Politically Incorrect Look at Evidence-Based Practices and Teaching Social Skills A Literature Review and Discussion

by Michelle Garcia Winner

Book Overview

The concept of teaching social skills misrepresents the dynamic and complex process at the heart of social skill production. Before we can act socially, we need to be able to think socially. However,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0979292255
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Think Social Publishing
• Length: 127 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.

Customer Reviews

WOW - Great read about assisting socially-challenged-kids

A great review of why we need to use cognitively based approaches when working with normal-to-high functioning persons with "social thinking" challenges, i.e. persons with Aspergers, NVLD, perhaps ADHD, & related disorders. Winner develops the rationale for cognitive approaches, backed with extensive literature review & bibliography. The book also summarizes work the author has developed/published over the years: a social-thinking model (ILAUGH), critical vocabulary for use by adults in a challenged-child's several environments, and therapeutic scaffolding steps for perspective taking and communication. Good read with a LOT of information compacted into a short book! I found the title ("Politically Incorrect") singing to a different choir, as the approach is accepted in the mainstream school where I practice as a SLP. However, author says wariness among educational administrators prompted the book. Given professionals' move to evidence based practices & NCLB, their concern is the relative lack of scientifically based research on cognitive, "social thinking" interventions (compared to research on behavioral interventions to train discrete social skills). Winner effectively notes that different research questions/periods may be appropriate for cognitive approaches and that the lack of accepted nomenclature (to differentiate the heterogeneous sub-populations in the ASD umbrella) limits the applicability of conclusions from some of the exiting research.