Helping shy children through play. (c2012)

Abstract

The aim of this project was to investigate the effectiveness of integrating social skills training into group play therapy, specifically in a group of young shy children. This intervention program was applied for an estimated period of ten weeks with a sample that consists of eight children; four girls and four boys between six to seven years of age. The school psychologist used the Child Social Preference Scale (CSPS) to select the shy children. Then, parents and teachers completed the Child Social Preference Scale (CSPS) to measure children's shyness, and the Social Skills Assessment: Child Interviews was conducted to capture the child's perception in different social situations. The following project adopts the Social Skills Training Program developed by Schafer, Jacobsen and Ghahramanlou (2000) that comprises different games and group play therapy activities. Therefore, this intervention program is intended to improve and build children's social skills.