DARTMOUTH - Do you notice that your child has difficulty understanding the non-verbal cues that other children send?  Is there a social awkwardness in your child that seems to be intensifying as he or she grows?  These questions and more about Social Thinking will be explored at Friends Academy’s and the Sally Borden Program’s Speaker Series on Thursday, May 2 at 8:30 in the Commons at their campus at 1088 Tucker Rd. in North Dartmouth, MA. This is the final presentation in its Speaker Series on children’s self-regulation abilities, and it is free and open to the public.

Alison Anderson, MS CCC-SLP will present “Social Thinking ® Basics and Strategies for Home.”  Social Thinking happens as children interact with others. These interactions affect how others react and respond, which in turn affects everyone’s emotions. Social Thinking and communication sense are developed from birth on and because it is an intuitive process, most people take it for granted.  But for many children, this process must be learned. Social Thinking offers a framework within which to build the methods needed for social fluency.

The overall goal of this presentation will be to familiarize the community with the principles of Social Thinking and how they can be used at home.  Anderson will begin by giving an overview of what Social Thinking is and how it differs from social skills building. She will look at several Social Thinking concepts and how they can be applied to typical scenarios at home. In addition, she will discuss “real life” examples so that parents can leave the workshop with practical strategies and language that they can use at home.

Alison Anderson received a MS in Speech and Language Pathology from California State University, East Bay in 2006. For six years, she worked at the Wolf School, an independent school for children with learning differences, where she brought Social Thinking ® into the classroom for students and staff. In 2011, Anderson completed the Level 1 Clinical Training Program with Michelle Garcia Winner, the author of Social Thinking. Anderson has a private practice in Providence, RI, which primarily focuses on serving children and adults with social cognitive deficits.