When a student’s behavior (actions or reactions) is out of sync with what the group is doing, they’re often labeled as a “behavior problem.” We’ll rethink “behavior problems” by teaching lessons that promote development of social competencies, including the power of hidden expectations and the role of Superflex, Social Fortune or Social Fate, and other curricula in the learning process, as well as other self-regulation strategies for use in the classroom, playground, and home.

If you are working or living with an individual(s) who tends to be very literal in how they interpret and respond to social information, this course will explore their social learning needs. Using video from treatment sessions, we’ll outline the characteristics of five different types of social learners and zoom into exploring those considered Challenged Social Communicators (CSC). We’ll provide concrete examples of how these social learners interpret information in a very, very literal manner, which contributes to extreme challenges with problem-solving abilities. Practical strategies to encourage the development of fundamental social concepts will be demonstrated. Treatment recommendations will focus on helping these social learners become a little more flexible when interpreting what’s happening in their social world.

Literal-minded individuals—who may have a diagnosis on the autism spectrum, ADHD, twice exceptional and/or sensory integration challenges— are often reported to struggle with social competencies and exhibit a range of other learning differences and/or challenges related to socially based critical thinking. Video-based case studies will offer treatment ideas and show how these social learners evolve in their understanding of the social world as they grow up. Group treatment ideas for different age groups will also be introduced.

The ability to make and keep a friend is something most of us take for granted. However, when it’s hard to make a friend or a friendship dissolves into dislikes, it’s important to have metacognitively based concepts and strategies to help us engage to meet our own personal goals. In this livestream-recorded online training, we’ll unpack different aspects of peer-based relations, from friendship to dislike, and provide practical strategies and perspective-taking activities to encourage student motivation to continue to develop increasingly complex relational social competencies as they age.