Social Thinking From the Inside Out

Social Thinking From the Inside Out is an adaptation of the highly-effective social thinking curriculum developed by Michelle Garcia-Winner, MA, CCC-SLP, a prolific author and Congressional award-winner who has been called "the foremost expert in social learning for individuals with autism spectrum disorders." Social Thinking from the Inside Out integrates elements of Garcia-Winner’s curriculum with yoga-based techniques and video modeling. Children work together in small groups to master skills and meet social thinking goals.

Traditionally, social skills programs have focused on teaching children to understand and respond to their outer environment. In Social Thinking from the Inside-Out, children also learn to tune-in to their inner environment. That inner environment includes current level of arousal, sensory needs, feelings and personal agenda. Yoga provides the ideal tool for learning to access and regulate one’s inner environment. Yoga-based techniques are used throughout the program to teach children to develop self-awareness and self-regulation techniques along with promoting a general sense of relaxation and self-acceptance.

Children with social-cognitive deficits benefit from direct feedback to help them understand the impact of their behavior on themselves and others. In addition to verbal feedback, video modeling is used to allow children to watch themselves in action. Throughout group sessions, children are videotaped in a variety of situations (unstructured play, group discussions and yoga activities). Selected clips are later played back to them in order to highlight particular skills or target behaviors. For many children, particularly those with language deficits or those who tend to miss non-verbal information in the moment, a picture can truly be worth a thousand words!

This program benefits children and teens with social-cognitive deficits such as Asperger’s Syndrome, Non-Verbal Learning Disability, ADHD or anyone who struggles to "get it" socially. Children in the program must be able to use language as a tool for building skills, and should be able to follow a group agenda including discussion, play and movement activities.

About the Instructors

Hannah Gould, M.Ed. and Elizabeth Goranson, M.Ed. are both certified special educators and certified yoga teachers with extensive experience both in and out of the classroom. Ms. Goranson has taught in a variety of inclusion settings and has successfully used video modeling as a tool for teaching social thinking skills to children. Ms. Gould has run social skills groups through Academy MetroWest, and she is currently providing yoga-based therapy and tutoring services to clients at NESCA. Ms. Gould and Ms. Goranson developed this program together based on their shared understanding of, and excitement about how yoga can enhance self awareness and contribute to social success!