Date: Wednesday, February 1^st

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: TES Upstairs Library

Presenters: Dianna Fulreader, TES Assistant Principal & Beth Nolan-Stack, Behavior Specialist
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What is Social Thinking?

Michelle Garcia Winner, MA, CCC-SLP, coined the term 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 to the people around us. Because social thinking is an intuitive process, we usually take it for granted!

But for many individuals, this process does not come naturally. And this often has nothing to do with academic intelligence.

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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.).

Julie Williams, Chair
Tyngsborough SEPAC