Studying the effectiveness of an educational program presented with self-management techniques in teaching social skills to students suffering from mental deficiency

The purpose of this research is to reveal whether the Social Skills Educational Program, which was prepared based on self-management techniques, is effective or not at self-management of the children suffering from mental deficiency, learning the ability of coping with aggressive behaviors and generalizıng these behaviors.In this single subject research, the ?inter-multi subjects examination model? was used.Six students, who suffer from mental deficiency and have the prerequisite skills determined for this research, were selected from among students attending a primary school special education program in Ankara.For each of the students suffering from mental deficiency and participating in this study, two target social skills were determined as needed before starting the program, by using the social skills rating scale. Of the target behaviors, helping the children suffering from mental deficiency gain self-management and to cope with aggressive behaviors skills, the educational plan based on self management technquies were developed. Developed educational plans were applied in the form of 40 minute sessions every weekday. Survey data prepared seperately for each skill was collected with Data Record forms.According to the findings from the research, it is understood that the Social Skills Educational Program, which was prepared based on self-management techniques, is effective in gaining and generalizing the social skills of six students who attended the study.Key Words: Mental disability, social skill, self-management technique.