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?
Use visual supports (templates, organizers) to facilitate your efforts towards generalization. For example, how might an email template differ in wording or format if used for corresponding with classmates versus previous supervisors? For some students, this could result in an “email communication” folder in which a variety of templates and examples are stored (e.g. friends and family in my network; supervisors in my network; teachers or professors in my network).
Are you arranging opportunities for the student to practice the targeted skill in natural environments and under natural conditions?
An individual’s network is made up of more than just professional contacts; friends and family compose a substantial piece. Devise opportunities for her to initiate communication with family and friends, perhaps to inquire about dinner plans or to extend a social invitation, using methods with which she is most comfortable (email, phone, in-person). As she demonstrates successfully, begin arranging tasks focused on contacting the professionals that are a part of her network to inquire about available jobs or volunteer positions.
Have you adapted visual supports so that they can remain in the natural environments that this student encounters now, and in the future?
Templates, social graphs, and rule cards can be very helpful as the student begins planning who to contact. For example, a social graph including the names and relationship statuses of the student’s network can help him identify who to contact, and an organizer can be used for note-taking during the in-person or phone conversation.
To support performance of key social communication skills, devise scripts that are portable, clear, and applicable to the most likely networking situations that the student will encounter.
Are you collecting data to make adjustments to your teaching and to ensure that the student is performing the skill across multiple conditions?