Social Thinking Vocabulary — Chapter 3 of Social Thinking and Me

Hello Everyone!

We are continuing our work with Social Thinking, so here is a recap from Chapter 3 involving Social Thinking Vocabulary!

We can learn a variety of social thinking vocabulary to help us when we talk about social ideas with others. These words can help us be social detectives to figure out what’s happening in different places and with different people.

A summary of ideas we discussed, so you can talk about them at home:

• I have thoughts about other people, and they have thoughts about me.
• My thoughts are very much connected to my feelings.
• I can think with my eyes to find social cues and clues in a situation. This means I look around and then use my brain to think about what I am observing.
• Situations have hidden rules in them. Different situations have different hidden rules.
• When I follow the hidden rules, I am using behaviour that helps people around me feel comfortable and calm.
• When I am not following the hidden rules, my behaviour is unexpected. Others may feel uncomfortable around me.
• Making smart guesses, especially about hidden rules, is one of the most important things I can learn to do as a social thinker.

Some questions to ask at home:

• What are some new vocabulary words you can use to describe how you are feeling to one another?
• What are the hidden rules in different situations you encounter as a family? For example, in your home, at a soccer match, at the grocery store, etc. Discuss while you are in the situation and make the rules explicit.
• How is everyone using social cues to make good decisions about how to behave?

Thank you, and stay tuned for next chapter on Feelings from this week.