Come and Join Us:
A+ Solutions is pleased to invite you to an evening with Courtney Evenchik, MA, NCSP
Monday evening,
May 12
7:30-8:30pm
How to Promote Positive Social Skills in Your Child with Learning Differences
Location: Lee Road Library
2345 Lee Road
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
Ever wondered why some kids have a hard time in social situation?. Some kids have a tough time making friends, others have trouble keeping friends. Many children have difficulties navigating peer relationships. It is no wonder because, social interactions require so much flexibility, complex thinking, and rapid processing.
In a previous article, I posted the following excerpt from
Ross Greene’s book, “The Explosive Child.” He explains this:
“Let’s say a boy is standing in the hallway at school and a peer comes up and, with a big smile on his face whacks the boy hard on the back and says, “Hi!” The boy who was whacked on the back now has a split second to attend to and try to pick up on the important qualities of the social cues of the situation. (Who just whacked me on the back? Aside from the person’s smile, is there anything about his posture or facial expression or this context that tells me whether this was a friendly or unfriendly smile and whack?)
At the same time he must connect those cues with his previous experiences (When have other people, and this person in particular, whacked me on the back and smiled at me before?) in order to interpret the cue (Was this an over-exuberant greeting or an aggressive attack?) Then he has to think about what he wants to have happen next (That was a mean thing to do…I’d like to avoid getting into a fight with this person or That was a nice greeting…I would like to play a game with him.) Then on the basis of his interpretation of the cue and the outcome he desires, the boy must begin to think about how to respond, either by remembering his experiences in similar situations or by thinking of new responses. Then he must evaluate the different possible responses, consider the likely outcomes of each (If I smile back, he’ll probably ask me to play a game with him) choose a response, enact it, monitor the course of events throughout and adjust the response accordingly.
Sounds like a lot of thinking for one event, yes? The key point is that this process is nonstop and requires a lot of efficiency and flexibility. It’s barely noticeable to people for whom it happens automatically, but it’s very frustrating if you’re not one of those people.”
This helped me clearly understand why so many kids have trouble with social skills. I always wondered what we can do to help these children and now I don’t need to wonder anymore.
Courtney Evenchik will be speaking on this very topic!
How To Promote Social Skills In Your Child With Learning Differences
You don’t want to miss this great event!