Think Social! A Social Thinking Curriculum for School-Age Students for Teaching Social Thinking and Related Skills to students with High Functioning Autism, PDD-NOS, Asperger Syndrome, Nonverbal Learning Disability, ADHD
by Michelle Garcia Winner



This book builds on the basic philosophy offered in THINKING ABOUT YOU THINKING ABOUT ME. Created at the request of educators, therapists and parents to learn more about how to teach students with weak social cognition and related social skills (Asperger's Syndrome, PDD-NOS, High Functioning Autism, ADHD, NLD, Hyperlexia) and those with murky social abilities. This curriculum builds on the basic philosophy offered in Thinking About You Thinking About Me, then sequences lessons across 8 different chapters to help students start to explore the basic aspects of working and thinking in a group. The chapters expand to address how to use and interpret language (verbal and non-verbal) to further understand the communicative context. The lessons are introduced by encouraging the students and their caregivers to learn the "social thinking vocabulary" and explore more about developing self-awareness through analysis of their groups' therapy videos clips. Caregivers are provided a summary at the end of each chapter of the relevant social thinking vocabulary they can use at "teachable moments" across the day. Each chapter also concludes with goal suggestions to help address the concepts introduced; furthermore each chapter also provides a list of educational standards that require the social knowledge taught within the chapter in order for the students to be able to meet these standards, linking social thinking back to the academics of the classroom. The curriculum provides a comprehensive introduction at the start of the book to guide people through its use. Some information is also provided about developing social thinking groups and the core social thinking philosophy. This book should be used alongside the book, Thinking About You Thinking About Me.

About the Author

Michelle has worked with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders for twenty-one years. Michelle is known both in the USA and internationally for her user-friendly approach and engaging speaking style. She has been an invited speaker at conferences and workshops for educational districts across America, including the national conference put on by The Gray Center, The Linguisystems National Conference, Stanley Greenspan's ICDL conference in Virginia, and NLDA's Annual Symposium, and many others. Michelle also puts on a few of her own workshops each year.

She received a bachelor degree in Speech Language Pathology from UC Santa Barbara, and a master's degree from Indiana University, Bloomington. She has worked as a speech language pathologist in a variety of settings including the elementary and secondary levels of public school, in neuro-cognitive rehabilitation programs for persons with head-injuries and strokes and in a clinical research program for students with autism in Bloomington, Indiana under the mentorship of Nancy Dalrymple. She entered into private practice in 1999 and now runs Michelle Garcia Winner's Center for Social Thinking in San Jose, CA. Michelle's center serves approximately 300 students a year in regular treatment sessions with her staff. In addition, she consults with family and school educators. Michelle continues to gain practical insights into helping our students by working in her clinic 2-3 days a week. She has also developed an assessment approach for better understanding the practical and IEP needs of her students. Michelle also consults to school district in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as across the nation. She has worked with Andrea Walker's SUCSESS project in Orange Country for 3 years helping their staff to develop plans for helping them serve the older child.

Michelle continues to write journal and magazine articles and books with her insights on social cognition. Her greatest areas of self-study currently involve the exploration of perspective taking (Theory of Mind) and executive functions (multi-tasking) and their impact on many different aspects of functioning (social and academic). Michelle is breaking new ground in developing treatment ideas to help children and adults prepare better for the challenges of the world we live in.