A special education teacher is planning a course to help high school students with intellectual disabilities develop adaptive social skills. Which action will best meet the course objectives?

• A. Using a functional curriculum consisting of concrete instruction and guided practice
• B. Encouraging students to identify opportunities to interact with peers without disabilities
• C. Providing opportunities for students to participate in community-based instruction
• D. Recruiting peer tutors as role models to demonstrate advanced social skills

Answer: (A)

Teaching adaptive social skills to students with intellectual disabilities works best when the instruction is functional and concrete, with lots of guided practice. A functional curriculum focuses on practical social behaviors that students can actually use in daily life, like greeting others, requesting help, taking turns, initiating conversations, and interpreting basic social cues. Concrete instruction means breaking these skills into small, observable steps and teaching them in real or closely simulated contexts, rather than using abstract discussion. Guided practice provides structured support—modeling, prompts that are gradually faded, and timely feedback—so students can perform the skills with increasing independence. This approach supports consistent performance across settings because the skills are directly teachable, measurable, and reinforced in realistic situations, making it easier for students to generalize what they’ve learned.

Encouraging students to seek interactions with peers without disabilities is positive but doesn’t supply the explicit, step-by-step teaching and guided practice needed to acquire adaptive social skills. Providing community-based instruction offers valuable real-world exposure but is most effective when paired with explicit instruction and opportunities to practice specific skills. Recruiting peer tutors can be helpful as a supplement, but without a structured, functional framework, it may not ensure the mastery and generalization of the targeted social behaviors.