Social Thinking® was born out of necessity - as a way to reach the many students who need to know more than what "social skill" to use: they need to know why they should even bother.

Michelle developed Social Thinking for the treatment of individuals with social-cognitive challenges, including those with diagnoses of high-functioning autism, Asperger syndrome, ADHD and nonverbal learning disorder (NLD). She first began teaching her approach in 1995 to brighter students when she worked as a speech-language pathologist for a high school district. Twelve years later, she received an award of Special Congressional Recognition for her development and ongoing innovation of this treatment approach. At the about the same time, the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders published research supporting her methods for the treatment of students with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism.

Michelle's work illuminates the often elusive, intangible thinking behind social interaction, the intuitive capacity that most people learn from infancy onward and therefore take for granted but for students with HFA, Asperger's, ADHD and similar challenges has to be taught explicitly. She breaks "social" down to build it back up. Her practical strategies are used by parents, educators and service providers worldwide. These strategies teach the thinking required before the social skills can work - so that students and adults can better respond to the dynamic nature of the social world. Social Thinking affects academics, work and mental health. As a result, Social Thinking is increasingly used with students in mainstream classrooms and with adults in vocational and professional settings in the U.S. and abroad.

Michelle's goal is to raise awareness among administrators, educators and parents about the critical role that Social Thinking play in every student’s life, not only for academic success, but also for growth into adulthood and the rest of life.

Michelle travels around the country and the world giving conferences and receives accolades for her educational and energetic presentations. She has been invited to train psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, parents, educators and government policy makers on Social Thinking around the world.

Please read more on Michelle's practical books on social-cognitive deficits and Social Thinking.