Best Social Skills Options for Transition Planning
Compare the best Social Skills options for Transition Planning. Side-by-side features, ratings, and verdict.
Choosing the best social skills option for transition planning depends on whether your team needs direct instruction, community-based practice, self-advocacy training, or stronger documentation tied to IEP goals. The strongest programs help secondary students with disabilities build workplace communication, peer interaction, self-regulation, and conflict resolution skills that transfer to life after high school.
| Feature | PEERS Curriculum | Whose Future Is It Anyway? | Skillstreaming | Zones of Regulation | Career Exploration and Soft Skills Curriculum by Attainment Company | The Social Express |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workplace Communication Focus | Moderate | Yes | Moderate | Limited | Yes | Moderate |
| IEP Goal Alignment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Possible with customization |
| Progress Monitoring | Teacher-developed tracking recommended | Yes | Yes | Teacher-created tools common | Varies by product | Yes |
| Community or Real-World Application | With facilitated generalization | Yes | Requires teacher-created extension activities | Strong when paired with community practice | Yes | Limited unless paired with field practice |
| Self-Advocacy Instruction | Yes | Yes | Limited | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
PEERS Curriculum
Top PickPEERS is a well-known evidence-based social skills program originally developed for adolescents and young adults with social challenges, including many learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It is especially useful for transition teams targeting conversation skills, friendship building, conflict management, and social problem-solving.
Pros
- +Strong research base for teaching concrete social communication skills
- +Provides structured lessons that are easy to map to measurable transition-related social goals
- +Useful for secondary students who need explicit instruction and role-play practice
Cons
- -Less directly focused on job-site routines than vocationally specific curricula
- -Implementation can require staff training and consistent lesson pacing
Whose Future Is It Anyway?
Whose Future Is It Anyway? is a transition curriculum centered on self-determination, student participation in IEP meetings, decision-making, and disability awareness. It is one of the strongest options for teaching the social and communication skills students need to advocate for themselves in school, work, and adult services settings.
Pros
- +Directly targets self-advocacy, goal setting, and communication for transition planning
- +Strong fit for IDEA-compliant transition services and student-led IEP practices
- +Helps students prepare for real conversations with employers, service providers, and postsecondary staff
Cons
- -Less focused on peer friendship skills than broader social skills programs
- -May need supplemental lessons for conflict resolution and workplace etiquette
Skillstreaming
Skillstreaming is a long-established social skills curriculum that teaches discrete interpersonal skills through modeling, role-play, feedback, and practice. It fits well in transition programs that need structured instruction in listening, teamwork, emotional regulation, and problem-solving.
Pros
- +Breaks social behavior into teachable steps that support students with intellectual, emotional, or behavioral needs
- +Flexible for classroom groups, pull-out instruction, and social skills labs
- +Works well for documenting mastery of observable social behaviors
Cons
- -Some examples may need updating for modern workplace and community settings
- -Generalization to natural environments requires deliberate follow-up practice
Zones of Regulation
Zones of Regulation is widely used to teach self-regulation, emotional awareness, and coping strategies, all of which are foundational for successful employment and adult independence. For transition planning, it can support students who struggle with emotional control, flexible thinking, and socially appropriate responses under stress.
Pros
- +Excellent for teaching self-regulation skills that affect job readiness and community participation
- +Easy to integrate into daily routines, check-ins, and behavior support plans
- +Supports students in identifying triggers and using replacement strategies before escalation
Cons
- -Not a complete transition social skills curriculum on its own
- -Needs adaptation to connect emotional regulation with workplace expectations and self-advocacy
Career Exploration and Soft Skills Curriculum by Attainment Company
Attainment Company offers transition-focused materials that address employability, workplace behavior, communication, and daily living skills for students with moderate to significant support needs. These resources are often practical for classrooms emphasizing functional academics and job readiness.
Pros
- +Designed with transition-age learners and functional life outcomes in mind
- +Includes soft skills content that connects social behavior to employment settings
- +Accessible for students who need simplified language, visuals, and repeated practice
Cons
- -Quality and depth vary across individual products and bundles
- -Some teams may need to build their own robust progress-monitoring systems
The Social Express
The Social Express is an online program that teaches social learning through interactive modules, video modeling, and guided scenarios. It can be useful for transition-aged students who respond well to digital instruction and need repeated practice with conversation, perspective-taking, and social decision-making.
Pros
- +Engaging digital format can improve participation for students who resist traditional social skills lessons
- +Includes modeled examples that help students visualize appropriate and inappropriate responses
- +Convenient for mixed service delivery models, including resource and independent practice
Cons
- -May feel less age-appropriate for some older high school students
- -Real-world generalization depends on live coaching and practice outside the platform
The Verdict
For teams prioritizing self-determination and legally strong transition planning, Whose Future Is It Anyway? is the best fit because it directly supports student voice, IEP participation, and adult communication skills. If your students need explicit instruction in peer interaction and social problem-solving, PEERS or Skillstreaming are stronger choices, while Zones of Regulation is especially helpful when self-regulation is the biggest barrier to work and community success.
Pro Tips
- *Choose a program that matches the student's postsecondary goals, such as employment, college, or independent living, rather than using a one-size-fits-all social skills curriculum.
- *Prioritize options that allow you to measure observable behaviors so progress can be documented clearly for IEP reporting and transition service records.
- *Pair direct instruction with community-based practice, such as work sites, travel training, or school businesses, so students can generalize skills across settings.
- *Check whether the content is age-respectful for high school students and young adults, especially when teaching workplace etiquette, conflict resolution, and self-advocacy.
- *Look for curricula that support Universal Design for Learning through visuals, modeling, multiple response formats, and scaffolded practice for diverse disability categories.