What does it mean to be social?
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Transcript of What does it mean to be social?
What does it mean to be social?
About me…..
Alison Schroeder
Speech & Language Therapist
& Primary School Teacher
www.sociallyspeaking.co.nz
Social ThinkingMichelle Garcia Winnerwww.socialthinking.co
m
The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders published a report on methodologies specifically addressing deficits in the social thinking process, finding that they are successful at teaching the ability to interact socially in people with social limitations who have near-normal to way above-normal intelligence.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Social Understanding
Difficulty seeing the “gestalt”
Cannot be assumed that a student
understands how their behaviour is
linked to the consequences
Cannot be assumed that a student
understands how their behaviour
affects the perspective of others
The sum of the parts = the whole
To be ‘social’ we need to consider and respond to the perceived thoughts and emotions of others.
SocialThinking
Social thinking happens....
when you are with other
people
when you are alone
when you are being quiet in
a group of people
Writing an email
at the gym
when you are reading a book or
watching t.v.
In the supermarket
Computergames
SocialNetworkingFace book
Standing still“Might not like people”
“Angry”
“Shy”“Talking about something that they are not interested in”
“New”
“Anxious”
“Don’t know what to say”“Don’t
understand”
Expectedbehaviours
Unexpectedbehaviours
Vs
Expectedbehaviours
Help a person to learn to be seen in a positive light by others.
People have ‘normal’ thoughts about you
Workshop Classroom Hanging out
Expected BehavioursToilet humour
Frustration Laughing
Constantly change
according to age, culture, situation and
familiarity
Friendships
People can have uncomfortable or unusual thoughts about person
Unexpectedbehaviours
Religion Wedding dress
Mini Golf
Thoughts
Opinions
Judgements
No one wants really wants to judge but we all do it without thinking – e.g. appearance, things people say and how they act
Teach the social brain to
figure out other’s points
of view
Better problem
solving how to react and respond
Big jigsaw puzzle that never ends
2003 Research Frostig Center of California
Friendship
”“Friendship is
unnecessary like philosophy, like art.
It has no survival value; rather, it is
one of those things that give value to
survivalC S Lewis r
Developing Friendships and Relationships
• Friendship even for the most capable of us, requires hard work
• Depends on a foundation of many skills built upon previously acquired skills
• Learner needs to understand the function of that skill on a personal level and how it applies to their life
People who make us feel good about ourselves
• We want to share space/time with• Consider as friendly and over time
think of as friends• Close friends do this over and over
over periods of time• Close friends share common
interests, trust each other and enjoy being with that person
Friends
• A friend is someone you feel pretty good about being around
• Real friends make you feel like you have something to offer them
• Feeling good with another person is difficult to define
• Not simple – have to show interest in them and them in you
Social Memory
We don’t remember exactly what people say or do to us but we do remember how they make us feel
Professor Haslam, University of Exeter
Five year study of 650 stroke patients (Professor Haslam, University of
Exeter)• Those part of
close-knit social group were significantly less likely to suffer a second life-threatening problem over a given period of time
• Social isolation doubled the risk of a secondary, life-threatening event e.g. heart attack
I like to be alone...• We are all members of the human race and in our society we have
to interact with others in order to survive
• Need to balance time alone/social interaction. We all have different levels
Developing the root system
Games
Play dates
Playgrounds
Communication
Teenagers
Shakespeare (The Winter’s Tale; Act III)
“I would that there were no age between ten and twenty three.. For there is nothing in between but getting wenches
with child, wronging the ancientry,
stealing, fighting…”
“I would that there were no age between ten and twenty three.. For there is nothing in between but getting wenches
with child, wronging the ancientry,
stealing, fighting…”
Social thinking
• Think about people near us
• Try to remember what we know about them
• What do they feel about what you’re saying?
• What are you doing to show you are interested?
Emotions/Emotional Regulation
(Mehrabrian, reported in Nowicki & Duke 1992)
Emotional meaning is expressed:
55% facial, postural, and gestural
38% tone of voice
Think with your eyes
• Lets others know you are paying attention
• Have to watch to figure out what they are saying/meaning
e.g. Look at clock – thinking about time
Guy looking at girl – thinking she’s cute
Eyes
• Constant eye contact = creepy• Generally look for a second or two
then look away. Keep looking back to capture more information
Language
• Helps explain our point of view, share feelings, opinions and won thoughts on the world.
• People only want to consider what we have to say about things if we don’t offend people who are listening
• Avoid download
Practice
• Make mistakes – we all do
• All misjudge social situations or motives from time to time
• Learn to laugh at oneself
• Even those good at social skills mess it up from time to time
Teens• Dinner• Organisation –
emailing/texting• Quiz night• Games evenings• Specific social
skills• Joke telling
What does it mean to be social?
To be ‘social’ we need to consider and respond to the perceived thoughts and emotions of others.