What is Social Thinking?

Social thinking is what we do when we interact with people: we think about them. And how we think about people affects how we behave toward them, which in turn affects how others respond to us, which in turn affects our own emotions.

Whether we are with friends, sending an email, in a classroom or at the grocery store, we take in the thoughts, emotions and intentions of those around us.

Most of us have developed our communication skills from birth onwards, steadily observing and acquiring social information and learning how to respond. Because social thinking is an intuitive process, we usually take it for granted!

But for many individuals, this process is anything but natural. And this often has nothing to do with conventional measurements of academic intelligence.

Professionals receive training in therapeutic strategies based on Social Thinking. Michelle Garcia Winner (in white turtleneck), who started this treatment approach, with recent mentor trainees. 

In fact, many people can score high on IQ and standardized tests, yet do not intuitively process social information and therefore find much reward in engaging in social communication and activities.

Research, however, supports the effectiveness of addressing the thinking required prior to social communication and engagement with specific strategies. The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders published a report on methodologies specifically addressing deficits in the social thinking process, finding that they are successful at teaching the ability to interact socially in people with social limitations who have near-normal to way above-normal intelligence.

Professionals and parents alike are using teaching and treatment methods  that build social thinking capacities in their students, children and adults.

The Social Thinking Program - Dynamic to Meet Individual Needs, No Diagnosis Needed

Michelle Garcia Winner, MA, CCC-SLP, coined the term Social Thinking® and developed a related treatment approach for individuals with high-functioning autism, Asperger's and similar challenges as she treated students in San Jose, CA. In fact, she received an award of Special Congressional Recognition for her on-going innovation of the Social Thinking curriculum and treatment approach. Social Thinking has long been an open treatment method, with Tony Attwood, Carol Gray, Barry Prizant, Kari Dunn Buron, Diane Twatchman-Cullen, Cathy Pratt, Brenda Smith Myles - and many more - all contributing. In fact, much of the growth of Social Thinking, both nationally and internationally, can be attributed to its use by professionals, parents and other caregivers who modify strategies for their settings and student needs.

Over almost 20 years, the application of Social Thinking has grown beyond the boundaries of diagnoses and countries. Many educators, therapists and parents now use and innovate upon Social Thinking treatment methods in their settings - and therapists at the Social Thinking Clinics in San Jose, CA, continue to treat individuals and develop novel treatment methods and effective teaching resources.

The term Social Thinking now encompasses many treatment programs broadly described as "teaching social thinking and related social skills." These strategies share common traits and differ from "social skills" teaching by getting at the thinking behind being social.

Social Thinking strategies teach individuals:

• How their own social minds work - why they and others react and respond the way they do;

• How their behaviors affects those around them;

• And from this, how behaviors are affecting their own emotions, responses to and relationships with others across different social contexts.

For individuals being treated, the objectives of these strategies include the ability to:

• Recognize the different levels of their own and others’ social minds;

• Navigate their behaviors for more rewarding social outcomes, which include considering how others perceive and respond to these behaviors;

• Learn to adapt to the people and situations around them, across contexts, from formal (classroom, workplace, etc.) to casual settings (hanging out, recess, etc.).

Find Out More

1. Inside Out: What Makes a Person with Social Cognitive Deficits Tick?

2. Thinking About YOU Thinking About ME, 2nd Edition

3. Think Social!