The paper describes the 26-unit program called "Let's Be Social Home Program" intended to encourage parents to teach social skills to young handicapped children. The program was developed to supplement the "Let's Be Social" preschool program. The home program allows parents a choice in the amount and type of teaching activities they undertake by presenting three teaching options: home lessons (discussion of skills taught at school); coincidental teaching (helping children use a skill when naturally occurring opportunities arise); and home rehearsals (helping children practice a skill in a role-playing situation). Instructions for each activity are contained on one page and activities may take from 1 to 15 minutes. A 2-hour workshop gives parents the training needed to use the program. Two methods of encouraging and monitoring parental involvement have been evaluated. In the first system, a home training visit was followed by weekly telephone calls and parents returned a monthly form reporting on program use. In the second system, parents received one unit weekly along with a simple checklist to return. Parents in both systems rated the program as beneficial but parents using the unit-per-week system did more teaching. Sample activity sheets for developing sharing behaviors are appended. (DB)
