Using the 4 Steps of Communication and the Social Thinking–Social Competency Model as a backdrop, attendees will learn about the role of social attention, interpretation, problem solving, and social responses as part of navigating the social world. We explore how to teach, and learn the evidence base for, core treatment* frameworks and a handful of unique and practical strategies based on the Social Thinking Vocabulary. Attendees will learn how one’s social attention to the situation and people in the situation can encourage understanding of the expected behaviors for that social context. We also describe ways to teach interpreting and responding by making smart guesses to discover hidden social rules and the relationship to social emotional learning.

Attendees will explore specific treatment strategies for how our bodies establish physical presence in a group (body in the group) and how we think with our eyes to gain awareness of the social environment, whether interacting or simply sharing space. Throughout the course, we emphasize how to make abstract concepts more concrete through clinical examples.

*Treatment refers to using conceptual and strategy-based frameworks to help individuals improve their social competencies.

Who Should Attend

The Social Thinking Methodology is used by a wide variety of professionals; including speech-language pathologists, special and general education teachers, social workers, counselors, clinical and school psychologists, occupational therapists, behavior specialists, and school administrators to name a few. It’s also used by family members and caregivers across settings.

Using the 4 Steps of Communication and the Social Thinking–Social Competency Model as a backdrop, attendees will learn about the role of social attention, interpretation, problem solving, and social responses as part of navigating the social world. We explore how to teach, and learn the evidence base for, core treatment* frameworks and a handful of unique and practical strategies based on the Social Thinking Vocabulary. Attendees will learn how one’s social attention to the situation and people in the situation can encourage understanding of the expected behaviors for that social context. We also describe ways to teach interpreting and responding by making smart guesses to discover hidden social rules and the relationship to social emotional learning.

In The Social World – Part 1: Practical Vocabulary and Concepts for Teaching How It Works of this two-part series, we introduce two core treatment frameworks and a handful of concrete Social Thinking Vocabulary to use with individuals of different ages and social learning abilities. Learn practical ways to make abstract social concepts more concrete to give social learners a clear pathway to understanding social expectations. Understand the foundation of evidence underlying the tools.

In The Social World – Part 2: Practical Vocabulary and Concepts to Navigate to Regulate you will learn additional Social Thinking Vocabulary to make abstract social concepts more concrete. We describe treatment examples for guiding social learners to build social competencies in conversations, executive functions, self-awareness, self-regulation, perspective taking, and flexible thinking.

*Treatment refers to using conceptual and strategy-based frameworks to help individuals improve their social competencies.

Objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Define the six layers of evidence represented in the Social Thinking Methodology’s Research to Frameworks to Practice.
2. Describe a treatment activity for teaching toward the first step of the Four Steps of Communication (e.g., thinking about others).
3. Describe the relationship between joint attention and the Social Thinking Vocabulary term think with your eyes.
4. Describe an activity to teach how to use one’s eyes to show interest or follow the group plan (e.g., thinking with eyes).

Agenda

• 1 hour and 20 minutes
  • Introduction to understanding the link from research to frameworks to practice via layers of evidence supporting the Social Thinking Methodology.
  • Explore the 5 Steps of Being Part of a Group and the Social Thinking–Social Competency Model
• 2 hours and 10 minutes
  • Delve into teaching components of the Four Steps of Communication and treatment strategies and activities related to thinking, physical presence, and how we use our eyes to gather social information.
  • Explore strategies and vocabulary for teaching about the social world.
  • Previously recorded Q & A session

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