I want to start a new section on this blog dedicated to people doing amazing things in the world of Autism. From educators to researchers to parents to individuals. People I know and people I wish I did. A group of people who have influenced the way I think about teaching and people with Autism. These are the people you get so excited about and want to share with anyone who will listen. So I’m pretty exited to introduce my first Person Doing Amazing Things: Michelle Garcia Winner!!
Michelle Garcia Winner is a trained speech pathologist who specializes in working with people with social-cognitive deficits. She is the founder behind Social Thinking and the ILAUGH Model. I began to become familiar with her books when I started teaching kids with autism. I struggled to find social skills curriculum and exercises that really met the needs of my students. It’s interesting what is out there in the world of those curricula, but I’ve found that most of them don’t have Autism in their lens. Most often they don’t go into enough depth on explaining social situations, behaviors and the whys behind people’s actions.
Michelle’s books are different. She seems to speak to the educator in such a way that isn’t overwhelming, nor requires you to dedicate your entire teaching time to the program. I’ve used Social Thinking Worksheets for Tweens and Teens:Learning to Read In-Between the Social Lines and Thinking About You, Thinking About Me and they have helped me tremendously in teaching those elements of the hidden curriculum and a variety of social skills. There are a variety of lessons on different topics and you can either chose to teach individual skills or a group of skills in the same set.
I went to see her speak a few years ago when she came to Portland and my love for her was sealed in stone. She is a fun, passionate woman who has created a mecca for social thinking instruction. She has established a business and a network by recruiting other intelligent, passionate people to work with her in teaching people of all ages. Her website has tons of resources and connects you with lots of products by incredible people. ***I was introduced to the book Unstuck and On Target by Cannon, Kenworthy, Alexander, Werner and Anthony, which is AMAZING! I had no idea what to do with those kids who were stuck until this book that gave me solid, easy to understand and implement lessons.***
Michelle has a blog on her Social Thinking website that connects you with ideas, products and engagements. It’s worth subscribing to if you’re in the field.
Thanks Michelle Garcia Winner for doing amazing things! Pop on over to her site and behold the wealth that awaits you!
Social Skills Teaching Tools 