SOCIAL THINKING
NOW OFFERED AT:
ABT
Introduction and Information
What is Social Thinking?....
How we
think of
others
Our
emotions
regarding
their
response
Social
Thinking
is...
What others
do in
response to
our actions
What we
do around
others


Whether we are with friends, sending an email, in a
classroom or at the grocery store, we take in the
thoughts, emotions and intentions of the people we
are interacting with.
Most of us have developed our “communications
sense” from birth onwards, steadily observing and
acquiring social information and learning how to
respond to people



Because social thinking is an intuitive process, we
usually take it for granted.
But for many individuals, this process is
but natural.
And this often has nothing to do with conventional
measures of intelligence.
Many people score high on
IQ and standardized tests,
yet do not intuitively learn
the nuances of
social communication and interaction.
Common Diagnosis of Individuals…
 autism
spectrum disorders (high-functioning),
 Social communication disorder
 ADHD
 Asperger's
 Nonverbal learning disability (NLD)
 Undiagnosed social-learning difficulties – many
children and adults experiencing social learning
difficulties often have received no diagnosis

Social Cognitive Therapy is a fun, motivating, and
non-threatening way for clients to explore social
thinking while increasing their knowledge of social
expectations in a variety of settings, their
awareness of their own behavior, and how to
modify their behaviors. A treatment framework
and curriculum using the Social Thinking ILAUGH
model is used to guide the treatment strategies.
ILAUGH Model

ILAUGH stands for the different precursors that
are involved in successful social interactions:
 I=Initiation
 L=Listening
with Eyes, Ears and Brain
 A=Abstract and Inferential
 U=Understanding and Perspective
 G=Gestalt Processing (The gist, getting the main idea)
 H=Humor and Human Relatedness
What to do if you want to make a referral
for a “Social Thinking Group”



Contact Abbott & Burkhart Therapy at
805.650.6290
Insurance carrier can be contacted to determine if
services will be covered.
If interested please fill out the Social Thinking
Assessment form.

This is an essential component so groupings will be comprised of individuals with similar
social thinking/social cognition styles.
After Assessments…


Once assessments are compiled and clients are
grouped according to social thinking abilities
families will be informed and groups will begin.
Depending upon how clients progress will determine
if continued groups will be needed or desired.
How therapy will been provided…


Groups will have a maximum of 4 participants per
one hour session.
Activities will be structured around and based upon
the ILAUGH Model.