You are a Social Detective!

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[fbshare]So many children with special needs miss the social clues surrounding their interactions with their peers. They are excluded from groups. They are unable to establish long-lasting friendships. They have difficulty tracking group conversations. They stand too close, they stand too far, and they stand in the middle! How can these children begin to solve this mystery?

Thank goodness there is help! You are a Social Detective!: Explaining Social Thinking to Kids by Michelle Garcia Winner and Pamela Crooke is a great place to start.This comic book has some fabulous drawings of children with each area of their brain labeled. Kids can begin to understand that they they are skilled in many areas, such as “math smarts”, “lego smarts”, and “computer smarts”. More importantly, they are able to see that they also have a “friend smarts” area in their brain. Children learn that they use their social smarts at all times of the day, even when they are working in school or sitting in silence around their peers.

Children discover that when they use their social smarts they are being a Social Detective. Social Detectives use their eyes, ears, and brain to do what is expected. “Expected” behavior  gives others good thoughts about us. “Unexpected” behavior can make people uncomfortable with us.

This book has over 50 glossy pages full of fun and engaging drawings to accompany the initial explanation of “Social Thinking”, a concept developed by Michelle to promote social skills. Fourteen words used in Social Thinking are introduced in the story and defined formally in the back of the book. Three Social Thinking lessons are also provided. They are written for a group of children, but parents can modify them for use with their children.

Social Thinking for Kids

You are a Detective! is the foundation for Social Thinking. After completing this book, children can advance to Superflex … a Superhero Social Thinking Curriculum and then the Superflex Takes on Glassman and the Team of Unthinkables comic book. Parents who are interested in learning more about Social Thinking should read Thinking About You, Thinking About Me. This is considered the core book of Social Thinking for parents and professionals.

The Authors

Both Michelle and Pamela are Speech and Language Pathologists. Michelle has authored a number of books and speaks on Social Thinking nationally and internationally. Pamela is a faculty member of San Jose State University and is interested in social cognitive challenges. Together they run the Social Thinking Clinic located in San Jose, California.

Social Thinking has a website full of lots of useful information. You can sign up for their newsletter or read Michelle’s blog. You can also become familiar with their products and be informed of workshops coming to your area. They have much to offer with regards to social skills and I highly recommend you check out their website and products.

And don’t forget, to find hundreds of resources like Social Thinking and much, much more, join S-O-S Step-by-Step.  You can access close to 100 social skills resources for free.