Thinking Socially: A Framework for Friendship-Building
- Speaker:
- Michelle Garcia Winner, MA, CCC-SLP
- Duration:
- 1 Hour 51 Minutes
- Format:
- Audio and Video
- Copyright:
-
Nov 13, 2025
- Product Code:
- POS150417
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
Description
From an early age, students are expected to work in groups and navigate peer relationships—even with those they wouldn’t naturally choose as friends. As social expectations grow more complex, many students struggle due to factors such as increased screen time, social anxiety, and reduced in-person interaction.
The Social Thinking Methodology offers practical strategies and metacognitive tools to help students better understand and engage with the social world. This session will include clinical stories that highlight how and why these frameworks were developed—and how they support lasting change.
Attendees will receive Thinksheets to help explore each concept in a practical, ready-to-use format for students or clients. They’ll also have time to reflect on how these tools apply not only to those they support—but their own social experiences as well.
(Originally developed for individuals with social learning differences, these frameworks have since been embraced in mainstream settings for their effectiveness in making the implicit rules of the social world more explicit and accessible.)
Credit
Handouts/Brochure
| File type | File name | Number of pages | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual - Thinking Socially (5.6 MB) | 38 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Transcript - Thinking Socially (182.6 KB) | 36 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Illinois Educators Self-Study Instructions (15.4 KB) | 1 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Illinois Educators Evaluation Form.pdf (1.2 MB) | 1 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| ASHA Instructions - Self Study (111.9 KB) | Available after Purchase |
Speaker
Michelle Garcia Winner, MA, CCC-SLP Related seminars and products
Michelle Garcia Winner, MA, CCC-SLP, is the founder and CEO of Think Social Publishing, Inc, (a.k.a. Social Thinking). She is a globally recognized thought leader, author, speaker, and social-cognitive therapist who is dedicated to fostering awareness and development of our social-emotional and organizational selves, whether neurodivergent and neurotypical. Across her 30+ year career she has created numerous evidence-based strategies, treatment frameworks, and curricula to help family members as well as teachers, counselors, therapists and other types of interventionists, foster the development of social and organizational competencies and problem solving in those they support. Her methodology is most effective with children and adults who have a solid command of expressive and receptive language. Michelle and her team continually update the Social Thinking® Methodology based on the latest research and clinical insights.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Michelle Winner is the founder and CEO of Social Thinking and Think Social Publishing, Inc. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Michelle Winner is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the California Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Additional Info
Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)Access never expires for this product.
For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com.
Questions?
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Objectives
- Evaluate the six different levels on the Friendship Pyramid into clinical practice to help clients break down the social world to improve social competencies.
- Analyze the role of a student's inner voice in promoting or discouraging relationship building attempts.
- Utilize a "Feelings Shift Across a Day" worksheet for students to tune into how their feelings shift across a time in a day.
Outline
- The Social Competency Model
- Developing one’s metacognitive awareness of one’s inner-voice: Inner Coach & Self-Defeater
- 10 Core Social Thinking Vocabulary
- The Four Steps of Communication
- Socially Based Executive Functioning
- The Friendship Pyramid
- How Feelings Are Different from Emotions
- The Feelings Journal
- Risks and limitations of research and techniques
Target Audience
- Speech-Language Pathologist
- Social Workers
- Occupational Therapists
- Teachers/School-Based Personnel
- Psychologists
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Licensed Clinical/Mental Health Counselors
- Case Managers
- School Administrators
- Occupational Therapy Assistants
- Physicians
Reviews
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