Social problems typically can be described in four different ways. First, some adults do not know what to do in certain situations. They have difficulty with their social problem-solving skills. They are unable to identify problem behaviour, possible alternatives, or select the most appropriate solution and evaluate its effectiveness.⁶ They are not able to learn what to do because of social anxiety and because they don't pick up the clues. They may know what to do but they are unable to perform because of anxiety or because they do not pick up on clues. In both of these cases, adults lack social awareness. They don't know how to monitor their behaviour by paying attention to reactions of others and are not cognizant of others' personal space. Their lack of understanding and recognition of non-verbal communication often prevents them from understanding both negative and positive cues. Some adults know what to do and are able to do it, but choose not to. This is seen more as an antisocial behaviour type. Most often a social skill deficit is due to the lack of opportunities to have learned the behaviour or the lack of role models. But individuals with learning disabilities may not be able to demonstrate the appropriate social skills even when they have been exposed to modeling of proper skills.

A lack of social skills can impact all aspects of adults' lives: in the home, in training, in the community and in the workplace. For some adults with learning disabilities, the same learning disability that makes it difficult to process language also makes it difficult to process social information effectively. This can affect their ability to understand what is heard and/or their ability to express their thoughts. Adults with learning disabilities may not have difficulties with language per se, but instead do not effectively process the nonverbal elements of social interaction. Nonverbal social perception plays an essential role in our ability to relate to one another: without it, our interpersonal skills can suffer. Without a conscious understanding of the impact of their behaviour, adults cannot evaluate its effectiveness nor make adjustments where necessary.

Effective intervention requires identification and remediation of the specific type of social skill deficit exhibited by the learner. This reinforces a common theme that is found throughout the research - the first step for any type of intervention is recognition, acceptance and understanding by the learner. Practitioners need to help adults learn various social skill strategies by providing direct instruction, ample demonstrations, modeling, assisted practice with feedback, and opportunities for independent practice.⁷