At a Glance
ABA social skills training helps children learn the skills they need to connect with others, such as starting conversations, taking turns, sharing, and understanding others’ feelings. A BCBA breaks each skill into small steps, teaches it through modeling and practice, and reinforces progress so your child can use it with real friends and family.
- Four main areas: communication, play and peer interaction, understanding emotions, and solving social problems.
- How it’s taught: behavioral skills training, natural environment teaching, visual supports, and role-play or video modeling.
- Eye contact is never forced — engagement can look many ways.
- Goals are chosen with your family and reflect your child’s interests.
- Practice happens in therapy, at home, in groups, and at school.
What Are Social Skills in ABA Therapy?
Saying hello, joining a game, and letting a friend know how you feel are everyday actions children use to connect. Social skills ABA programs help your child learn and practice those actions, building on what they already know.
Your child’s interests and wishes matter when choosing goals. The aim is to help them build relationships that feel good to them, without asking them to change who they are or socialize like everyone else. You and your child have a say in what they work on.
Which Social Skills Does ABA Target?
Every child’s plan looks different, but most ABA social skills goals fall into four areas.
Communication and conversation
For one child, starting a conversation might mean using a single word or sign. Another might be working on keeping the conversation going. Responding to their name and noticing body language or tone of voice also fit here. Read more about how ABA builds communication skills.
Play and peer interaction
Joining a game takes practice, as does waiting for your child to take a turn. ABA can help your child work on these skills, share materials, and cooperate in a group. The aim is to make playing with other kids feel more comfortable and fun.
Understanding emotions
Your child may practice naming their own feelings or noticing how someone else might feel. This work supports emotional regulation: understanding a feeling is often the first step toward managing it.
Solving social problems
A friend won’t share, or says “no” when your child asks to play. ABA can help your child practice handling these small conflicts and asking for help, so they have a way to respond when a moment feels overwhelming.
How Does ABA Teach Social Skills?
ABA for social skills uses several well-researched teaching methods. Social skills training is recognized as an evidence-based practice for autistic learners. Most programs combine the following four approaches, giving children a chance to see a skill, try it, and use it in everyday situations.
Behavioral skills training
The therapist explains the skill, shows your child how to do it, and then helps them practice with immediate feedback. This is the core method for most social skills.
For example, the therapist might explain how to ask a friend to play and show what that sounds like. Your child then gets a turn to practice, and the therapist praises what went well.
Natural environment teaching
A skill practiced only in a structured session doesn’t always carry over to the playground. With natural environment teaching, the therapist works with your child during real play and everyday routines, like snack time or a trip to the park. Learning in real moments makes it easier for your child to use the skill in everyday life, even when the therapist isn’t there.
Visual supports and social stories
Sometimes it helps to see what a situation might look like before your child experiences it. A checklist, conversation map, or social story (a short, simple story that walks your child through a situation, often with pictures) can explain what to expect and what your child might say or do.
Role-play and video modeling
Your child can practice greeting a classmate or asking for help by acting it out with their therapist. They get a chance to try the words or actions in a safe setting. With video modeling, they watch a short video of the skill before trying it themselves.
Examples of Social Skills ABA Goals
ABA social skills goals describe specific skills your child can do, so you and the therapist can track progress. Your family chooses them, and they usually come from your child’s assessment. Reading about what an ABA assessment looks like can help you understand that process. These ABA social skills examples show how a goal connects to practice:
What your child works on will also change as they grow. Learn more about ABA for toddlers vs. school-aged children and how plans reflect those different ages.
What About Eye Contact?
You may wonder whether your child will be expected to look people in the eye. Eye contact isn’t a default goal, and it should never be forced. Many autistic people find it uncomfortable or distracting, which can make it harder to listen and connect.
A child can pay attention without making eye contact. They might turn toward someone, respond to their name, or answer a question. These are ways of showing engagement that don’t require your child to look directly into another person’s eyes.
Do Social Skills Groups Help?
Social skills groups give children a structured, supportive place to practice with other kids their age. Taking turns, joining play, and having a conversation all become things to try with peers.
Many children benefit from one-on-one practice before joining a group. Working with a therapist gives them time to learn the skill and build confidence; the group gives them somewhere to use it. Your child’s BCBA can help you decide when a group might be a good fit.
How to Practice Social Skills at Home
You don’t need special materials. A game, a book, or a few minutes of shared play can give your child a chance to practice:
- Build on interests. Use your child’s favorite interests to start a conversation or find something to play together.
- Take turns. Play a board game, build with blocks, or pass a ball back and forth to practice waiting and sharing.
- Name feelings. Talk about how a character feels while you read a story or watch a favorite show together.
- Role-play. Before a playdate or school day, try out a greeting or practice asking to join a game.
- Celebrate effort. Let your child know you noticed when they said hi or shared a toy. Those small steps deserve praise.
Through ABA training for parents, you can learn the strategies your child’s therapist uses and practice them at home, too.
How United Care ABA Supports Social Skills
At United Care ABA, our BCBAs work with your family to choose goals that reflect your child’s strengths and interests. We teach each skill in small steps, practice in real settings, and track progress so you can see how your child is doing.
Practice can happen at home, in the community, and through support with social skills at school. We work closely with parents to help children use what they learn in therapy during everyday time with friends and family.
FAQs
What are social skills in ABA therapy?
In ABA therapy, social skills are the specific, teachable behaviors a child uses to interact with others, like greeting someone, taking turns, joining play, or asking for help. A BCBA breaks each one into small steps and measures progress so everyone can see what your child has learned.
What are some examples of social skills ABA goals?
Examples include saying hello to a peer, taking turns during a board game, asking a friend to play, staying on topic for a few back-and-forth exchanges, and naming how a character in a story feels. Goals are written so progress can be measured, and they are chosen with your family.
What are some examples of social skills training in ABA?
A therapist might explain a skill, model it, practice it with your child through role-play, and give feedback right away. The same skill is then practiced during real play, at snack time, or at the park so it carries over into everyday life.
Does ABA help with social skills?
Yes. Social skills training is one of the evidence-based practices identified for autistic learners, supported by dozens of studies. Results are strongest when skills are practiced in real settings and parents are involved.
Is ABA social skills training only for young children?
No. Toddlers may work on joint play and simple greetings, while older children and teens work on conversation, group dynamics, friendships, and handling conflict. Goals change as your child grows. Learn more about ABA therapy for older children.
1 References
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Autism Focused Intervention Resources and Modules. (n.d.). Social skills training (SST). Autism Focused Intervention Resources & Modules (AFIRM), FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina. https://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/resource/social-skills-training-brief-packet/
