Stop!
Confusion Carol is invading your brain!
Use Superflex’s Very Cool Five-Step Power Plan to defeat this Unthinkable.
Power #1: The Decider power helps you to stop, describe,
and decide the powers of the Unthinkable.
• Confusion Carol gets people confused when they’re together with others.
She can get people so confused that they don’t understand what others mean
by what they’re saying and aren’t even sure about the topic.
Power #2: The Social Detective power helps you to observe the
situation and the people in the situation.
• Your Social Detective notices that people often think with their eyes to make
smart guesses to help them figure out situations before they react. Because
things aren’t always clear, citizens have to try putting the smart clues together
and make a smart guess about what may be happening.
Confusion Carol
• Sometimes your social memory can help you make even smarter guesses about the situation. Your social
memory is what your brains remember about other people and social situations. For example, suppose that
Confusion Carol and Worry Wall are in your brain and getting you to worry because you don’t see your
sister at lunch. You use your social memory to remember how much she loves to read. You know that there’s
a special Superflex book reading in the school library at lunch. You can make a smart guess that she’s fine
and is probably in the library.
• When you talk to others, sometimes they may say something in a way you find unclear or confusing. This
may also make you go off topic. Humor or jokes can be confusing too. Notice how others use their Social
Detective powers to read clues with their eyes (body language) and ears (words) when something funny was
just said (for example, others smile or laugh out loud as they figure out the meaning of the humor). They
laugh along with the others even if they don’t get what’s funny.
• You may notice Confusion Carol lurking when you’re around others who use a lot of slang or other informal
words that younger people might use. Confusion Carol may appear if you don’t understand the meaning of
words or the message someone is communicating.
Power #3: The Brakester power helps you to stop and think to discover the hidden rules.
Brakester
• Social situations can be confusing, and citizens try to figure them out by putting together clues about the
people they’re with and the situations they’re in so they can respond with expected behaviors.
• When they don’t understand something, they can always get help from someone or ask a question about
what it is they find confusing. This is often what’s expected for younger children. However, as citizens get
older, sometimes it’s expected that they “fake” it when a joke is told and pretend they understand and laugh
along with the group. If they do this, they won’t stand out and then later can ask a friend or parent to help
make sense of the joke.
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Getting Confused Easily: Confusion Carol
Social Town Citizens Discover 82 new Unthinkables for Superflex to Outsmart © 2012 Social Thinking Publishing
• People are often willing to help others figure something out
that might be confusing. Asking for help or asking
questions is okay when you’re unsure about
something and have already tried figuring it out
on your own. And asking for help is sure to keep
Confusion Carol and Worry Wall from taking
over your brain!
Power #4: The Flex Do-Body power helps
you to use flexible thinking to
choose strategies to use to do
what’s expected.
a. Call on your Social Detective powers and think
with your eyes to notice any important clues
(including social memory clues). Stop and think
about all the clues to make a smart guess about the
situation.
Thoughts
of Social Town Citizens
Citizens know that everyone
is always trying to figure out
situations, how people are feeling,
and what they might be thinking.
They know this isn’t always easy
but that being
social is about making the
best possible guesses.
b. If you’ve tried to think with your eyes and figure things out but
you’re still unsure about a situation, find someone you trust (like a
teacher or parent) who can help. Here are some sample questions.
◆◆ To a teacher at school: “Hi, I’m a little confused about where my sister might
be. Do you think you could help me figure out where she is?”
◆◆ To a classmate who says something that you don’t completely understand: “Wait, what did you just say? I
don’t understand what that means. Can you explain that?”
c. If you’re in a conversation and hear a joke that you don’t understand (but you laugh along with the others),
you can ask a close friend or your parents about the joke and have them explain why it was so funny.
d. If you find Confusion Carol lurking around when you’re with others who use slang that you don’t
understand, fake it in the moment. Then, find someone you trust to tell you what the words mean and how
you can respond better next time. Your teacher can also help you learn more about slang or other tricky
language words and phrases.
Power #5: The Cranium Coach power helps remind you to use your self-talk to tell yourself you’ve
done well using new strategies.
• You can tell you’ve done this today when you can say to yourself:
“I’ve figured out situations on my own or with others’ help by putting all the clues together. Also, I’m doing
a good job when I’ve been able to keep Worry Wall out of my brain because I can stay in control to figure
out a confusing situation.”
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Getting Confused Easily: Confusion Carol
Social Town Citizens Discover 82 new Unthinkables for Superflex to Outsmart © 2012 Social Thinking Publishing