities and resources. Self-advocacy means expressing your needs, preferences, and rights, which supports learning, personal growth, and wellbeing. Personal identity is always changing. Through different experiences, people understand their place in the world.
• Knowledge and capability in social skills helps when relating to a wide range of people from differing cultures and in different social settings.
  • Expectations around behaviour change according to developmental stage, culture, situation and familiarity of the situation. The ability to transfer skills across various situations and groups can create social connection. People have thoughts and feelings that differ from each other. Recognising these differences can encourage understanding and the ability to share the feelings of others and strengthen relationships.

Know – Content and Concepts

As ākonga develop social skills, capabilities and knowledge they come to know that:

• Engagement and participation
  • Being able to engage and participate in a group in a range of social and cultural settings contributes to a fulfilling life.
• Connecting and engaging
  • The way they use their body and voice influences the way they connect and engage with others.
• Personal identity is about how they see themselves and how they think others see them
  • Personal identity is important because it affects behaviour, decisions, and interactions, helping them understand their place in the world and giving them a sense of purpose.
• Self-expression
  • Being able to express thoughts and needs, through real life experiences, contributes to meaningful connection.
• Exposure to culture and social settings
  • Having exposure to a range of people, cultures and social settings, deepens understanding of a range of behaviours and increases knowledge of how to manage thoughts and feelings when interacting with others.

As ākonga develop social skills, capabilities and knowledge they will be able to:

• Actively listen, paying close attention to what others are saying without interrupting, showing that they are engaged through gesture and responding.
• Demonstrate an awareness of non-verbal cues, which may support social connectedness, approachability and engagement. 
• Ask questions, knowing that showing interest in others encourages conversation.
• Express their thoughts and feelings clearly and concisely while also trying to understand and share the feelings of others.
• Advocate for themselves – expressing their needs and opinions confidently and respectfully.
• Regulate behaviours, thoughts and emotions in a productive way.

BLENNZ teachers will have the knowledge and skills to:

• Understand social skills development and that these are the foundation of all behaviour.
• Interpret the communicative intent of behaviour.
• Understand the impact that low vision, blindness and deafblindness may have on social skills development.
• Understand and recognise the multisensory aspect of receiving and interpreting social information.
• Work as part of a team to foster the development of social skills starting with the parents and whānau and others depending on context.
• Promote positive social inclusion which may include modelling and facilitating social interaction with peers within the ākonga community and across BLENNZ.
• Promote the development of environments to foster self-esteem, self-identity and self-advocacy.