Social Thinking describes the thought  process that precedes the appropriate use of social skills. Successful social thinkers consider the points of view, emotions, thoughts, beliefs, prior knowledge and intentions of others. This process is called “perspective taking” - considering the perspective of others. For most people, this is an intuitive process. Social intelligence allows individuals to integrate information in all situations, settings and with all people. For most, social thinking is hard-wired at birth and learned intuitively from infancy onward, developing communication skills as we grow and mature. We steadily observe and acquire social information and learn how to respond appropriately.

 

However, for some individuals, social thinking doesn’t intuitively develop and these people will have difficulty learning and applying social information in what is considered a social learning disability. These are the individuals who would

benefit most from Social Thinking classes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social Cognitive Deficits can be a challenge for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities, among others. Many people can score high on IQ and other standardized tests and still have quite limited social skills. Social Thinking methods are successful at teaching the ability to interact socially for people with social limitations who have near-normal to way above-normal intelligence. Social Thinking strategies have helped children, adolescents and adults in all stages and areas of life because interacting comfortably and effectively with others is important to everyone.