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How would you interpret the following animation?

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Special Education - social attribution task

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Originally developed for preschool through elementary. Now adapted for teens as well !!

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What are the benefits of the IPG model? Based on award-winningresearch, the IPG model has been found to be effective in supporting a wide range of children representing diverse ages, abilities, socio-oeconomic groups, languages and cultures. Novice players have demonstrated generalizable gains in the development of social interaction, communication, language, representational play and related symbolic activity (writing and drawing).

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Different Kinds of Minds - Thinking and Learning Styles in Autism

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Different Kinds of Minds - Thinking and Learning Styles in Autism

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This slide deck offers insight into the way people with autism think and learn. Embedded with many informational videos, you will fd yourself getting drawn into how they think and learn  !

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This short video clip offers insight into how the autistic mind thinks and why perspective taking may be an issue.

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This is a must watch to understand how individuals with autism struggle with executive function. 

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This is a must watch to understand how individuals with autism struggle with executive function. 

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Ask an Autistic #25 - What is Executive Functioning?

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Temple Grandin - An autistic adult sharing her experiences 

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Temple Grandin - An autistic adult sharing her experiences 

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Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds

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Temple Grandin, diagnosed with autism as a child, talks about how her mind works -- sharing her ability to "think in pictures," which helps her solve problems that neurotypical brains might miss. She makes the case that the world needs people on the autism spectrum: visual thinkers, pattern thinkers, verbal thinkers, and all kinds of smart geeky kids.

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How does impaired executive function impact those with social cognitive differences?

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How does impaired executive function impact those with social cognitive differences?

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ADHD As A Difference In Cognition, Not A Disorder: Stephen Tonti at TEDxCMU

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Michelle Garcia Winner - Social Thinking

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Michelle Garcia Winner - Social Thinking

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Four Steps of Communication with Michelle Garcia Winner and Casey Baird

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Teacher Packet with Programming Suggestion

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Teacher Packet with Programming Suggestion

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The Stoplight Method - As a way for students to self assess and reflect.

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The free version has

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Sensory Supports are physical activities that can be calming or arousing in order to support students in getting to a "just right" state for being in school, safe and learning-ready. The Theory of Sensory Integration describes how the nervous system reacts to sensation, gets information from it, integrates the information from different senses and uses it to make an appropriate response for a particular situation. Often, if there is a problem in part of this process, a student can: be over or under reactive to noise or touch, have poor attention, be irritable, be over-reactive, be lethargic or have difficulty developing skills. Some students need sheltering from sensory experiences that they perceive as excessively distressing or distracting (noise, light, touch, etc). Others need sensory experiences that help the nervous system organize itself to decrease negative reactions and allow the student to participate more fully and productively at school.

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A sensory poster with calming sensory activities. This resource can help students and staff choose appropriate sensory activities to help students regulate their body., Grades K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Subjects Behavior & SEL.

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A 5 means I might explode !!

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The Incredible 5 Point Scale - Kari Dunn Buron

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Kari Dunn Buron developed the 5-Point Scale and shared information about the use of Cognitive Behavioral approaches and stress reduction in educational programming for students with autism and Asperger Syndrome.

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Time Timer | Visual Timers, Classroom Timers, Time Timers

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Time Timer official site! These visual timers can help you as a classroom timer, Autism timer, ADHD Timer and productivity tool for work and home!

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Carol Deck

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Carol Dweck: The Effect of Praise on Mindsets

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Carol Dweck - A Study on Praise and Mindsets

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Teach Kids to Manage Big Feelings Through Effective Social Emotional Learning

Over 80% of U.S. public schools reported in 2022 on the negative impact of the pandemic on child well-being and self-regulation. Kids are:

Struggling to manage their feelings and mental health

More disruptive in the classroom

Needing additional social, emotional, and behavioral support

(source: National Center for Education Statistics)

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The Zones of Regulation is a complete social-emotional learning curriculum, created to teach children self-regulation and emotional control.

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Blank one

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Example

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Trauma and its Impact on Behavior and Learning

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Trauma and its Impact on Behavior and Learning

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Sandbox Learning - Customizable Social Success stories

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Personalized Childrens Books at Sandbox Learning: Printable Childrens Books, Personalized Story Book, Online Books For Kids, Educational Books For Kids

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Personalized Childrens Books at Sandbox Learning. Your source for printable childrens books, personalized story books, online book for kids and educational books for kids

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The evidence base for Video Modeling

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Neurotribes - Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

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Neurotribes - Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

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NeuroTribes:

The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity
A groundbreaking book that upends conventional thinking about autism and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding, and full participation in society for people who think differently.
What is autism? A lifelong disability or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is all of these things and more-and the future of our society depends on our understanding it. WIRED reporter Steve Silberman unearths the secret history of autism, long suppressed by the same clinicians who became famous for discovering it, and finds surprising answers to the crucial question of why the number of diagnoses has soared in recent years.

Going back to the earliest days of autism research and chronicling the brave and lonely journey of autistic people and their families through the decades, Silberman provides long-sought solutions to the autism puzzle, while mapping out a path for our society toward a more humane world in which people with learning differences and those who love them have access to the resources they need to live happier, healthier, more secure, and more meaningful lives.

Along the way, he reveals the untold story of Hans Asperger, the father of Asperger's syndrome, whose "little professors" were targeted by the darkest social-engineering experiment in human history; exposes the covert campaign by child psychiatrist Leo Kanner to suppress knowledge of the autism spectrum for fifty years; and casts light on the growing movement of "neurodiversity" activists seeking respect, support, technological innovation, accommodations in the workplace and in education, and the right to self-determination for those with cognitive differences.

NeuroTribes was the first science book to win the Samuel Johnson Prize. It has also won a California Book Award and a Books for a Better Life Award.

Praise & Reviews

"Explores in fascinating, near-encyclopedic depth how autism has evolved... a gripping narrative written with journalistic verve."
- The Guardian

"An essential resource. My own copy is already dog-eared."
- Nature

" NeuroTribes is a sweeping and penetrating history, presented with a rare sympathy and sensitivity. It is fascinating reading; it will change how you think of autism, and it belongs, alongside the works of Temple Grandin and Clara Claiborne Park, on the bookshelf of anyone interested in autism and the workings of the human brain."
- From the foreword by Oliver Sacks, author of An Anthropologist On Mars and Awakenings

"The monks who inscribed beautiful manuscripts during the Middle Ages, Cavendish an 18th century scientist who explained electricity, and many of the geeks in Silicon Valley are all on the autism spectrum. Silberman reviews the history of autism treatments from horrible blaming of parents to the modern positive neurodiversity movement. Essential reading for anyone interested in psychology."
-Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures and The Autistic Brain

" NeuroTribes is remarkable. Silberman has done something unique: he's taken the dense and detailed history of autism and turned the story into a genuine page-turner. The book is sure to stir considerable discussion."
-John Elder Robison, Neurodiversity Scholar in Residence at The College of William & Mary and author of Look Me in the Eye

"Be prepared to overturn all prior knowledge you had about autism. With meticulous research, Steve Silberman has unearthed the surprising truths about the history of autism, uncovering the roots of the lie of the autism "epidemic." Be prepared to share the deeply compassionate understanding that the author bestows on the many different individuals we now include in the autism spectrum. His empathy touches even the villains of the story, and this is both moving and apt when he advises us all to embrace diversity. This gripping and heroic tale is a brilliant addition to the history of autism."
-Uta Frith, Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development at University College London

"In this genuine page-turner, Steve Silberman reveals the untold history of autism: from persecution to parent-blaming, from Rain Man to vaccines, of doctors for whom professional ego trumped compassion, to forgotten heroes like Hans Asperger, unfairly tainted by Nazi links. It ends on an optimistic note, with 'autistics' reclaiming the narrative and defining autism in their terms - more difference than disability and an essential part of the human condition. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in autism or Asperger's, or simply a fascination with what makes us tick."
-Benison O'Reilly, co-author of The Australian Autism Handbook

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The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity A groundbreaking book that upends conventional thinking about autism and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding, and full participation in society for people who think differently. What is autism? A lifelong disability or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius?

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Stephen Hinshaw

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The ADHD Explosion; A book by Stephen P. Hinshaw and Richard M. Scheffler

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Myths, Medication, Money, And Today's Push For Performance. ADHD is one of the most controversial and misunderstood medical conditions today

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Self-Coaching | UDL Strategies - Goalbook Toolkit

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Goalbook develops resources for teachers to differentiate instruction aligned to Common Core using UDL. Our toolkit contains Common Core IEP goals in Reading, Writing, and Math, as well as non-academic goals in Behavior and Autism.

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The behavior contract is a simple positive-reinforcement intervention that is widely used by teachers to change student behavior. The behavior contract spells out in detail the expectations of student and teacher (and sometimes parents) in carrying out the intervention plan, making it a useful planning document. Also, because the student usually has input into the conditions that are established within the contract for earning rewards, the student is more likely to be motivated to abide by the terms of the behavior contract than if those terms had been imposed by someone else. (NOTE: View a sample behavior contract as an attachment at the bottom of this page.)

Steps in Implementing This Intervention

The teacher decides which specific behaviors to select for the behavior contract. When possible, teachers should define behavior targets for the contract in the form of positive, pro-academic or pro-social behaviors. For example, an instructor may be concerned that a student frequently calls out answers during lecture periods without first getting permission from the teacher to speak. For the contract, the teacher's concern that the student talks out may be restated positively as "The student will participate in class lecture and discussion, raising his hand and being recognized by the teacher before offering an answer or comment." In many instances, the student can take part in selecting positive goals to increase the child's involvement in, and motivation toward, the behavioral contract.

The teacher meets with the student to draw up a behavior contract. (If appropriate, other school staff members and perhaps the student's parent(s) are invited to participate as well.) The teacher next meets with the student to draw up a behavior contract. The contract should include:

a listing of student behaviors that are to be reduced or increased. As stated above, the student's behavioral goals should usually be stated in positive, goal-oriented terms. Also, behavioral definitions should be described in sufficient detail to prevent disagreement about student compliance. The teacher should also select target behaviors that are easy to observe and verify. For instance completion of class assignments is a behavioral goal that can be readily evaluated. If the teacher selects the goal that a child "will not steal pens from other students", though, this goal will be very difficult to observe and confirm.

a statement or section that explains the minimum conditions under which the student will earn a point, sticker, or other token for showing appropriate behaviors. For example, a contract may state that "Johnny will add a point to his Good Behavior Chart each time he arrives at school on time and hands in his completed homework assignment to the teacher."

the conditions under which the student will be able to redeem collected stickers, points, or other tokens to redeem for specific rewards. A contract may state, for instance, that "When Johnny has earned 5 points on his Good Behavior Chart, he may select a friend, choose a game from the play-materials shelf, and spend 10 minutes during free time at the end of the day playing the game."

bonus and penalty clauses (optional). Although not required, bonus and penalty clauses can provide extra incentives for the student to follow the contract. A bonus clause usually offers the student some type of additional 'pay-off' for consistently reaching behavioral targets. A penalty clause may prescribe a penalty for serious problem behaviors; e.g., the student disrupts the class or endanger the safety of self or of others.

areas for signature. The behavior contract should include spaces for both teacher and student signatures, as a sign that both parties agree to adhere to their responsibilities in the contract. Additionally, the instructor may want to include signature blocks for other staff members (e.g., a school administrator) and/or the student's parent(s).

Troubleshooting: How to Deal With Common Problems in Using Behavior Contracts

Q: What do I do if I find that the behavior contract fails to work?

There may be several possible explanations why a behavior contract is ineffective:

Students may not be invested in abiding by the terms of the contract because they did not have a significant role in its creation. If this is the case, students should be consulted and their input should be incorporated into a revised contract.

The rewards that can be earned through the contract may not sufficiently motivate students to cause them to change their behavior. The teacher should review the list of rewards with students, note those rewards that students indicate they would find most appealing, and revise the reward list to include choices selected by the students.

Points and rewards may not be awarded frequently enough to motivate the student. Each person reacts in his or her own way to reward systems such as behavior contracts; some must have rewards delivered at a frequent rate in order for those rewards to have power sufficient to shape these students' behavior. The instructor can try altering the contract to increase the rate at which points and rewards are given to see if these changes increase student motivation to follow the behavior contract. (NOTE: Once the behavior contract proves effective, the teacher can gradually cut back the rate of rewards to a level that is more easily managed.)

Q: How do I respond if the student starts to argue with me about the terms of the contract?

It is not unusual--especially when a behavior contract is first introduced--for the teacher and student to have honest disagreements about the interpretation of its terms. If this occurs, the teacher will probably want to have a conference with the student to clarify the contract's language and meaning. Occasionally, though, students may continue to argue with the instructor about alleged unfairness in how the teacher enforces the contract--even after the teacher has attempted to clarify the contract's terms. If the student becomes overly antagonistic, the teacher may simply decide to suspend the contract because it is not improving the student's behavior. Or the instructor may instead add a behavioral goal or penalty clause to the contract that the student will not argue with the teacher about the terms or enforcement of the contract.

Jim's Hints

Behavior contracts can be useful when the student has behavioral problems in school locations other than the classroom (e.g., art room, cafeteria). Once a behavior contract has proven effective in the classroom, the instructor can meet with the student to extend the terms of the contract across multiple settings. Adults in these other school locations would then be responsible for rating the student's behaviors during the time that the student is with them.

For example, a goal may be stated in the contract that a student "will participate in class activities, raising his hand, and being recognized by the classroom or specials teacher before offering an answer or comment." Art, gym, or library instructors would then rate the student's behaviors in these out-of-class settings and share these ratings with the classroom teacher.

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The behavior contract is a simple positive-reinforcement intervention that is widely used by teachers to change student behavior. The behavior contract spells out in detail the expectations of student and teacher (and sometimes parents) in carrying out the intervention plan, making it a useful planning document.

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A relaxation book for children who suffer from anxiety

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Description

When My Worries Get Too Big!
A Relaxation Book for Children Who Live with Anxiety

Mom's Choice Award Winner!

Worry and anxiety are on an upswing. In fact, anxiety is one of the most frequent challenges experienced by children. High levels of stress and big emotions related to social situations, sensory issues, or general frustration are common in children who live with anxiety. Such stress can lead to a loss of control, resulting in meltdowns. Prolonged anxiety can also seriously impact success in academic achievement and cause children to avoid social and extracurricular activities. Now with a special section on evidence-based teaching activities for parents and teachers, this best-selling children's classic just became even better and more relevant. Engaging and easy-to-read, this illustrated book is filled with opportunities for children who experience to participate in developing their own self-calming strategies. Children who use the simple strategies in this charming book, illustrated by the author, will find themselves relaxed and ready to focus on work or play behavior, self-regulation, regulation, preschool, elementary and anxiety. Foreword by Brenda Smith Myles, PhD.

Also available in French.

Kari Dunn Buron, MS, taught in K-12 with students on the autism spectrum for 30+ years. She developed an Autism Spectrum Disorder Certificate program for educators at Hamline University in St. Paul, MN and has done volunteer autism-specific work specific in Trinidad, Tobago, Barbados, Tanzania and Ghana. Kari received a Self-designed Bush Leadership Fellowship that allowed her to spend a year interviewing and working internationally with a number of scientists and researchers in the area of social cognition, education and autism with a focus on challenging behaviors.

Kari is also the co-author of The Incredible 5-Point Scale, and the author of When My Worries Get Too Big!and A "5" is Against the Law! (Autism Society America Literary Award Winner). She is the co-editor of a textbook for educators titled Learners on the Autism Spectrum: Preparing Highly Qualified Educators ( Autism Society America Literary Award Winner) and is the creator of an original social skills magazine designed for students with high-functioning autism called The Social Times (Gold Winner, National Parenting Publications Award and Gold Medal Winner, Moonbeam Children's Book Awards). Kari's latest book, Adalyn's Claire, talks about the benefits of therapy animals for children with autism and other social challenges ( NAPPA Award Winner and Mom's Choice Award Winner).

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When My Worries Get Too Big! | AAPC Publishing | Autism Books

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When My Worries Get Too Big! A Relaxation Book for Children Who Live with Anxiety Mom's Choice Award Winner! Worry and anxiety are on an upswing. In fact, anxiety is one of the most frequent challenges experienced by children.

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You can buy this as a book too...

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Link

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How often do you find yourself using phrases with children such as, "pay attention" or "listen carefully"? When we make these requests, we may not realize that we're giving kids an unspoken expectation that we want them to stop whatever they are doing and show us they are listening with their whole body (look at us, keep still, think about what we said, etc.). However, do we ever really teach them this expectation? And then what happens when the child doesn't show those behaviors? We feel frustrated and assume they aren't listening, don't want to comply, etc.

In this charming and colorfully illustrated storybook, authors Sautter and Wilson explore and expand upon the original whole body listening concept created by Susanne Poulette Truesdale (1990). While our WBL Larry books are designed to help all children understand that we listen with more than our ears, these books are also helpful for students with social learning challenges as we explicitly describe implicit expectations about what it means to "listen".

The rhyming poem describes two siblings, Leah and Luka, as they struggle to focus their brains and bodies during different situations throughout their school day. Larry, a classmate, helps explain how they need to use more than their ears to listen when they are around others. This awareness not only helps them access the information being taught in school, but helps them learn how to work, play, and converse as part of a group. Preschool through 3rd grade students love the antics of our characters as they teach this important concept in a very fun manner!
What is Whole Body Listening?
Whole Body Listening is more than just "hearing" with the ears. It includes:

listening with the eyes (looking toward the speaker)

listening with the ears (both ears ready to hear)

listening with the mouth (quiet and waiting for your turn to talk)

listening with the hands (quiet and kept to yourself)

listening with the feet (quiet and still)

listening with the body (facing toward speaker)

listening with the brain (thinking about what is being said)

listening with the heart (considering the speaker and others listening)

How to use This Book<
Take the time to look at all the photos, and have your child think about what it means to listen with each body part. Talk about how the characters in this book feel when they are not listening or being listened to. Explore how your child feels when someone IS or IS NOT listening with their whole body to them. Finally, discuss the impression that your child may make on the speaker when your child is not using whole body listening.
What's New in the Second Edition?
We're proud to announce a Second Edition of our WBL books: Whole Body Listening Larry at Home 2nd Edition and Whole Body Listening Larry at School 2nd Edition. These new editions are still presented as the rhyming stories you know and love, however we've made some changes based on feedback from the community combined with our observations that the concept was being taught differently than we intended.

We were concerned that some in the community of autism felt that we were mandating that everyone should be able to use their whole body to listen well in spite of their sensory and self-regulation challenges. Susanne P. Truesdale, the creator of the whole body listening concept, stated it perfectly-- "this concept is a tool, not a rule." There is no one way to teach WBL and there is no one way for children to demonstrate their listening. Some of the skills used in the WBL such as thinking with your eyes, keeping one's body still, or remaining quiet are extremely difficult and may cause stress or simply not be possible for some individuals.

In teaching the concept, flexibility is an important factor. Each person is different and should be assessed for individual needs and support, a point we spotlight in these new editions. We hope this will help encourage discussion and that adult stakeholders will better understand ways to adapt the teaching of WBL. The article "Taking a Deeper Look at Whole Body Listening" (Sautter, 2016) shares more information on how to modify and accommodate for each body part involved and the different challenges our children face.

The WBL concept was originally intended to be taught in a flexible way, taking into account the learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses of the children involved. Therefore, we were surprised to see that people were approaching WBL by teaching children to hold their body in one rigid position. To emphasize that WBL is "a tool not a rule", in the new editions we've extended the introduction in each book to draw attention to the flexible manner in which the concept can--and should--be taught. We also re-wrote and re-illustrated passages in the book to better describe and demonstrate how people can utilize this tool without making WBL a rigid rule. For instance: some of the illustrations were modified so the characters appear more relaxed when engaged in WBL.
Do I Need to Buy the Second Edition if I Already Have the First?
Given the confusion related to teaching WBL and the significant changes we made to these two books to help clarify what this concept means and how it should be taught, we feel strongly that adult stakeholders and their students will benefit from the new teachings and illustrations embedded in the new editions.
About the Authors
Kristen Wilson, M.S.,CCC, is a speech-language pathologist who specializes in working with children, teens and adults with social differences, language disorders, and autism. She is a Southern California native who has enjoyed working in a variety of settings since 2004. She believes building self-esteem and self-awareness is the key to successful therapy. Kristen is the co-author, with Elizabeth Sautter, of two books: Whole Body Listening Larry at Home! and Whole Body Listening Larry at School! Kristen lives in Placentia, CA with her husband and two daughters.

Elizabeth Sautter, M.A., CCC, is a speech-language pathologist and co-director/owner of Communication Works, a private practice in Oakland, CA that provides speech, language and occupational therapy. She has specialized in supporting those with autism, developmental disabilities, social cognitive, attention and behavioral challenges since 1996, and has worked with preschoolers to adults in private practice, schools, and hospitals. Since 2001, Elizabeth has focused on social cognitive and self-regulation intervention and training. She completed the Social Thinking Clinical Training Program in 2008 and in 2010 completed Social Thinking's Internship Program. In addition to co-authoring with Kristen Wilson, Whole Body Listening Larry at School! and Whole Body Listening Larry at Home!, in 2014 she released her latest book, Make Social Learning Stick! Her relationships with her sister, son, and extended family members with special needs continue to make her work a life-long endeavor. Elizabeth enjoys hiking and yoga, and lives in Northern California with her husband, two sons, a dog, and a bunny rabbit.
More Whole Body Listening Larry Products!
Want to help children listen with their whole bodies at home? Check out Whole Body Listening Larry at Home 2nd Edition. Also, reinforce whole body listening at home or at school with the fun and colorful Whole Body Listening Poster.
Click here to download a FREE Whole Body Listening Larry coloring page!

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Whole Body Listening Larry at School! 2nd Edition

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When we tell kids to "pay attention" we expect them to look at us, keep still, think about what is being said, etc. In other words, we expect them to "listen with their whole body". However, do we ever explicitly teach them this expectation?

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Superflex®: A Superhero Social Thinking Curriculum provides educators, parents and therapists fun and motivating ways to teach students with social and communication difficulties (undiagnosed or diagnosed, such as Asperger's syndrome, ADHD, high-functioning autism or similar). The three-part cognitive behavioral curriculum helps students develop further awareness of their own thinking and social behaviors and learn strategies to help them develop better self-regulation across a range of behaviors. Teaching materials included on CD for easy printing.

The Superflex Curriculum Package Includes

The Superflex Curriculum: 106 page book to guide adults in teaching the core concepts.

All handouts and relevant teaching materials on CD for easy printing.

Superflex Takes on Rock Brain and the Team of Unthinkables, a 21-page comic book which introduces the basic Unthinkable characters through which we teach the curriculum.

When should you use the Superflex Curriculum: Teachers, parents and therapists should only use Superflex after the core concepts introduced in the book You Are A Social Detective (a different product) are thoroughly taught to the student.

Ages: The curriculum is geared to elementary school children (grades 2nd-5th) but can be used with immature older students who respond to visual books.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT TEACHING SUPERFLEX: Teachers, parents and therapists should only use Superflex after the core concepts introduced in the book You Are A Social Detective are thoroughly taught to the student.

The Superflex curriculum book offers clear lesson plans to help educators, SLPs, other therapists and parents create a personalized Superflex Superhero Training Academy for their students. Students learn they each have a Superflex superflexible thinking superhero inside their brains. Superflex helps them take on the Team of Unthinkables (Rock Brain, Topic Twister Meister, Mean Jean and Glassman to name a few), cartoon-like characters who embody different behaviors and challenges. For instance, Rock Brain makes people get stuck on their own ideas, or Glassman makes them have huge upset reactions. Each of the 14 characters' powers are described and teaching materials include specific strategies that can help students subdue the Unthinkable that is invading their brain. You can even print cards, Superflex award badges and handouts included in the curriculum.
The Superflex Comic Book
The Superflex Curriculum package includes a colorfully illustrated 21-page storybook, Superflex Takes on Rock Brain and the Team of Unthinkables. This book tells the story of how Superflex came to be. The children enter Superflex's town, Social Town, and learn about the cast of sneaky Unthinkables who are trying to overtake and rid the town of Superflex forever. Superflex and his sidekick dog, Bark, go on their first mission to try to save the citizens of Social Town.
Why this Curriculum Has Been So Successful
Children with HFA, Asperger's, ADHD and other social emotional learning challenges have difficulty regulating their own behaviors in the moment. Superflex provides a fun forum in which they can explore their challenges and identify ways to modify their thoughts and related behaviors in different settings. Depicting behaviors as comic book characters helps students learn about their own behaviors in a non-threatening way, while the superhero Superflex helps build the thinking required to regulate those behaviors. Superflex empowers and motivates students to help themselves--reducing meltdowns and anxiety as the students discover and develop their own inner superhero.

Good social skills can be defined as considering other people and "adapting efficiently in each context." To do this we have to read the hidden social rules in each social situation and then regulate our physical presence, eyes, language, emotions, and reactions.

This requires highly flexible thinking. While some children learn to do this somewhat effortlessly, many students, even advanced, so-called normal-thinking students, have challenges in recognizing and applying these concepts that are at the heart of social cooperation and social problem solving. "Social smarts" only occur when students incorporate all this information and regulate their bodies and minds to show they can effectively adapt to others across environmental contexts.

Students who do not learn this information intuitively, but who function with emerging language-thinking skills, need to be taught these core concepts more explicitly. Superflex and the Team of Unthinkables help students understand and become more aware of their own thinking and behaviors: when they are using their social smarts versus when their brains are getting sidetracked in less positive and social ways. The different Unthinkables help them zoom in on what challenge they may be facing in the moment and the strategies help them learn to overcome that Unthinkable's powers. Kids enjoy being superheroes in training, flexing and building their social thinking and social skills.
How is Superflex Taught?
Superflex was designed to be used only after students have been introduced to the Social Thinking concepts included in our children's book You are a Social Detective and they have worked through related activities from our book, Think Social: A Social Thinking Curriculum for School Age Students (Winner, 2005). This gives our learners a good foundation in being a social thinker and Social Detective so they get the most out of using Superflex.

The Superflex Curriculum book is to be read in smaller sections to students. It will take several days of reading 20 minutes at a time or so, depending on the level of social thinking and social learning challenges in your students.

We introduce the concepts of Superflex and the Team of Unthinkables through a series of lessons. We start by talking about how the brain works, how social information is part of the brain, how we can change our behavior, what our brain is expected to do socially (Superflex) and then the thoughts that challenge our brains from doing our best (the Unthinkables). Each lesson stands on its own.and each lesson may take multiple sessions to teach so that kids grasp what we're teaching and can begin to integrate into their own thinking and behavior.

There is no "finish line" for working on these concepts. Once they are introduced within the 15 or so lessons included, the next step is to help students continue to use the vocabulary and strategies during real-time situations and interactions. It's one thing to talk about Glassman as part of a lesson; it's much more challenging for students to 1) identify when Glassman thinking is invading his or her brain, 2) think about the situation and how the student's behavior is affecting others, and 3) employ one or more of the strategies taugh in the Superflex Curriculum!

While the lessons should be taught at a discrete time (20-40 minutes), the application of the lessons is 24/7 in teachable moments. The teacher will want to reinforce how often kids' Superflex and their superflexible social thinking is showing up, rather than just talk about when the Unthinkables are lurking about. More on how to teach is explained in the curriculum.
Superflex is ME and YOU, and YOU, too!
Superflex was created to help students understand more about their own flexible and not-so-flexible thinking. We can all relate on some level to imagining what it would be like to be a superhero or how much fun it would be to have superpowers. In teaching the Superflex curriculum, we want students to learn that Superflex is unique to each individual and is active when we're thinking flexibly. There's not one gender or ethnicity for Superflex. My Superflex will look like me, yours like you, and a teacher's Superflex will look like the teacher! In our books and materials, we visually portray Aiden's Superflex, so he's male. But Superflex can be tall, short, light-skinned, dark-skinned, male, or female.

Be sure in teaching Superflex that you convey this concept to your students so they are not confused and think that Superflex is only a male superhero. Superflex is YOU!
How Superflex Connects to the Larger Social Thinking Methodology
Superflex is just one of many products we use with students to build their social thinking abilities. A more comprehensive two-book curriculum, Social Thinking and Me (Winner and Murphy, 2016) is designed for students in 4-7th grade to read as they engage in social emotional learning in treatment groups, inclusion based classrooms and/or at home. This set provides explicit instruction to help our students develop some of the information they need to create and strengthen their superflexible abilities and defeat the Unthinkables.
Learn How to Teach Superflex
Michelle Garcia Winner, Superflex co-author and the founder of Social Thinking, shares tips for teaching ages 8-11 with Social Thinking products (including Superflex products), in this free, recorded webinar. Get the inside scoop!
NEW Superflex Music CD (Sold Separately)

Hey Social Town citizens - there's now music to go along with our popular Superflex superhero Social Thinking curriculum! We teamed up with Grammy-nominated songwriters Michael and Patty Silversher to write and produce 13 rockin' kid-friendly songs that reinforce the concepts and strategies found in Superflex. Grab a copy and start singing those Unthinkables to rest. Listen to the song samples.
Superflex is ME - Free Download

Each of us has our own Superflex inside, a superflexible thinking superhero that can help us work through social challenges. In this video Ryan Hendrix, one of our Superlfex conference day presenters, describes how to use this lesson and template to help your students or children create their own personal Superflex! Download now.

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Superflex: A Superhero Social Thinking Curriculum Package

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After students have worked through You Are a Social Detective and learned core Social Thinking Vocabulary, they are ready to learn more about self-regulation using our very popular, motivational tool Superflex, the superhero in our minds that helps us defeat our social challenges.

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Counselors Role

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Some fun kid friendly yoga exercises -

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Yoga Pretzels: 50 Fun Yoga Activities for Kids & Grownups (Card Deck)

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All ages. Stretch your way to a fun and healthy lifestyle with each of the fifty yoga poses in this colorful deck. These cards include forward bends, back bends, partner poses, and balance poses. Includes 50 cards and a leaflet.

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Originally developed for preschool through elementary.

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Additional activities related to Superflex curriculum

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Social  Communication Services  with Mrs. Cardenas

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I got this idea from here , but altered it a bit. We started by watching the video, "Friends" on BrainPop Jr . We discussed what we know about being a friend and shared stories with each other....

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https://www.earlywood.org/Page/753

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https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/index.php?pageId=3613&mode=mod_resources&action=display_category&resource_cat=17

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A Guide to Self-Regulated Learning by Nancy Weinstein

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Stacy Shans is a certified teacher with over 20 years in the field. With a BA in Spanish from Tufts University and a Masters in Education from New York University, she has put her expertise to use in positions ranging from teaching ESL in New York City public high schools to being Executive Director of a private pre-school.

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Neurotribes - Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

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Neurotribes - Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

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This is a a link to the author Steve Silberman's page with his book and a TedTalk on the forgotten history of Autism

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The Taste of Salt

From the blog: I'm happy to announce that I'm hard at work on my next book, The Taste of Salt, which will tell the human stories behind one of the most impressive, but little-known, medical successes of our time: the transformation of cystic fibrosis from an inevitably fatal childhood disease to a chronic and manageable condition of adulthood - a goal that is within reach in the coming years. Read more.

NeuroTribes:

THE LEGACY OF AUTISM AND THE FUTURE OF NEURODIVERSITY

Purchase NeuroTribes from IndieBound

A groundbreaking book that upends conventional thinking about autism and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding, and full participation in society for people who think differently.
What is autism? A lifelong disability or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is all of these things and more-and the future of our society depends on our understanding it. WIRED reporter Steve Silberman unearths the secret history of autism, long suppressed by the same clinicians who became famous for discovering it, and finds surprising answers to the crucial question of why the number of diagnoses has soared in recent years.

Going back to the earliest days of autism research and chronicling the brave and lonely journey of autistic people and their families through the decades, Silberman provides long-sought solutions to the autism puzzle, while mapping out a path for our society toward a more humane world in which people with learning differences and those who love them have access to the resources they need to live happier, healthier, more secure, and more meaningful lives.

Along the way, he reveals the untold story of Hans Asperger, the father of Asperger's syndrome, whose "little professors" were targeted by the darkest social-engineering experiment in human history; exposes the covert campaign by child psychiatrist Leo Kanner to suppress knowledge of the autism spectrum for fifty years; and casts light on the growing movement of "neurodiversity" activists seeking respect, support, technological innovation, accommodations in the workplace and in education, and the right to self-determination for those with cognitive differences.

NeuroTribes was the first science book to win the Samuel Johnson Prize. It has also won a California Book Award and a Books for a Better Life Award.

Praise & Reviews

"Ambitious, meticulous and largehearted history... NeuroTribes is beautifully told, humanizing, important."
- The New York Times Book Review

"Mr. Silberman has surely written the definitive book about [autism's] past."
- The Economist

"A comprehensive history of the science and culture surrounding autism studies...an essential resource." - Nature magazine

"Breathtaking... as emotionally resonant as any [book] this year." - The Boston Globe

"A lively, readable book... To read NeuroTribes is to realize how much autistic people have enriched the scope of human knowledge and diversity, and how impoverished the world would be without them." -"It is a beautifully written and thoughtfully crafted book, a historical tour of autism, richly populated with fascinating and engaging characters, and a rallying call to respect difference." - Science magazine

"Epic and often shocking...Everyone with an interest in the history of science and medicine - how it has failed us, surprised us and benefited us - should read this book." -Chicago Tribune

"Explores in fascinating, near-encyclopedic depth how autism has evolved... a gripping narrative written with journalistic verve."
- The Guardian

"An essential resource. My own copy is already dog-eared."
- Nature

" NeuroTribes is a sweeping and penetrating history, presented with a rare sympathy and sensitivity. It is fascinating reading; it will change how you think of autism, and it belongs, alongside the works of Temple Grandin and Clara Claiborne Park, on the bookshelf of anyone interested in autism and the workings of the human brain."
- From the foreword by Oliver Sacks, author of An Anthropologist On Mars and Awakenings

"The monks who inscribed beautiful manuscripts during the Middle Ages, Cavendish an 18th century scientist who explained electricity, and many of the geeks in Silicon Valley are all on the autism spectrum. Silberman reviews the history of autism treatments from horrible blaming of parents to the modern positive neurodiversity movement. Essential reading for anyone interested in psychology."
-Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures and The Autistic Brain

" NeuroTribes is remarkable. Silberman has done something unique: he's taken the dense and detailed history of autism and turned the story into a genuine page-turner. The book is sure to stir considerable discussion."
-John Elder Robison, Neurodiversity Scholar in Residence at The College of William & Mary and author of Look Me in the Eye

"Be prepared to overturn all prior knowledge you had about autism. With meticulous research, Steve Silberman has unearthed the surprising truths about the history of autism, uncovering the roots of the lie of the autism "epidemic." Be prepared to share the deeply compassionate understanding that the author bestows on the many different individuals we now include in the autism spectrum. His empathy touches even the villains of the story, and this is both moving and apt when he advises us all to embrace diversity. This gripping and heroic tale is a brilliant addition to the history of autism."
-Uta Frith, Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development at University College London

"In this genuine page-turner, Steve Silberman reveals the untold history of autism: from persecution to parent-blaming, from Rain Man to vaccines, of doctors for whom professional ego trumped compassion, to forgotten heroes like Hans Asperger, unfairly tainted by Nazi links. It ends on an optimistic note, with 'autistics' reclaiming the narrative and defining autism in their terms - more difference than disability and an essential part of the human condition. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in autism or Asperger's, or simply a fascination with what makes us tick."
-Benison O'Reilly, co-author of The Australian Autism Handbook

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From the blog: I'm happy to announce that I'm hard at work on my next book, The Taste of Salt, which will tell the human stories behind one of the most impressive, but little-known, medical successes of our time: the transformation of cystic fibrosis from an inevitably fatal childhood disease to...