Why was the TASS developed?

The hierarchy

Talkabout is a programme that is hierarchical in it’s approach – please see section on the hierarchy for more information.

The original Talkabout Assessment assessed both nonverbal and verbal behaviours under the headings of body language, paralinguistic skills (or the way we talk), conversational skills and assertiveness skills. The assessment of self-awareness and self-esteem (the client interview) was developed separately and was recommended to be completed alongside the wheel at the point of initial assessment. This meant that the assessor completed two separate assessments which could make the links between them unclear for those using the assessment without having received training.

Anyone who has attended a Talkabout social skills training course will know how often the trainers impress the importance of working on self-awareness and self-esteem prior to social skills if needs are highlighted within this area. It seemed timely to develop an assessment which guides the assessor through each area of the updated hierarchy, to ensure information is captured together in one assessment, and that the assessor is guided very clearly to the key areas, and order for intervention.  

The rating scale

The original Talkabout Assessment used a 4-point rating scale from ‘never good’ to ‘very good’. The authors found over the years that this gives us less opportunity to show small amounts of progress over a shorter period. As a result, we devised additional target forms to help teachers and clinicians to rate individual skills on a 6-point rating scale from ‘skill not present’ to ‘skill present and consistent’. This enabled us to track progress within intervention (ratings 1-4) and also to assess whether students have generalised skills outside of the intervention (ratings 5-6). These target forms were then used to measure short term progress and the Talkabout Assessment Wheel was used to summarise the progress over the longer term. However, this all meant a doubling up of assessment data and so it has been recognised for a while that the ideal solution would be to update the Talkabout assessment and the rating scale used.

The TASS has therefore been updated to a 6-point rating scale, meaning that there is no longer a need to do separate short term and long-term assessments, as the TASS will be able to be used to measure both. This will help with measuring outcomes for intervention.

The wider context

The authors also want the assessment to have a holistic profile which draws on literature, specifically regarding current thinking about a definition of social skills and known correlates.  The Talkabout hierarchy has a focus on self-awareness and self-esteem and verbal and non-verbal aspects of social communication, as well as assertiveness skills.

Ongoing research in the USA has led to a definition of social and emotional skills called The CASEL 5 (CASEL, 2023) which includes: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. It is also recognised that there are correlates to social skills, such as “competing problem behaviours” and “academic competence” (Gresham & Elliott, 2008).  It was felt important to include these in an updated assessment to ensure a holistic assessment of the person’s needs.

Research demonstrates that social and emotional learning is linked to quality of life outcomes. Clarke et al (2021) summarised their findings by stating:  ‘A growing body of evidence indicates that enhancing social, emotional and behavioural skills (including emotional identification, articulation and regulation; communication skills; conflict resolution skills; behavioural self-regulation; empathy and perspective taking) is a key determinant to young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and supports them in achieving positive outcomes in school, work and life’. In addition, the presence of internalising (e.g. depression, anxiety) or most notably externalising (e.g. aggression, impulsive behaviour) behaviours are associated with increased school absences, and have a detrimental effect on the acquisition and performance of social skills and academic achievements (Gresham, 2015).

These known correlates were not measured in the original Talkabout assessment. Therefore, to ensure a holistic assessment takes place, the TASS includes a rating of associated and quality of life factors (see form 1) with the aim to capture any intervention effects with regards to these factors.

Social validity

Social validity refers to the extent to which the individual and the key people surrounding that person view the intervention targets as important and acceptable, which is naturally an important consideration in any intervention. The literature also states the importance of measuring social validity pre and post intervention (Matson, Matson, & Rivet, 2007).

To aid the assessor in considering whether intervention targets are socially valid, the TASS includes the following:

• Priority ratings on all assessment forms
• The importance rating on form 3
• The long-term goal stated by the person on form 1

Consideration of this information will ultimately improve the likelihood that intervention will be valid for the individual, and therefore successful.

In summary

In summary, the aim of the authors in the update of this assessment, is to provide a more holistic social skills assessment which draws on the experience and use of the original Talkabout Assessment and the additional resources developed to support the measuring of outcomes, but also on the current literature in social and emotional skills. The authors wanted to develop a tool that is a user friendly and practical assessment, and which captures information regarding a broad definition of social skills.

References

CASEL (2023) What Is the CASEL Framework? https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-is-the-casel-framework/

Clarke A, Sorgenfrei M, Mulcahy J, Davie P, Friedrich C &  McBride T (2021) Adolescent Mental Health: A systematic review on the effectiveness of school-based Interventions. Early Intervention Foundation July 1-87

Gresham, F, & Elliott, S. (2008). SSiS Social Skills Improvement System. NCS Pearson, Inc.

Gresham, Frank. (2015). Evidence-Based Social Skills Interventions for Students at Risk for EBD. Remedial and Special Education, 36(2), 100–104.

Kelly A and Sains B (2010) TALKABOUT Assessment Tool. London: Speechmark.

Matson, J. L., Matson, M. L., & Rivet, T. T. (2007). Social-Skills Treatments for Children With Autism An Overview. Behavior Modification, 31(5), 682-707.

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