Once the skill is performed accurately and independently under one condition, are you arranging multiple opportunities for the student to practice the skill with different people, and in multiple settings?
Practice in multiple settings and with multiple people is crucial. Some students may need to start out with more structured instruction in a social skills class or the curriculum assistance classroom. Once they have some confidence in using initial scripts or reminder cards, they can start practicing with multiple people in the classroom. Make sure your practice in new settings only expects them to use behaviors with which they have shown sufficient skill.
Next, try practicing in other settings. For example, the student could start practicing with their instructor in another setting, such as the library, cafeteria, waiting for the bus, etc. Then, the student could add in practice with other selected peers in those settings. Finally, practice should be moved outside of the school environment altogether, at the work place as well as community shopping or leisure activity sites. For the skill to solidify and generalize, the student should not associate it with one person (their instructor) or one place (their classroom), but be able to apply it in multiple situations.
Are you arranging opportunities for the student to practice the targeted skill in natural environments and under natural conditions?
Consider the wide array of features that dictate when a conversation should end: Body language and cues demonstrated by the other person; explicit and more subtle verbal statements that indicate intent (“Well, I have to get going”; “It was good talking to you”; “Looks like it is about to rain out here”); events going on in that environment in that moment (class is ending; work shift is over; the movie is starting; the other person’s ride is here; the other person gets a phone call that they need to take, etc.). The complexity of the situations you target hinges on the student’s capacity to grasp those more subtle aspects.
Have you adapted visual supports so that they can remain in the natural environments that this student encounters now, and in the future?
Reminder cues and social narratives are most likely to be adapted for use/review in natural environments. Does the student need to keep a reminder card of possible closing statements in his wallet or placed on his binder? Does he need a reminder card in his notebook with signs that might indicate that the other person is ready to end the conversation?
Are you collecting data to make adjustments to your teaching and to ensure that the student is performing the skill across multiple conditions?