Social thinking is social intelligence, or the understanding about what happens when we interact with other people: we have thoughts about them and they have thoughts about us and our behaviors can change how others think and feel.

Originally developed by Michelle Garcia Winner, the Social Thinking curriculum and treatment approach uses innovative vocabulary, tools, and strategies to teach and explain abstract social concepts to children with lagging skills including emotional awareness, perspective taking, problem solving, self-regulation and executive functioning.

Thinking curricula:

• “Incredibly Flexible You” curriculum - for children aged 4 to 7 years

• “Superflex” curriculum - for children aged 8 to 11 years

In an individual and/or a small group setting, children are taught specific social skills to help them monitor their social and learning environment and adjust their behavior accordingly to the changing situations and circumstances. They are taught to reflect upon their own behaviors, as well as on how their behaviors impact the thoughts and feelings of others around them.

The goal of Social Thinking is to teach a child how to reflect upon his or her behavior when in the company of other people and to learn to think about the thoughts and feelings of others in order to be a more socially competent individual.