One day during Matthew's freshman year at our local high school, he observed Joe pushing his girlfriend flirtatiously and then tapping her on the head. The couple kissed, took each other by the hand, and skipped away. Inspired Joe's success, Matthew tried the same moves on another girl with too much force, and she ran to the principal's office in tears.

When I arrived at school for a debriefing, Matthew was trying to explain himself. "Joe did the same thing to Sue, " he cried, "and she liked it!"

Good social skills vs. bad social skills? Not exactly, says Michelle Garcia Winner. She is the developer of Social Thinking, a philosophy and a treatment for individuals with social-cognitive deficits such as autism, Asperger syndrome, ADHD and nonverbal learning disorder (NLD).

by Laura Shumaker, February 4, 2010 San Francisco Chronicle/Sfgate.com - Read more...