ABSTRACT
There are different methods of assessing social skills, and each one has its benefits, but the challenge with assessment is always to find meaningful ways to make the assessment results functional. Assessment is only useful if it can help to identify the important skills for development. Rating scales are an extremely useful measure of change and are one of the most widely used methods of assessment. Merrell states that: Assessment of social skills of children and adolescents is one area in which behaviour rating scales have made a particularly strong impact and in which an impressive body of supportive empirical evidence has accrued. The interview is the traditional method of assessing social skills and assumes that the person we are assessing is potentially the richest source of information about themselves. The interviewee is usually the person being assessed, but it is also relevant to interview others as part of a social skills assessment, such as parents and teachers.
