When growing up, kids are just kind of expected to learn how to make friends on their own. Society expects them to figure out how to in school settings since they are around peers that are in their general age group, but for some children, learning how to be socially appropriate with peers can be difficult. They do not just adapt by watching their peers, and unfortunately, the school system doesn’t teach their students what to look for and how to respond in social situations. This can then set students back in that category, especially those with life challenges such as ADHD, Autism, “Asperger’s,” anxiety disorders, etc. This can be an issue because when students go off to college, although they may be proficient in the academics, they may lack in the social category, making it difficult for them to thrive on their own, because they likely will have trouble understanding the thoughts and intentions of their peers, which leads to making and maintaining friendships nearly impossible.

Social skills are crucial to ensuring young adults can be successful and flourish when going off on their own because it’s needed to be able to make connections and maintain a good mental health balance. Becoming isolated due to a lack of social skills is not uncommon in a new setting. The thought of putting themselves out there and making friends can be scary enough to make young adults not do it at all, especially in new places like college, but parents sometimes do not realize that this is a risk. Since they expect their child just to be naturally learning social skills at school and how to interact properly with peers, they may put this idea on the back burner. However, there are not likely going to be any social skills classes in college. Most teachers do not put time aside to teach kids how to make friends and how to react in certain situations, and sometimes we forget that. Another source supports this by bringing up that “Many children never learned these skills at home; however, they are needed to interact and get along with others. Parents assume children are being taught these life skills at school, but that is not always the case.” (Rosso, Bonner, 2020). If a child has life challenges, learning how gain social skills and properly utilize them may be difficult and may not be realized as a problem until they are already off to college. Lacking social skills not taught to them in school may cause more issues than maybe having a hard time speaking in front of the class but can cause mental health concerns as well. Another source explains “More than half (53%) of current college students say that they’re lonely–and just under half (47%) have concerns about feeling isolated, reveals a new report by Sodexo.” (Gingerella, 2022). These issues can be caused by the lack of social skills they were not taught when in school, but it is never too late to teach them to ensure your young adult flourishes in independent life.

At the College Life Skills Program, we teach young adult’s things that schools simply do not, such as executive functioning, and social, emotional, and life skills they need to become well-rounded. We professionally coach those who are college bound, in college, and after college develop the skills needed to excel in independent life. Our team of Doctoral and Master level professionals uses our individualized, proprietary, evidence-based approaches developed with the real-life experience of thousands of students over three decades to aid young adults in their journey to independence. So, if you’re worried that the school system is not teaching critical skills that may cause your young adult to fall behind, the CollegeLSP is more than qualified to help.

Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist who specializes in Autism, ADHD and related disorders. Dr. Nach is the founder of the College Life Skills Program where he and his team of professional’s help develop the Emotional Maturity, Executive Functioning, Life Skill and Social Abilities of college students and those high school students preparing for college. The CollegeLSP is a subsidiary program of the Support For Students Growth Center, located in Boca Raton, FL and providing services nationwide.

Benita Gingerella on Aug. 16, 2022. (2022). Over half of today’s College Students Report feeling lonely, Sodexo Survey reveals. FoodService Director. Retrieved January 2, 2023, from https://www.foodservicedirector.com/operations/over-half-todays-college-students-report-feeling-lonely-sodexo-survey-reveals

Rosso, D., & Bonner, T. (n.d.). Why schools don’t have time to teach social skills. Digital Commons at Buffalo State. Retrieved January 2, 2023, from https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/srcc-sp20-edu/23/