Express Yourself

What is being social? When I think "social", I think of making small talk, conversations with friends, lunch or dinner with a group of people, parties, y'know, Fun Stuff. But for some of our children, social situations can cause anxiety rather than anticipation. If we stop to think about being social and all that entails, no wonder they are overwhelmed. Let's break down "social skills" into more manageable parts ...

- greetings and farewells
- facial expressions and emotions
- other non-verbals, like personal space and tone of voice- starting a conversation
- staying in a conversation
- joining in a conversation
- being on topic
- when to stop a conversation
- taking turns to talk
- asking questions
- the fuzzy line between being honest and being polite
- taking another person's perspective, thinking how they might think and feel
- social groups can be as few as two people and as many as you can imagine

And the list goes on.

Children with social difficulties often have diagnoses such as Asperger's, autism, non-verbal learning disorder, ADD/ADHD, and language disorders. These children can benefit from explicit and structured teaching and practice of social skills, in order to better navigate an abstract and frequently confusing social world. Child & Family Development offers social skills programs for children as young as six through adolescence. Contact us for more information!