Autism Therapy: Social Thinking

definition of Social Thinking: Social Thinking is a learning strategy designed to teach children how to understand the body language and social cues that are common in human interaction. Most children naturally acquire the skills to be good social thinkers. Children with autism often need to be taught these skills. There is a specific Social Thinking curriculum and it is distinct from general social skills training.

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Brief Report: Measuring the Effectiveness of Teaching Social Thinking to Children with Asperger Syndrome (AS) and High Functioning Autism (HFA)
J Autism Dev Disord, by Crooke, PJ, Hendrix RE, and Rachman JY, published in 2008, summarized Apr 23, 2008

Therapy that teaches Social Thinking can help children with autism learn to have better social skills.

Many teachers and therapists must meet the social needs of children with autism on a daily basis. This study was designed to see if a type of social skills therapy known as Social Thinking can help children with Asperger Syndrome or High Functioning Autism. Social Thinking is unique in that it teaches children how to think about social situations. Success in the study was measured based upon the number of times the student had good social interactions when not in the treatment setting. The authors found that children who received Social Thinking therapy had better social skills after intervention.


Unlocking the Mystery of Social Deficits in Autism: Theory of Mind as Key
Exceptional Parent Magazine, by Blacher, J., and Howell E., published in 2007, summarized Oct 16, 2007

Children with autism can be taught to think socially by using movies with broad gestures and facial cues.

Having Theory of Mind is key to developing social skills. Theory of Mind affects life with other people, school, following directions, and understanding things that happen in society. There is some research that says that Theory of Mind can be taught. Some speech therapists teach Theory of Mind by teaching social thinking skills. While these techniques have not yet been tested in research studies, they do seem to work.


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Social Thinking to Help Kids with Autism

May 19, 2010

Laura Shumaker, writer and mother of a 23-year old son with autism, was asked by her son to help him meet some “nice girls”. She decided to interview Michelle Garcia Winner, an expert in the field of social relations and children with autism. Winner describes her work as Social Thinking—a way to observe ourselves and others as we move through various social situations and consider what we would like the outcomes to be. Winner began considering the concept of Social Thinking while she was a speech and language pathologist, “to teach students, who have social-cognitive learning challenges (those with high-functioning autism, Asperger syndrome, ADHD, nonverbal learning disability or those still undiagnosed) how to think socially to help guide which social skills they can choose to use in varying situations."

Read original article: Autism and Aspergers: Helping our Kids Figure out the "Social" World


Social Skills Training Helps Children with Asperger's Learn People Skills

Aug 6, 2009

Children with Asperger's may lack certain social skills that allow them to interact with other children. Dr. Allison Weatherly in Tennessee is helping these children with an intervention called "social thinking." This social therapy was first used by Michelle Garcia Winner in California and teaches children with Asperger's to be "social detectives" - to try and figure out what the other person is thinking about. Weatherly uses the concept of "'Unthinkables', a list of characters that represent not-so-pleasant characteristics. The cartoon characters provide a map for these children to follow when it comes to interacting with others in the real world."

Read original article.


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Please comment on this autism topic.

Responding to Social Thinking

Dec 17, 2010 by Anonymous

Social Thinking by WInner is a nice concept and great for therapists who need a recipe for treating social communication skills. However, much more research must be conducted in order to determine the true benefit of this curriculum, as well as to demonstrate that it is in fact evidence-based. Further, research should be conducted by outside parties---not just those who have developed the program.


Responding to Social Thinking

Dec 17, 2010 by Anonymous

Social Thinking by WInner is a nice concept and great for therapists who need a recipe for treating social communication skills. However, much more research must be conducted in order to determine the true benefit of this curriculum, as well as to demonstrate that it is in fact evidence-based. Further, research should be conducted by outside parties---not just those who have developed the program.


Social Thinking

Feb 10, 2010 by megan

icommunicate therapy

icommunicate is dedicated to enhancing Speech, Language and Communication for all individuals by providing information and resources for speech therapy / pathology, and all communication difficulties and disorders. icommunicate has a large section relating to autism and provides many free downloads with information, ideas and strategies to facilitate communication and learning.


College Asperger's Program

Jul 24, 2009 by Anonymous

when you are looking for a program for your son or daughter who has aspergers or NLD, there are many factors you need to look at. you can download a SHOPPING FOR A PROGRAM CHECKLIST at our website: www.collegeinternshipprogram.com 

This checklist will explain all the various areas that are important to consider in finding the right match and somethings you wouldn't think of asking about. you can also watch videos regarding our program which is the most comprehensive that is available. 

Our program's philosophy is that each student was made for good purpose and is inherently valuable. We believe that students need to know themselves and understand all the facets of their learning difference so that they can self actualize. our curriculum at our programs is cutting edge and includes areas such as executive functioning, social thinking, sensory integration, theory of mind besides all the regular program components. these components cover budgeting, banking, individual therapy, residential assistance, individual tutorials, study halls, career internships, community service, etc. 

 I urge you to check us out and visit one of our centers. you will learn a lot about what is available for your son or daughter. 

Michael P. McManmon 

Founder: College Internship Program


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