Social Skills Unscripted

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

I'm going through a 'life phase' right now where I'm learning and doing and trying a bunch of new things. 

Some days I feel a bit frustrated that I didn't know some of these things sooner, or that I have never done something like this before, or that I'm as old as I am and this is all...

Last week a friend of mine posted a picture on Facebook of a message board with a cryptic message that I couldn't uncrack. I scrolled through the comments and saw that it's 'court reporter speak'. I have zero familiarity with this 'language', and seeing it made me even more confused as to how...

Any time we learn something new, there's also some unlearning that has to happen. That's what has been going on in our groups: I am helping students unlearn what they THINK friendship is. Over the years, I've realized and recognized several different misconceptions our kids have when it comes to...