Social Thinking Class
Gately Academy’s Social Thinking Class provides practical, creative and fun strategies to help students become more aware of concrete social thinking concepts. With the explicit goal of improving social relationships and developing lifelong skills, students will develop a more aware sense of themselves and of others.
Students meet as a class on a weekly basis. During each class a specific social thinking concept is presented to the group and is then practiced through role-playing with students and staff. A collaborative approach that utilizes discussions, games, worksheets and creative problem solving supports the curriculum, encouraging every student to engage in the process. Out of this model, opportunities for “teachable moments” arise and provide for good social thinking practice. Students are grouped in classes according to their social awareness and social practices.
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Individual coaching sessions are also an integral part of this program, giving each student the opportunity to discuss in a one-on-one venue how the class concepts are being absorbed. Each student meets privately with one of the program supervisors once a week to discuss specific work plans.
Our group facilitators are John Pank, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and Abby Houston, Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Art Therapist. Both are seasoned clinicians who have a history of blending creative modalities with more traditional learning models, in order to present various sensory options that best suit the learning strategies of our students.