Rethinking Social Skills: Teaching Social Thinking for All Learners w/ Michelle Garcia Winner ~ 1330

Michelle Garcia Winner is a renowned speech-language pathologist and the founder of Social Thinking. With over 30 years of experience, she has developed a methodology that seeks to aid teachers, therapists, and families in supporting social and organizational learning. Her work focuses on helping individuals, especially those on the autism spectrum, understand and enhance their social thinking skills. In this episode of Think Inclusive, host Tim Villegas sits down with Michelle Garcia Winner, the mind behind the Social Thinking methodology. With a rich conversation centered around the invisible social rulebook, they discuss how educators and therapists can move beyond teaching social skills as mere behaviors. Michelle unfolds her insights into interpreting social situations, self-advocacy, and flexible thinking, breaking down the complexities into teachable and actionable strategies. Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/reth... Chapters 00:00 Social Thinking in Action 01:13 Introduction: The Invisible Social Rule Book 03:09 What Is Social Thinking? Defining the Methodology 04:15 The Origins of Social Thinking: From Autism Research to Universal Practice 08:34 Social Thinking in the Classroom: Reading, History & Group Work 12:10 Social Thinking vs. Social Skills: Why Behavior Checklists Miss the Point 26:40 Flexible Thinking & Self-Regulation for Students with Disabilities 29:19 Self-Advocacy Strategies for Autistic Students Using Social Thinking 32:17 Implementing Social Thinking in K–12 Inclusive Classrooms 37:57 Building Autistic Community & Resources for Educators and Families