Social Thinking | Communication Bridges

Good Thoughts and Bad Thoughts

July 24, 2015 By admin

This blog is a continuation of the “Eyes and Brain in the Group” blog. As I was attending the Social Thinking © conference in Long Beach in January, I realized that my “Expected and Unexpected Behaviors” lessons were incomplete. In the lessons I used several visuals for Expected and Unexpected Behaviors. I talked about having “good thoughts” when I client demonstrated expected behaviors in the clinic and “bad thoughts” when he exhibited “unexpected behaviors.” But I hadn’t really used a visual to make it explicit. During the conference, I noticed Ryan Hendrix (one of the presenters) use a red thought bubble for “bad thoughts” and a green thought bubble for “good thoughts.” I felt a figurative light bulb go on in my brain. Wouldn’t it make more sense to hold a green thought bubble over my head than say “I am having good thoughts,” since you don’t always express your thoughts verbally. Just holding up the green bubble without verbally interrupting the session would give the client the positive feedback and the acknowledgment while continuing with your lesson.

So of course, the next weekend I had to make the two thought bubbles. I used a generic thought bubble shape I found online and outlined one red and the other green with Do-A-Dot markers to make them bold. I wrote “Yay!” with a smiley face on the green thought bubble and “Oh, no!” with a sad face on the red thought bubble.

I also made a generic (white) thought bubble that said, “I am thinking about __.” I put some Velcro underneath so I child could attach a picture of something/ someone they were thinking about. To carry it further, I also made a “talking bubble” and laminated it so you can write on it with a dry erase marker. The client could write what they were thinking about on the “talking bubble.” For example, if they were thirsty and thinking about juice, they would write, “I want some juice” on the “talking bubble.”

One of my clients in particular has difficulty realizing that people have different thoughts. What is in his brain isn’t necessarily in mine. So if he is thinking about “m&ms,” he needs to say it so I know what he’s thinking about instead of demonstrating “unexpected behaviors” such as screaming or crying. So having two thought bubbles (one for him and one for me), each showing that we are both thinking about different things (his has m&ms, mine has the activity we are doing) makes it explicit for him.

I have to credit Ryan Hendrix for the ideas listed above. I also used Jill Kuzma’s thinking and speech bubbles. You can find the templates on her blog. She has some additional ideas and activities that are great to carry on the lessons using thought bubbles.

You are a Social Detective! App Review

June 30, 2015 By admin

Every one of us is a Social Detective! We are good social detectives when we use our eyes, ears, and brains to figure out what others are planning to do next or are presently doing and what they mean by their words and actions.

This entertaining and engaging app offers repeated practice to develop social detective skills. This interactive app teaches children ages 7-12 to become better social thinkers by putting on their detective hats and deciphering both expected and unexpected social behavior. Users will rely on their eyes, ears and brains to make smart social guesses and investigate clues to see how others’ emotions and responses are connected to their own behavior.

You are a Social Detective! App is the first level of the Social Detective CD. (This is a blessing to all of you, who are like me and haven’t owned a laptop with a CD drive for over 2 years!). I was told this app was in development back in January, when I attended a Social Thinking Conference in Long Beach. I’ve since been waiting for it to be released. It certainly did not disappoint.

The app’s creators put together a short video to explain the app, you can watch it HERE.

The app itself is easy to use. Moving through the different steps is also intuitive. The first step involves choosing an avatar. The child can choose from the different options available by assigning his/her name.

The app also allows the students to review their “Social Smarts.” I like to use the Social Detective Comic Book as a review before using the app. However, the quick review is handy before the students start practicing their skills on the app. (You have the option to “skip” the review if you are using the app with the same student over multiple sessions).

For each of the three levels in the app, there is a pretest. Students must get 100% on the pretest before they can move on to the ‘test’ portion for each level.

Essentially, the goal of the app is for each player/student to become a social detective by earning:
1) A Detective Coat: To earn the detective coat, the student must be able to tell which behaviors are expected and which ones are unexpected. The app includes 3 still images (pretest) and 16 short videos. For each video the student must identify if the behavior was “expected” or “unexpected.”

2) A Detective Hat: To earn the hat, they must show they know and understand the difference between good thoughts and uncomfortable thoughts. Students must identify verbal and nonverbal clues from the videos to show if someone was having good thoughts or uncomfortable thoughts. The app includes 3 still images (pretest), and 12 short videos. For each video the student must identify if the individual is having “good,” or “uncomfortable” thoughts.

3) A Magnifying Glass: The students earn their magnifying glass to complete their Social Detective ensemble by using all of their skills to make smart guesses. The students are required to use their social skill “tools” (eyes, ears, brains) to predict what they think will probably happen next. The app includes 3 still images (pretest) and 24 short videos. This section is challenging because there are two answers per question and does require thought and reasoning.

Elementary school-aged (K-5) students, and immature older middle and high school students who enjoy playing on the iPad, may benefit from this app. However, this isn’t just an app for students who have challenges relating to autism spectrum disorders. The lessons also offer a variety of engaging ways to introduce the concepts of social thinking to general education students who may have difficulties with social nuances, emotional disabilities, and younger students with challenges in higher order reasoning. This app also keeps data for the past 5 sessions per student per level.

Overall, I thought the videos used in the app were appropriate for a wide range of ages. Videos included scenes from a school, playground, lunchroom, and home. This further widens the scope of its application. I definitely think it is a handy “tool” for Social Thinking therapists and teachers. You can buy it at the app store for $24.99.

Disclaimer: The app was provided for review. However, all the opinions and content of the blog are the author’s.

Filed Under: Apps, Augmentative and Alternative Communication, Social Skills, Social Thinking Tagged With: Social Cognition, Social Detective, Social Skills

Thinkables & Unthinkables Double Deck

December 6, 2014 By admin

One of the new products in the Social Thinking Curriculum is the “Thinkable & Unthinkable Double Deck.” It is suitable for 3rd- 5th grade children with social communication/ social learning challenges. This is a set consists of two card decks:

The Unthinkables: This deck includes 14 sneaky Unthinkable characters. There are several cards for each character so it is convenient to use with groups. Each character’s name and power is included on the card.

The Thinkables: This deck includes 52 playing cards; 3 of each Thinkable , 9 Superflex cards, and 1 information card. Each character’s name and superpower is included on the card.

This set is not meant to be used by it self. It is a supplement to the “Superflex Curriculum.” Once the students are familiar with the Superflex characters, these card decks are perfect to reinforce the concepts. The cards can be used to play games like “Go Fish!” “Memory,” “I Spy,” “Guess Who?” or simply use them with your student’s favorite game like you would any language or articulation picture card set. To add a little movement to the activity, I place Unthinkables cards face down on a Twister mat. We play Twister and the child opens a card he/she lands on and tells what Superflex strategy they would use to defeat the Unthinkable character.

I would recommend using this card deck if you work with children struggling with social communication challenges.. It’s however one tool for practicing the broader concepts introduced in the Superflex line of products: The Superflex Curriculum Book, related comic books, the Thinkables, Superflex’s five Power Pals, and the very cool Five-Step Power Plan. All of the above products including the Thinkable and Unthinkable Double Deck are available at www.socialthinking.com

Filed Under: Social Skills, Social Thinking Tagged With: Social Skills, Social Thinking Activities, Social Thinking Card Decks, Superflex Curriculum, Thinkables, Unthinkables

Superflex Superdecks: Product Review

September 11, 2014 By admin

Are you having trouble squeezing in time to develop novel therapy materials for your social thinking groups? You’re not alone. With a crazy schedule of both private and public school speech therapists, this new pack of cards is an incredible time-saver.

The Superflex Superdecks are card decks to help your students practice and promote the skills they learned in the Superflex Curriculum. It is important to note that the card decks do not replace the curriculum, but in fact supplement it. I used them after my students were at least familiar with the Unthinkables and the Superflex strategies. So if you’re looking at this set, consider purchasing the Superflex Curriculum and comic books first. The card decks are meant for kids between ages 8-11 years.

The game includes:

Unthinkable Card deck which includes 14 Unthinkables (2 each), 6 Superflex Cards, 18 Brain Sensory Cards.
Situation Card deck which includes 5 Power Pat cards, 47 situation cards.
Strategy Card deck which includes 52 Strategy cards.
Thinkables Card deck which includes 14 Thinkables (2 each), 6 Superflex cards, 18 Brain Sensory cards.
5 Step Power Plan Cards (4 copies)
Thinkables/ Unthinkables Reference Card (4 copies)
An Informational and General Instruction booklet.

Even though I’ve been using the Superflex curriculum for a while now, it was really helpful to look through the Informational and General Instruction booklet. There was a lot of useful information about what’s included and general instructions about using the game.

The reference cards are an excellent visual to review all the Unthinkable and Thinkable characters. I spent a lot of time with these cards before using the card games. A good understanding of these characters is crucial to this program.

The 5 Step Power Plan includes the 5 Power Pals who will help the students review the steps to take in a socially tricky situation. I like the clean visual. I made several copies of this card and will sometimes have the students write or draw what the 5 Power Pals would do in each situation.

The Thinkable cards can be used as a game such as “Put ‘em to Rest.” The object of the game is to identify which Unthinkable is put to rest by the Thinkable. (The answers are on the back of the instruction card). You can build on this by asking your student to come up with a “Thinkable” moment and describe the Thinkable’s superpower.

The Unthinkable cards are used to play the “On the Scene!” game. The object of this game is to describe a time and situation when the Unthinkable character may make an appearance.

The Situation card deck contains various social situations where the Unthinkables appear. The object of the game is to identify which Unthinkable may be at work in that situation. (It might be useful to keep the reference cards for the characters handy for this game.) The situations are realistic and easy to relate to for most school-age students. You can also go on the Social Thinking website (www.socialthinking.com) for a blank template to make up more social situations.

The Strategy card deck contains possible Social Thinking strategies to use when the Unthinkables usually make their appearance. The object of the game is for the student to identify, which Unthinkable can be defeated by the strategy on the card. Since our focus is almost always on thinking of strategies when a situation is presented, I think it is really useful to work in reverse sometimes. It helps solidify the concept.

*Even though you can play the card games by themselves, some of my students prefer to use them with their favorite game (just like you would any flashcard set).

Overall: The Superflex Superdecks is a fun, engaging and motivating game to review and practice the Superflex Curriculum. I love the idea of creating your own Unthinkable characters and situations using the templates on the website. Even though the instructions for the card sets are provided, it is easy to create your own games to make it more exciting for your students. On days when the kids seem particularly lethargic and slow, we used the Unthinkables card set to play treasure hunt. I hide the character cards and the students take turns to find them. They then describe what the Unthinkables do in a social situation and come up with a strategy to cope with them. Really, the possibilities are endless! I definitely think this game is an excellent buy for around $40. You can purchase your set here.

Disclaimer: This item was provided to complete this review. No other forms of compensation were provided. The thoughts and opinions expressed in the review are the author’s.

Filed Under: Social Thinking Tagged With: Superflex Superdecks

Whole Body Listening Larry at School

January 15, 2014 By admin

Review of “Whole Body Listening Larry at School” by Kristen Wilson and Elizabeth Sautter

This book is the sequel to “Whole Body Listening at Home”. Personally, I prefer to start the instruction on holistic listening with this book rather than the “Whole Body Listening at Home” only because it seems like such an integral and critical part of school learning. In addition, comments like “You need to do better listening,” and “Pay attention” often occur more frequently in the classroom than at home.

I think, what this book does, like most other Social Thinking Curriculum materials, is to break down an abstract concept like “better listening,” “paying attention” into concrete segments using simple child-friendly language and pictures. When I first reviewed the book, I have to admit I was a little disappointed I hadn’t thought of this myself. It seems obvious and intuitive. The book uses school-age characters to describe Whole Body Listening. Whole Body Listening, according to the book includes using your eyes, ears, hands, feet, brain, and heart to listen. The situations used to teach how each of these body parts is actively involved in listening are easily relatable for most children. Breaking down the process of active listening by explaining the role of each individual body part makes so much more sense than simply asking the child to show “good listening” since the book actually explains what that means.

For the lesson, I took my time reading the book with my client. We discussed each picture in detail talked about what she saw and what Lea and Luka (the characters in the book) should do differently. We also did some role-play to make it fun and engaging. A critical piece that the authors discuss is making a link between the behavior to the feelings and emotions of others. Talking about how the listener feels when you are not listening with your whole body was challenging for my client. But making that connection repeatedly throughout the book discussion did eventually pay off. The Social Thinking website has a free download that could be incorporated in the lesson. It is a coloring page with pictures of all the body parts involved in Whole Body Listening.

I used several weeks to really hone in the concept of Whole Body Listening. I was surprised with how many activities and ideas were available online to incorporate into the lesson. I thought it might be helpful to list the resources I used to make it easier for readers to plan their “Whole Body Listening” lessons.

In addition to the poster/ coloring page available on www.socialthinking.com, I used Mr. Potato Head to reinforce the concept. While the eyes, ears, hands, and feet were available, I wanted to also include the heart and the brain. So I cut out a heart shape from cardstock and used Velcro to attach it on Mr. Potato Head. I also used an image of a brain. When my client added each piece to Mr. Potato Head, she had to explain what body part needs to do for Whole Body Listening.
I also used the “Biscotti Kid” video that is available on YouTube. It is a hilarious 5 minute video by Sesame Street ©. The video demonstrates how hard Whole Body Listening is for Cookie Monster, but finally he gets it and wins a black and white cookie belt. It is an excellent kick off for a discussion on Whole Body Listening and why it can be challenging sometimes. I used it to list some of the common distractions in my client’s classroom.
I also used the Whole Body Listening portion of Kathleen Pedersen’s “Monster Fun! Teaching Manners and Expectations. It is a free digital download on TeachersPayTeachers. It is a fun book with colorful images that review all the body parts involved in Whole Body Listening. This is Kathleen’s blog: http://growingkinders.blogspot.com.
“Howard B Wigglebottom Learns to Listen” by Howard Binkow is a book Howard, who gets into a lot of trouble for not listening. It is an excellent accompaniment to the Whole Body Listening lessons. The “We Do Listen Foundation Media Center” has an online animated version of the book with excellent sound effects. The website to access the online video is https://wedolisten.org/?.

Overall, I think it is an excellent book. I would highly recommend it. The book is simple, but fun and engaging. It makes an abstract concept concrete and easy to understand, even for younger preschool aged children. The handy poster is a great reminder to have in your clinic or classroom.

Filed Under: Social Communication DIsorders, Social Thinking, Speech Therapy Tagged With: Whole Body Listening

You are a Social Detective!

October 15, 2013 By admin

Review of “You are a Social Detective! Explaining Social Thinking to Kids” written by Michelle Garcia Winner and Pamela Crooke, illustrated by Kelly Knopp

Getting started with the Social Thinking Curriculum by Michelle Garcia Winner is always a challenge. Most of us, Speech-Language Pathologists, fall under two distinct categories: 1) “Read first Therapists” that like to read and study a program until it we can recite it in our sleep before we will begin to implement it on our students, 2) “Try it out first Therapists” that will try to figure out the program while we implement it on our students.

I belong to the former category. I spent months after my first Social Thinking conference buying various books and studying them. After all that extensive reading, I concluded that, “You are a Social Detective!” was arguably one of the best programs to initiate the Social Thinking curriculum. This is possibly also because a majority of my caseload includes pre-school and early elementary students. It uses a comic book form and introduces many of the social thinking vocabulary in a clear and systematic way.

The first section points out how we all have school smarts, sports smarts, Lego smarts, etc. but we also have social smarts. It explains that social smarts means understanding that others have thoughts about us and we have thoughts about others. We use social smarts everywhere.

Some of the social thinking vocabulary that is explained using simple but age appropriate illustrations include “being a part of a group,” “thinking with our eyes,” “expected and unexpected behaviors.” The program uses the same social situation to contrast expected and unexpected behaviors, making it easier for children to grasp the concept.

Versus

The book introduces the concept of “having uncomfortable thoughts,” which, in my opinion is more appropriate and specific than using “feeling mad or angry,” especially for children on the spectrum. Feeling angry is so broad and vague and encompasses so many different scenarios and situations, that it makes it challenging for children on the Autism Spectrum. “Having uncomfortable thoughts” directly links the person’s thoughts to the student’s behavior.

The book also explains “being upset” in explicit physical terms (mean sounding voice, angry face, body gets tight) so children can identify their own states when they get upset.

The book then goes on to explain the process of being a social detective, i.e. using eyes and ears along with what they know in their brains. The authors talk about how we use our eyes, ears and brain to make “Smart Guesses” about how to behave. The contrast (Whacky Guess) is also illustrated.

Another challenge a lot of my little ones have is identifying and differentiating between peers who are nice and friendly and others who say or do mean things. The book has tables (page 44 and 45) to help the child identify and list characteristics of a “nice person” and a person who is “not nice to talk to.” In addition, the book also has a glossary with definitions of the Social Thinking vocabulary for quick reference. The book also includes three lesson plans at the end of the book for “Expected Vs Unexpected Behaviors,” “Social Spy,” and “Social Detective.”

Pros:

Illustrates in a simple and clear manner what it means to be a social detective.
Appropriate for early to late elementary aged students.
Contains three lesson plans that require little to no preparation.

Cons:

The illustrations may not be appropriate for older students.
Wish it included more lesson plans.
Some of the concepts may be challenging for low functioning students.

For me, “Being a Social Detective” forms the crux of the Social Thinking curriculum. Unless our students understand that their “unexpected behaviors” cause others to have “uncomfortable thoughts” about them, they are unlikely to change their behaviors. Concrete reinforcers such as prizes will only go so far.

Filed Under: Autism, Social Communication DIsorders, Social Stories, Social Thinking Tagged With: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Social Cognition, Social Communication Disorders, Social Groups, Social Skills, Social Stories, Social Thinking

We Can Make it Better

October 7, 2013 By admin

Review of “We Can Make it Better: A Strategy to Motivate and Engage Young Learners in Social Problem Solving Through Flexible Stories” By Elizabeth M. Delsandro.

A majority of my caseload includes preschool and early elementary aged students. Many of them are diagnosed with Autism or demonstrate social skill deficits. If you’re like me and work with the younger students, you know how hard it is to find social skill programs that are structured, but still age appropriate. For the last year or so, the Social Thinking Curriculum has been the go-to program for many therapists to build social skills. However, finding materials that are appropriate for this age group has always been a challenge. In many settings including the public schools the Social Thinking curriculum isn’t incorporated until upper elementary or middle school years. Does that mean that the Social Thinking Curriculum isn’t appropriate for the preschool age group? In my opinion the preschool and early elementary age group is ideal to begin teaching the Social Thinking Curriculum. Introducing the Social Thinking vocabulary and concepts early on makes them a part of their everyday lives and routine. It does present unique challenges though: 1) teaching the vocabulary in ways that makes sense to younger students and 2) preparing lessons that are age appropriate, engaging and flexible.

“We Can Make it Better: A Strategy to Motivate and Engage Young Learners in Social Problem Solving Through Flexible Stories,” by Elizabeth Delsandro is an excellent starting point in terms of meeting both these challenges. This program essentially uses short stories to identify a problem situation and then encourages the students to express ideas that would “make the problem better.” It follows the core concepts of Michele Garcia Winner’s social thinking curriculum. The lessons are based on how ones behavior can alter the thoughts other people have about them (good or uncomfortable thoughts). Thus, it makes an important initial connection between people’s thoughts and their feelings. The stories follow a predictable pattern:

Introduction of a familiar social event,
A social problem, and
The undesirable conclusion.

Each story contains a lesson plan or pathway for the children to discover “how to make it better.” This involves active verbal problem solving to yield a preferred ending to the story. So the structure of the lesson basically involves reading the story with the social problems, then brainstorming together for ideas regarding what the characters should have done instead. Each story comes with two endings. The first one is the undesired ending and the second is the preferred ending. So, after the brainstorming, you would read the story once again, but incorporate the children’s suggestions and then use the alternate ending. Together, you have “made it better.”

I like that it uses a narrative approach similar to Carol Gray’s Comic Strip conversations. What I like to do is use Post It notes with speech bubbles and write in the suggestions made by the students and place them on the printed copy of the story. In addition, it allows children to view familiar social situations without being in it and therefore actively engaging in problem solving in a safe and non-threatening environment. All of the lessons:

Are structured and predictable,
Use illustrations instead of just auditory information, and
Use illustrations that are simple and free of distractions.

The program therefore caters to the strengths of children on the autism spectrum (and I have to admit, mine too. After all, which Speech-Language Pathologist doesn’t like structured, organized and predictable).

A typical lesson takes about 30-40 minutes, although it could easily be extended to encompass an hour-long session.

Appendix A describes the story structure. The first edition contains the social dilemmas, while the second provides solutions so the ending is a preferred ending.

Appendix C provides a visual script for the lesson.

Appendix G provides a visual link between people’s thoughts and their feelings. This could be a very powerful and versatile tool. It could be used for far more activities than just the lessons in this program.

Pros:

The scripts for the lessons are provided making it easy to plan and run the session.
The illustrations are suitable for a wide age group.
It includes a CD with lots of printable worksheets and materials.
It incorporates strong visual supports for students that are predominantly visual learners. The visual supports could be used for so much more than just this program.
It also works on a variety of skills ranging from greeting and turn taking to making predictions.
The “thinking and feeling” board helps make the connection between our actions and what people think and how they feel because of their thoughts about us.
It includes goal ideas, which would be helpful for IEPs.

Cons:

It would be hard to make up your own stories and illustrate them (at least for someone like me who can’t draw). This means you are restricted to the story bank that is included in the program. While the stories are varied and fairly extensive (21 stories), there are several situations and scenarios I would have liked to be included.

Disclaimer: I (Sonali Shah) was provided with a copy of this program to review. However, all the opinions and thoughts are mine.

Filed Under: Autism, Social Communication DIsorders, Social Stories, Social Thinking Tagged With: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Social Communication Disorders, Social Skills, Social Stories, Social Thinking Curriculum

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