Social Skills Unscripted

Summer is coming to an end!

I'm feeling mixed emotions about that, how about you?

This week's podcast/YouTube episode is the final one about summer camp. We had an amazing 5 weeks and I'm glad I was able to spend that time with our summer campers. I'm also glad I was able to share it with ev...

Thanks for opening this email. I know that was a bit risky! :)

One of my biggest objectives with my students is helping them understand how other people think and feel. The topic of farting is actually a great way to make this point. 

Talking about farting also helps my students understand t...

I sometimes get asked how I decide what to focus on with my students at Starfish. How do I decide what to support them with and what to leave alone?

I focus on two things: things that affect each student's ability to function successfully in a group, and things that affect each student's ability...

One of the biggest challenges everyone in this world encounters is learning to recognize and appreciate that we all have different perspectives. 

About everything.

All the time!

For our autistic and ADHD kids, this one thing is the cause of SO MANY of their struggles. It is very difficul...

Our brains are wired to focus on the things going wrong. The things we don't like, the things that aren't 'normal', all the ways in which things just aren't going well.

I prefer to look for the little things that weren't there the day/week/month before. The things that show my students are learn...

Have you ever wondered what just one day at Starfish Social Club looks like, working with autistic and ADHD kids on social skills? You know, the whole 'behind the curtains' thing?

This week's podcast/YouTube episode was supposed to be about week 3 of summer camp, but I talked for OVER 45 MINUTES...

Any time someone is learning something new, they go through certain phases.

The first phase is 'unconscious incompetence'. This is where we don't know what we don't know. In this phase, we may not even realize how much the things we don't know are holding us back.

The second phase is 'consci...

While I absolutely love hanging out with students one on one, it is definitely not the most effective way to help them develop social skills. I am not their peer, our interactions will be different than those between them and kids/teens their own age, and I can't help them with challenges that I don...

If you think about some of the most common advice our kids get when they are trying to make friends, it's usually things like:

*Just go up and introduce yourself

*Ask them what they are talking about

*Don't talk to strangers

None of these strategies help people make friends. They actually mak...

I am back live and in person in San Antonio for summer camp, which kicked off today! (Don't tell August through May, but summer camp is my FAVORITE!)

One of the many reasons it's my favorite is because we spend SO MUCH time playing. No matter how old everyone is, we all play for, like, the whole...

This month is Starfish Social Club's 8th birthday! That means it's now older than some of our students! 

I've been reflecting on all the things I've learned from teaching social skills over the last 8 years. It's been an amazing experience and opportunity, and I'm incredibly grateful to be able ...

While our social groups and summer camp here at Starfish Social Club are geared towards kids and teens, kids and teens grow into adults! At some point along the way, the focus often shifts from making friends to dating and romantic relationships.

We talked about romantic relationships a bit this...