COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SOCIAL SKILLS IN SIGHTED AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED ADOLESCENTS

Socialization is the process by which individuals get the knowledge, skills, attitudes and socially acceptable behaviours.Social skills are the behaviours that promote positive interaction with others and the environment of an individual.Social skills play a critical role in the educational process of a person especially in the case of students with Visual Impairment.Students with visual impairment tend to differ in their socialization as compared to the normal sighted students due to lack in visual cues and incidental learning. A number of studies demonstrated that visually impaired adolescents face various problems in social relations comparing to their peers with no impairment. In this study we are aiming to analyse the differences in social skills of Sightedand Visually Impaired adolescents, both boys and girls of 13-15 years of age. The data were collected from 745 Sighted students from 15 schools and 55 Visually Impaired students from 4 Blind schools, participated willingly in the study. As a data collection tool researcher made 3-point Social Skill Self Report Assessment Checklist (SSSRAC), which includes 27 social skills, was applied. For comparison Mean, S.D. and t-test was used to test significance of the difference between means of Sighted and VI students to identify the social skill deficits in VI students. As a result of the comparison it was found that the Visually Impaired students have deficits in 11 social skills.The findings of this research are evaluated in the light of relevant literature.