What is Social Thinking?

What is Social Thinking ®?

The Social Mind

Social Thinking ® is how we, as humans, communicate with each other. In a nutshell it’s how we experience other people and how we express ourselves to them. Social intelligence is how we make friends, act in group situations and involve ourselves with others.

We are all born with a level of social intelligence. As babies we can listen to the tone of our parent’s voice and follow their eyes for nonverbal cues. As we grow into children and teens we use these skills to interact with others. A person with a strong social mind can interpret what people mean and what their expectations are. Not all of us are born with a strong social mind and that’s okay.

How Speech Language Pathology Can Help

Social Thinking® is a term that we use to describe the act of thinking socially as opposed to individually. Speech pathology plays a major role in learning and using these skills as communication is the groundwork to which Social Thinking® takes place. At SLN we understand that if individuals have trouble understanding their role in social communication it can create a sense of isolation and not belonging. And we all need a sense of belonging, it’s one of our basic needs for self actualization. To counteract that we encourage our clients to learn more about the Social Thinking ® frameworks developed by Michelle Garcia Winner and to get involved with Social Thinking ® based programs. Beyond verbal communication Social Thinking ® allows individuals to understand others intentions and emotions on a deeper level.

We’ve all met someone that we can describe as “just not getting it,” these people have low social intelligence. Understanding and using Social Thinking ® skills can help them! The programs provide opportunities to learn the social framework competencies to better connect with others and live more meaningful and happier lives. How lonely would it be to be misunderstood because your social skills are not as developed?

SLN’s social thinking and conversation based programs can help people start thinking in social settings on a more regular basis and relieve being misunderstood or feeling outcast. If there were a way to relieve this stress I’m sure we would take it. So get in touch with The SLN and get your Social Thinking® Hat on!