Helping sophisticated social learners set and meet their own personal social goals is a complicated process. The reality is that many who have traits such as perfectionism, self-protective resistance, social anxiety, and executive functioning challenges may be overlooked by home and school support teams. In this course, we explore the subtle but significant needs of sophisticated social learners who commonly have a diagnosis of ADHD, autism level 1, OCD, NVLD, social anxiety, twice exceptional and other learning differences—or may have no diagnosis at all). Usually in mainstream classes, these individuals struggle with the intricacies of developing social relationships, working through assignments, and engaging in peer-based groups. This course is part one of a two-part series where attendees will learn how issues with flexible thinking, emotional understanding of self and others, problem solving, self-advocacy, and nuanced social interpretations can contribute to subtle but significant social differences and/or challenges. The social learners covered in this course are often bullied by peers and adults; we introduce the concept of the “forgiveness factor” to detail this phenomenon.

Other concepts addressed in this course include:

• Using visual tools for determining brain strengths and differences and/or challenges
• Using the Social Thinking Feelings vs Emotions and Emoticon Scale to encourage awareness of emotions in self and others
• Exploring social metacognition and its role in the Social Thinking Methodology
• Explaining how bullying and the “forgiveness factor” are interrelated
• Introducing practical strategies such as the “I Don’t Care” visual support
• Encouraging the role of teaching from inside out
• Introducing the role of the Social Competency Model and social and self-evaluation
• Exploring nuances of social learning in older adulthood
• Exploring social learning and teaching pathways for early learners
• Describing the role of singular vs. shared imagination in the development of 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.

This series will explore how to work alongside students, clients, and patients who have academic and language strengths relative to their executive functions and social nuances struggles. These individuals commonly have a diagnosis of ADHD, autism level 1, OCD, NVLD, social anxiety, twice exceptional and other learning differences—or may have no diagnosis at all. Teachers and parents describe these learners as struggling with organization (executive functioning), emotion management (self-regulation), and mental health (social anxiety, and depression). We describe this group as Nuance-Challenged Social Communicators (NCSC). Nuance-based social learners tend to have subtle but significant differences and/or challenges and are the most likely to be bullied by peers and adults.

We will describe the characteristics and social emotional learning needs of this style of learner starting at four years old, across childhood, and throughout adulthood. We will explore sophisticated ideas that foster the development of an individual’s perspective taking, executive functioning, and social emotional self-management by helping the individual to meet their own personal social goals.

More specifically we will examine different aspects of emotional awareness of self and others, flexible thinking, social problem solving, and self-advocacy while guiding the audience through different assessment and teaching ideas.

These two courses also include:

• Examples of cognitive flexibility and its relationship to dysregulation
• How social problem solving and emotional expression are linked
• Strategies to promote emotional self-regulation
• Learning about one’s own strengths and relative differences and/or challenges
• Exploring social anxiety and some related teaching ideas
• Utilizing the Friendship Pyramid to explore specific strategies to teach more sophisticated greetings, and development of acquaintance-based relationships and situational friendships
• Using the Four Steps of Communication to teach physical presence
• Helping students track their own learning by tracking the evolution of their own social operating systems

Objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe three characteristics of Nuance-Challenged Social Communicators and the impact of these characteristics on mental health and executive functioning.
2. Explain how having a shared imagination is important not only for interactive play but also for collaboration and conversational skills.
3. Discuss how visual tools such as the “I don't care” scale and “Learning Strengths and Challenges” can engage and empower the student or client’s learning.

Agenda

• 50 Minutes (Speaker: Michelle Garcia Winner)
  • Feelings vs Emotions and Emoticon scale, Social Metacognition, Social Thinking-Social Communication Profile, Self-awareness and the forgiveness factor
  • Practical Strategies: The “I don’t Care” Visual support, Teaching from inside out, Social Competency Model, Social and self-evaluation
• 1 hour (Speaker: Pam Crooke)
  • Nuances in older adulthood
• 1 hour 10 mins (Speaker: Michelle Garcia Winner)
  • Nuances in 4-year-olds, teaching pathways for younger learners
  • Singular and shared imagination, GPS group, play and collaboration
  • Brain strengths and challenges

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