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Showing posts from February, 2013

The Sting of Social Skills

Do I agree with the definition of "good social skills"? After attending the annual  Children's Autism Services of Edmonton  conference earlier this month, I'm not so sure. Renee Attaway from Michelle Garcia Winner 's team started the day long session with a description of good social skills. "The ability to adapt your behavior effectively based on the situation and what you know about the people in the situation for them to react and respond to you in the manner you had hoped ." (italics mine) I feel uneasy with the last phrase. Is the ultimate goal of using social skills essentially to get what I want? Where does genuine concern for others fit in this description? Attaway mentioned the preteen girl who rises to the position of "Queen Bee" in the classroom as a master of social skills. My experience of queen bees, both as a student and now as a parent, is not positive. Excluding others. Overt putdowns. Yet always surrounded by other girls who