understanding what social skills kids need

We often don't give it a second thought as to how we know a certain look or gesture someone has. This is because it comes naturally to many of us. social skills are often broken down into categories, or types of skill according to the level of complexity and interaction. An example of one way of categorizing social skills is by this list below.
Social Skills Our Kids Need:

Foundation Skills: Basic social interaction Ability to maintain eye contact, maintain appropriate personal space, understand gestures and facial expressions
Interaction Skills: Talk to the kids! Skills needed to interact with others Resolving conflicts, taking turns, learning how to begin and end conversations, determining appropriate topics for conversation, interacting with authority figures.
Affective Skills: Skills needed for understanding oneself and others Identifying one's feelings, recognizing the feelings of others, demonstrating empathy, decoding body language and facial expressions, determining whether someone is trustworthy.

Cognitive Skills: Skills needed to maintain more complex social interactions Social perception, making choices, self—monitoring, understanding community norms, determining appropriate behavior for different social situations.
(Canney and Byrne, 2006; Waltz, 1999)
Every one's social skill profile is different. That's what makes us all unique! But sometimes there are problems that arise with our children we just can't put our finger on...or even know what to look for. If you have a child in your care you have a concern about. Be sure to ask a parent to talk to the child's pediatrician.