The Problem With Social Skills Training
Let’s talk about social skills training.
The problem with traditional social skills training is that it focuses on teaching autistic individuals to mimic neurotypical behaviors and suppress their autistic traits.
​​And this comes at a significant cost to the Autistic individual's self-esteem.
By encouraging masking, or hiding one's true self to fit in, these programs can lead to exhaustion, burnout, and a loss of identity.
The emphasis on fitting into a conventional mold can increase anxiety, stress, and feelings of inadequacy, as it suggests that an autistic person's natural way of interacting is wrong or insufficient.
And I don’t think any of us want that for our students.
So what should we do instead??
Instead of focusing on social skills training where the goal is to teach the student to mimic neurotypical behavior, we can instead host social skills groups and have students get together with other neurodivergent peers.
In these groups we can encourage students to share about their favorite topics, engage in thoughtful discussions, play games, and talk about the difference between neurotypical vs neurodivergent communication styles.
And if you are not sure where to start with activities for your social skills group, look no further than my partner Chris’s ND Affirming Activity Book.
In this activity book, you will find tons of resources to help teach your students about their own neurology, and build self-awareness, self-esteem and self-advocacy skills!
This activity book is based on 500+ hours of research and 20+ years of experience boiled down into incredibly simple, easy-to-understand lessons everyone can enjoy.
Click the link below to learn more ⤵️
And if you want to hear us talk more about the problem with social skills training and why Chris created this resource in the first place, then make sure you check out this episode of our live show Making the Shift.
>> Making the Shift, Episode 73, The Problem With Social Skills Training
