Welcome to s2s Insights!
Welcome to the Steps
to Socialization newsletter
s2s Insights. Each month 'Social Thoughts' contains a theme article on a relevant social topic. Informative articles or books related to the theme can be found in 'News and Reviews'. The 'Tips and Tools' section contains social thinking tips and activities. 'In the Neighborhood' covers
related events and programs.
This month our article is
an introduction to the concepts of social thinking and social learning.
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Social Thoughts
What is
social thinking? Social thinking is being aware that
we all have thoughts about each other. Social thinking is intuitive.
Social thinking
begins to develop early in infancy. The infant looks at the mommy during
feeding learning that looking at each other means thinking about each
other.
The toddler in the stroller looks up at the airplane that the daddy is
pointing
to - learning about joint attention. Mommy stops to say 'Hi' to the
neighbor
and baby looks from mommy to the neighbor to see what's happening -
who's she
talking to - learning about shared attention. This is the beginning of
having
thoughts about someone else (social wondering). This is the beginning of
perspective taking.
For most of us social
thinking is innate. This is not true
for everyone. For some, social thinking needs to be taught. They have a
social
thinking disability. They aren't able to take another's perspective.
They
aren't able to put themselves in someone else's head. To mind read. To
make a
smart guess about what someone else is thinking.
There are four steps to
perspective taking. The first (1) is
that I have a small thought about you and you have a thought about me. I
notice
and think about the person standing next to me in the bookstore. Then
(2) I
wonder why you are next to me? Are you going to talk to me? Are you just
looking for a book? Am I safe? I also realize (3) that you are probably
having
a small thought about me. And finally (4) I modify my behavior to keep
you
thinking about me in a positive way. I don't want you to have negative
or
uncomfortable thoughts about me. I might move away from that you if I
feel
uncomfortable or have negative thoughts about you. On the other hand, I
might
smile at you so that you think good thoughts about me.
The goal of perspective taking is to make
sure that people keep having good thoughts about us. To build up good
social
memories. This is an unconscious process. We all do it all the time. It
is what
our children need to learn to do so that they can work and play in the
world
around them.
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Tips and Tools
Concept
of the Month: Smart Guesses
What is a smart guess? How do you make a smart guess? You make a make smart
guess by observing what's happening, checking your memory bank/files for a
similar situation that happened in the past, and then making a prediction (smart guess), about what might happen
next.
Activity:
Guess What I Want
Place three objects on the table and have your child make a smart guess as to which one you want
based on which one you are looking at. Ask: Which one do I want? If they are having difficulty telling you, ask them: Which one am I
looking at?
Now reverse it. Tell your child to look at the one he/she wants but not to
tell you. You guess which one your child is thinking about.
Games to help develop making smart guesses:
Guess Who? There are a
number of different versions of this popular board game available.
Secret Square University
Games - available on E-bay
20
Questions The old fashioned guessing game in which one
person thinks of an object or famous person and the other people ask yes/no
questions about it until they determine what it is.
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See you next month! In the meantime, please visit us on the web and read our blog.
Evelyn
and Lisa |
