Teaching Social Skills and Soft Skills to Kids with Diana Cortese

When we equip kids with the tools they need to develop positive peer relationships, we cause a ripple effect of prosocial behaviors resulting in not only more emotionally secure kids but stronger communities as well.  

Diana is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and former Special Education teacher dedicated to helping kids develop the 21st century social skills that will lead them to happier, healthier lives.

As both an educator and mom of two boys, she is deeply invested in the type of culture we are creating for our kids.  She developed and facilitated social skills groups in public schools at every grade level from preschool to high school. She believes so much in the power of social connection. She even created her own Social Skills Groups at South Bay Kids Connection!

Diane has used this as a model in creating the first of its kind - Social & Play Skills Group course.

Teaching the "soft skills" is more important than ever in today's fast paced, dynamic and nuanced social environments.  It's frustrating when our students don't transfer these social skills outside of the classroom.  Especially after pouring so much time and energy into teaching them.  

Our students all have differing abilities. It can be exhausting and time consuming trying to piecemeal a social learning curriculum together on the fly. How can we make sure that we are teaching the right social skills, in a way that kids will enjoy and retain when there is no one size fits all curriculum?

“All children can and deserve to succeed. But the skills to achieve success today have changed,” says Diana.

In this episode you will learn:

-What are soft skills? 

-Why are they so important now more than ever before?

- What our kids need to have to develop these skills? 

- Why we explicitly teach social and play skills? (instead of just waiting for them to develop)

-How we can teach social skills to our kids/students in a way that doesn't feel like work (for them)?

Check out her website for free activities -
https://www.teachsocialskills.com