Has Your Child Ever Burst Your Ear Drum?

by on November 24, 2009 in Social Thinking and tagged , ,

Mine did recently. Children with attention challenges often do not understand about voice volume and that different circumstances call for different levels of volume.  They may talk too loudly when in small gatherings and be seen as overly obnoxious and loud.  They may also talk too quietly when trying to speak to others who are […]

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Why Voice Inflection is Important

by on November 23, 2009 in Social Thinking and tagged , , ,

Children with attention,  language. and learning problems may not pick up on the subtle differences in voice inflection that change the meaning of what another is saying.  They themselves may not use voice inflection much and so they may not understand when others use it.  For example, changing the voice inflection to emphasize one word […]

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How to Help Your Child Say the Right Thing at the Right Time to the Right Person

by on November 22, 2009 in Social Thinking and tagged , , ,

Children with social problems may not understand their own social image: they may not understand how others view their behavior and actions.  An important part of social language involves a child’s ability to change the way they talk depending on who they are talking to and who they are with.  They may not understand that […]

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Manners in the classroom: A Dozen Teacher Pleasing Skills

by on November 21, 2009 in Social Thinking and tagged , , ,

Students with attention challenges often struggle to handle themselves in the classroom.  They benefit from learning treat teachers with respect with the knowledge that their teacher is there to help them.  Your child can be taught that when she is asked a question and she doesn’t know the answer, it is appropriate to  just simply say “I […]

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Eight Important Things to Teach about Body Language

by on November 20, 2009 in Social Thinking and tagged , ,

 The child with attention challenges may struggle to understand when someone is confused by what he does.  He may miss the looks of misunderstanding on another’s face. Children can be taught a person’s body language is often more believable than verbal communication.  For example, if you ask someone “What’s wrong?”  If she shrugs her shoulders, […]

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Why Teach Social Language?

by on November 20, 2009 in Flexiture, Social Thinking and tagged , , ,

Speaking and understanding social language is another key aspect of fitting in socially.  Many youngsters have trouble using the right words in the right way.  When they talk, they don’t sound very “cool” to the other kids.  Often because they don’t recognize social feedback, they don’t realize that the way they talk is creating problems […]

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Manners Matter! : 11 Important Skills for Parties

by on November 19, 2009 in Social Thinking and tagged , , , ,

Another key aspect of building friendships is using good manners at parties and in other social situations.  Some children don’t know how to act properly at a birthday party or other social gathering, but they can be taught.  Make a list of party-manners, discuss each one, then put them into practice.  Discuss poor manners and […]

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Putting it all together = Conversation

by on November 17, 2009 in Social Thinking and tagged , , ,

Conversation is the art of combining questions, active listening, and self disclosure in a way that people keep talking and enjoy it.  Children need to realize the key to conversation is give and take — not dominating the conversation and not simply holding back and listening — conversation is an active, participant sport in all […]

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Self-Disclosure Builds Friendships

by on November 16, 2009 in Social Thinking and tagged , , ,

Children need to know that self-disclosure makes friendships grow. Trying to achieve closeness without revealing something about themselves is like trying to hit a home run with a toothpick. They don’t have what it takes.

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Active Listening: Practice, Practice, and Practice

by on November 14, 2009 in Social Thinking and tagged , , ,

Practice these steps to help your child develop active listening: Paraphrasing Parents can demonstrate this skill to their child.  Teachers can teach this skill with two students.  Have one person tell about his or her day, then have another person state in their own words what they think the speaker just said.  The speaker then decides […]

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Teach the Art of Asking Questions

by on November 14, 2009 in Social Thinking and tagged , ,

Asking questions allows the child to learn more about others. Children can be taught the secret to exciting conversation is to follow their curiosity and ask questions about the other person’s interests. The question, “What’s it like to roller-blade?”  will promote better conversation. Children with social challenges may need to be taught that others enjoy […]

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Teach Your Child How to Keep Friends

by on November 13, 2009 in Social Thinking and tagged , ,

Some children do not understand the process of keeping up a relationship. They may not know how to say things to make their friend feel good. They may struggle to put themselves in the other person’s place and imagine how it would feel if they were that person. They may not balance the relationship — talking about the friend as much or more than themselves. Oftentimes, children with social challenges don’t know how to deal with disagreements with friends. They are more likely to shout, criticize, use bad words, get revenge, or fight without realizing that these actions only make things worse and put them in danger of losing a friend forever.

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