1. The Social Thinking® Program Overview
Content Compiled By:
Alberta Health Services
August 2016

2. Social Skills
A set of skills people use to interact and communicate with one another.
Well developed social skills is the ability to follow unwritten social rules even when you are not directly communicating with someone.
Can have an impact on how we make people feel, which in turn impacts how they feel about us.
Example:
Stepping aside in an elevator when someone gets in
Sitting quietly in the classroom while the teacher is talking even if you have something to say.
Link for video: Big Bang Theory – Sheldon at the movie theater
(Winner, 2005)

3. What is Social Thinking®(the program) ?
Concepts, curricula and related strategies to form a framework that can help ALL people to better understand the social experience.
Learning to share space with peers.
Teaches us to be aware of expectations as well as our own and others thoughts in a situation. Learning to regulate one’s behaviour based on this.
This in turn can impact how we feel about ourselves! 3
(Linton, Attaway & Winner, 2015)

4. Generally Speaking, Social Thinking…
What we DO before we ACT
Thinking about what people are thinking, even if we are not planning to talk to them
Helps you figure out the people around you
what they may be thinking
how that compares to what you’re thinking
how to change your actions based on what you and other people are thinking 4
(Linton, et al., 2015)

5. Why do we Use Social Thinking?
It is what keeps us connected to others, helps us share space effectively, think flexibly, and act collaboratively. 5
(Linton, et al., 2015)

6. We Need to be Social Thinkers to Understand Social Skills
Social thinking is required prior to the development of social skills.
Successful social thinkers consider the points of view, emotions, thoughts, beliefs, prior knowledge and intentions of others. 6

7. How Would a Child Present With Social Thinking Difficulties?
Difficulty with listening and participating
Difficulty making friends
Gets upset easily
Wants something done only their way
Acts very silly
Only talks about themselves
Very competitive
Thinks things are unfair
Bossy
Worries about things (impacting social interactions)
Blurts out often
Changes topics

8. How Do We Teach Social Thinking to our Students?
Address the areas of deficits by explicitly teaching skills that lack
Provide a framework which teaches components that are required in order to think socially
Provide practice through active participation in activities
Teach perspective taking skills 8

9. What Students Would Benefit?
All students would benefit from these strategies and programs
Students who have social skill concerns
Students who are rigid thinkers
It could be implemented when working one-on-one with students, small group or whole class
whole class is beneficial because then the teacher is using the same language.

10. Social Thinking® Curricula10
(Linton, et al., 2015)

11. Pre-Social Detective: We Thinkers® (designed for ages 4-7)11

12. We Thinkers® Formally known as The Incredible Flexible You®
Volume 1: Social Explorers
Thinking Thoughts and Feeling
Feelings
The Group Plan
Thinking with Your Eyes
Body in the Group
Whole Body Listening
Volume 2: Social Problem Solvers
Hidden Rules &
Expected/Unexpected Behaviour
Smart Guess
Flexible and Stuck Thinking
Size of the Problem
Sharing an Imagination 12

13. We Thinkers®
With Social Thinking®, rather than teach an abstract expectation of “pay attention”, we use:
Think with your Eyes
Keep your Body in the Group
Keep your Brain in the Group
Link to video clip (thinking with your eyes): Chef Boyardee Whole Grain Beefaroni 13
(Linton, et al., 2015)

14. You Are a Social Detective! (designed for grades K-5)14

15. Social Detective® Introduced after We Thinkers® (ages 4-7) OR
Start here if the child is older than 7 years, and is ready for the concepts 15

16. Social Detective: Core Vocabulary
We all have Social Smarts, which we use whenever we are around other people
Expected & Unexpected Behaviours
Body & Brain in the group
Using brain, eyes, ears to be a Social Detective & figure out what is expected
Smart Guess
Wacky Guess
Social thinking is about social knowledge and taking the perspective of the other.
This needs to be taught.
-these concepts can be taught to whole class to gain a core language and base knowledge to build upon.
FOR EXAMPLE:
Social skill: eye contact
Social thinking (reasoning for eye contact): eye balls show a gaze & direction. Eye gaze helps demonstrate what a person might be thinking
Scenario of a lesson to teach: watch my eyes, what am I thinking about?
Look at light: thinking about light | look at pencil: thinking about pencil.
Teach: be a detective and make smart guesses about what eyes are looking at and what the person is thinking. 16

17. Expected and Unexpected Behaviors
Expected Behaviours
“Things kids do or say that other kids think is friendly, helpful or respectful”.
When we exhibit expected behaviors people have ‘good thoughts’ about us
Unexpected Behaviours
“Things kids do or say that other kids think is unfriendly, weird, hurtful and disrespectful”.
When we exhibit unexpected behaviors people have ‘weird thoughts’ about us
Setting: Carpet
Expected: Raising your hand when you have a question or comment
Unexpected: Blurting or shouting out
Setting: lining up
Expected: keeping your hands to yourself, no talking, walking
Unexpected: bothering others, running
These thoughts impact the way others treat us. 17

18. Example of Expected / Unexpected Behavior in a Group
Link to video clip: Elf - elevator 18

19. Body in the Group
Used to teach students to be aware of their bodies and space in relation to others.
Students are taught that when their bodies are turned into the group they are working as part of the group and that when their body is not in the group or turned out of the group that they are not part of the group. 19

20. Brain in the Group
Used to teach students to use their eyes to think about the teacher and others in the group (i.e. looking at the speaker)
When their brain is out of the group, they are not using their eyes to think about others. (i.e. their eyes look away, which distracts their thinking).
Keeping our brain in the group helps us to follow the “Group Plan” 20

21. Be a Social Detective!
Being a social detective means that you use your eyes and ears along with what you know in your brains to figure out what is expected and even what may happen next. 21

22. Smart Guesses
A “smart guess” is when you make a guess based on information you have already learned, or know.
Also called inferences, predictions or educated guesses
Example: when a teacher says to think about what a character is going to do next as the character walks to the grocery store, the child would predict he is going shopping for food. 22

23. Wacky Guess
A “wacky guess” is when we don’t think about what we know and see, then make a random guess without having any information.
Example: We ask a child, “Guess what color I am going to wear to school tomorrow?” And he guesses “blue” without having any real information to base his guess on.
Often we make a “wacky guess” when we forget to use our tools (eyes, ears, brain) 23

24. Four Steps to Perspective Taking:
I think about you
I think about WHY you are near me or talking to me. What is your intent?
I think about what you are thinking about me
I monitor and regulate my behavior to keep you thinking about me the way I want you to think about me 24
(Winner, 2005)

25. Social Behaviour Mapping25

26. Superflex® (designed for grades 2-5)26

27. Superflex® Curriculum (grade 2-5)
Developed to help students understand the concept of flexible thinking 27

28. Superflex® Students are ready for Superflex® when they:
Can distinguish between real and pretend
Have learned the basic Social Thinking® concepts
Can begin to think about their own thinking and how this relates to their own behaviour (developmentally ready) 28

29. If a student: DO NOT use Superflex® Cannot pretend
Takes all information literally
Has very weak language skills and it is unclear how he/she processes and responds to information
DO NOT use Superflex® 29

30. Superflex® Goals: Introduce the Superflex character
Increase self-awareness
Introduce Unthinkables to label “unexpected behaviour”
No expectation of self-regulation (changing behaviour) – yet… 30

31. Superflex is… Inside all of us
A superhero who helps us develop and use strategies to defeat our “Team of Unthinkables” and be FLEXIBLE thinkers
In order to be able to participate in group activities and interactions with others, students have to be flexible thinkers.
Being a flexible thinker means we are great problem solvers, and can think of many different solutions to one problem 31

32. The team of Unthinkables
Everyone has their own team of Unthinkables who work together to keep the brain rigid, and make it difficult to become flexible thinkers
There are a variety of characters who represent the unexpected behaviors that people exhibit that interfere with positive interactions with others
Initially used to label unexpected behaviours to increase awareness
Link to video clip (Rock Brain moment): Big Bang Theory – Sheldon explains to Penny his spot on the couch
2nd link to video clip (Wasfunnyonce): Movieclips Mini: Back to the Future – Brian the Minion (2015) Minion Movie HD 32

33. More Unthinkable were added to the curriculum in 2012
The new 82 Unthinkables were created by proposal submissions 33

34. NEW – Team of Thinkables
Thinkables represent the expected thinking and behaviors that kids learn through the use of our related curriculum.
Each Thinkable character is a counterpart to the Unthinkable character/challenge, and adds to a person’s superflexible powers to defeat the Unthinkables. 
Cluster Buster
Rainbow Girl
Freezer Crystal
Meditation Matt
Space Respecter
Space Raptor
Captain Choice
Focus Tron
Tim Taskstick-Able
Inventor of Fun (I.O.F)
Sunny Sun
Dino Thinker
Wings
Please Activate Waiting Systems (P.A.W.S) 34

35. Thinkables 35

36. Suggested Progression
Teach the expected behaviour first
Ex. Being a flexible thinker
Then introduce the Unthinkable which is the unexpected behaviour
Ex. Rockbrain
Teach strategies to defeat the Unthinkable to help encourage problem solving which results in the expected behaviour
Beckham Linton, Renee Attaway & Michelle Garcia Winner 36

37. Something to consider…
Recognize it is a journey between awareness and understanding of the unexpected behaviour and our ability to control or regulate that behaviour
This can take years!
As adults, we can appreciate how hard it is to change behaviour 37
(Linton, et al., 2015)

38. Something to consider…
For kids with poor self-regulation, it is not that easy to get regulated and do the expected thing.
We have to:
Teach them what to pay attention to (Social Detective)
Use a common language to help them understand expectations (Social Thinking Vocab)
Provide time to process and respond to this information
Teach strategies to motivate learning around self-regulation in the moment (if they are able) 38
(Linton, et al., 2015)

39. Defeating Unthinkables (strategies)
Avoid any language around “killing” or hurting any Unthinkables
We only DEFEAT an unthinkable or lay it to rest
Discuss with students that the only way to defeat an Unthinkable is through the use of STRATEGIES, not by swords, guns, bombs etc.
Strategies are often brain tools or thinking strategies (self-talk, inner coach etc.) 39
(Linton, et al., 2015)

40. Realistic Outcomes
Kids with poor (social) self-awareness may develop better self-awareness
Kids with stronger self-awareness may begin to self-monitor and control/change their behaviour more reliably
Students will talk about Superflex, the Unthinkables, and what they are noticing (especially in others) 40
(Linton, et al., 2015)

41. Activities and Resources to build awareness and support carryover:
Explore flexible thinking and the Unthinkables in literature and media (suggestions on
Miss K videos (youtube – ex: Rock Brain video by Kimberly Knackstedt)
Role-playing and/or cartooning
Make Unthinkable characters out of plasticine
Have students design their own Unthinkable
Many resources online available through Pinterest®, Jill Kuzma’s website -
Visuals in the classroom (Posters) 41

42. Tips on teaching social thinking
Use a consistent vocabulary across environments
Make thoughts something that happen out loud
Make social thinking a “conversation”
Reinforce actions and feeling of others
Discuss natural consequences and how that makes them feel

43. Resources & References:
Hendrix, R.E., Palmer, Z., Tarshis, N., & Garcia-Winner, M. G. (2013). The Incredible Flexible You Curriculum. San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing.
Linton, B., Attaway, R., & Winner, M. G. (2015). SuperFlex and Friends Take on Social Emotional Learning and the Common Core Standards. Retrieved from Autism Awareness Conference.
Madrigal, S., Winner, M. G., & Crooke, P. (2012). Social Town Citizens Discover 82 New Unthinkables for Superflex to Outsmart!: Introducing Superflex’s Very Cool Five-Step Power Plan and the Thinkables. San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing.
Madrigal, S., & Winner, M. G. (2009). SuperFlex: Takes on Glassman and the Team of Unthinkables. San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing.
Madrigal, S., & Winner, M. G. (2008). SuperFlex: A Superhero Social Thinking Curriculum. San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing.
Sautter, E., & Wilson, K. (2011). Whole Body Listening Larry at School. San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing.
Winner, M. G. (2005). Think Social: A Social-Thinking Curriculum for School Age Students. San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing.
Winner, M. G., & Crooke, P., (2008). You are a Social Detective. San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing.
Website: 43