Social skills training

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have prominent social impairment, which is commonly manifested in unskilled behaviors in social situations and difficulties in being accepted and befriended by peers. This social impairment often remains after administration of medication and behavioral contingency management treatments that address the core symptoms of ADHD. This article reviews traditional social skills training (SST) approaches to remediating social impairment, and presents the evidence for their efficacy and significant limitations to their efficacy. The article introduces potential reasons why the efficacy of traditional SST may be limited, and concludes with some promising alternative SST approaches.