The Effectiveness of a Training Program in the Development of the Making Friends Skill on the Improvement of Social Interaction between Female Students With Mild Intellectual Disability in the Kingdom of Bahrain

Abstract

The objective of this study was to improve the level of social interaction of girls with intellectual disability in Bahraini public school through applying a training program to develop a social skill which is the skill of making friends and generalize it in different social situations. The study attempted to examine these two hypotheses: 1. The application of the used training program leads to the development of the making friends Skill within the experimental group members of girls with intellectual disability. 2. The training on the skills of making friends lead to improve the level of social interaction within the experimental group members of girls with intellectual disability. The study participants were (10) girls with intellectual disability integrated into a regular classroom at Somaiah Primary School for girls in the kingdom of Bahrain. Their ages were between (9-12). The study confirmed the fact that applying the program led to developing the skills of making friends as well as improving the level of social interaction to the intellectual disabled girls. It also revealed that there were significant differences between the pre-and post-tests of making friends skills in favor of the post-test results.