The Impact of Teaching Effective Communication Skills on Self-esteem and Reduction of Shyness among the Physically Challenged in Tehran

The main objective of the paper is to investigate the impact of teaching effective communication skills on improving self-esteem and reducing shyness among physically challenged in Tehran. In this pretest posttest experimental research, 120 physically challenged subjects in Tehran province were selected using simple random sampling method. They were randomly divided into two equal groups of control and experimental. Eyesnick Self-esteem test and Stanford Shyness Questionnaire were used to collect data. The members of the experimental group received a-two-hour-per-week instruction of effective communication skills for two months and half. The findings of the study, analyzed through ANCOVA, indicated that there was a significant difference between subjects’ performance in two groups regarding their self-esteem. That is, teaching effective communication skills can help to improve their self-esteem. Also, there was a significant difference between subjects’ performance in two groups regarding their shyness. That is, teaching effective communication skills can help to reduce their shyness.