Social Thinking Research

Latest Peer Reviewed Research 

Development of the Supported Employment, Comprehensive Cognitive Enhancement and Social Skills (2017)

Baker-Ericzén, M.J., Fitch, M., Kinnear, M., Jenkins, M. M., Smith, L., Montano, G., Twamley, E., Crooke, P, Garcia Winner, M., Feder, J., & Leon, J. (2017) . Autism: International Journal of Research and Practice, pp-14.

Featured in Word of Mouth Journal: Social Thinking® in the Landscape of Evidence-Based Practices (2017)

Crooke, P. & Garcia Winner, M. (2017). Sage Journals: Word of Mouth, May, Volume 28, Issue 5, pp 5-8

Social Thinking Methodology: Evidence-Based or Empirically Supported? A Response to Leaf et al. (2016)

Crooke, P.J., & Winner, M. G. (2016). Behavior Analysis in Practice, December, Volume 9, Issue 4, pp 403–408

Thinking Socially: Teaching Social Knowledge to Foster Social Behavioral Change (2016)

Crooke, P.J., Olswang, L., & Winner, M. G. (2016). Topics in Language Disorders, July/September, Volume 36, Issue 3, pp 284-298

Read Article

Description and Preliminary Evaluation of a Curriculum for Teaching Conversational Skills to Children With High-Functioning Autism and Other Social Cognition Challenges (2016)

Müller, E., Cannon, L.R., Kornblum, C., Clark, J., & Powers, M. (2016). Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, July, Volume 47, pp 191-208

Read Article

Practice-Based Research: Another Pathway for Closing the Research-Practice Gap (2015)

Crooke, P.J., & Olswang, L. (2015). Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, December, Volume 58, pp 1871-1882

Crooke, P. J., & Olswang, L. (2015). Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
This article examines the prevailing wisdom of moving evidence into practice as defined by the traditional research pipeline that has been viewed as the gold standard in health care. In comparison, evidence that comes from practice will be explored as an alternative research-based paradigm that complements the traditional approach. Research originating within the research and practice setting will be explored as a way to more effectively close the research-practice gap. Practice-Based Research (PBR) will be defined, including principles and methodological guidelines. To illustrate PBR, retrospective data from an existing, highly utilized methodology (Social Thinking) for teaching social knowledge and behaviors to individuals diagnosed with social learning challenges, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD), will be presented.

Implementation Science Initiative

Over the past two decades, the science related to developing and identifying efficacious treatments has improved; however, the science related to implementing these programs with fidelity and positive consumer outcomes has not kept pace. Nor has our science explored the myriad of questions that impact effective and efficient service delivery.  The gap between laboratory research and practice remains large, suggesting that a more proactive approach to bridging the gap is required. This means that both researchers and practitioners must actively work towards the implementation of knowledge into “real world” settings.  This requires that the researcher understand the needs of stakeholders and the systemic complexities of service settings. Implementation involves recognizing and executing a rigorous set of activities designed to put into everyday practice proven procedures or programs; this has been called the science of implementation and it is burgeoning across disciplines."  [Dr. Lesley Olswang, 2013 Implementation Science, ASHA].

In a nutshell, Implementation science (IS) is a way of looking at real world scenarios with front line implementers using strategies day-to-day.  What we like about (IS) is that it systematically considers the real life barriers that you all face when working in schools, homes, clinics, communities and workplaces while still valuing the evidence/research underlying the tools you use. As we've collected data over the past year, we've discovered some interesting findings. We wanted to know which evidence-based social thinking concepts were embraced by you (professionals and family members) and why. Our goal is to now refine how we share our information to encourage using the concepts in the manner we designed them (fidelity). This data will also guide future outcomes studies.

There have been quite a few articles on the issues of moving evidence based ideas from the university or hospital laboratory setting into the real world setting. One of the most powerful findings was that it could take up to 17 years to translate findings from the lab to the front lines! Why?  There is something referred to as a "research pipeline" that can become the clog.  We all understand the importance of clinical trials for life saving or life threatening drugs and it makes sense that this is a very time consuming process. This is a clog that is critical and important to many types of medical research. But in the social sciences, the slow-down is often found during the publication phase. It can take years to complete a study and then years to publish the results. And, publication in a peer-reviewed journal still doesn't mean that people will embrace the findings. It's not uncommon for really great research to be stuck in laboratory limbo because the study didn't include the "stakeholders" (you) in the research process.