Social Perspective Taking
Recognizing and Understanding Our Own & Others’ Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors
As we begin another school year, perspective taking is something our students are required to do every day, all day. Whether working in a group, reading a book, hanging out, or writing for others, understanding another’s point of view is embedded in every school’s curriculum. Perspective taking also helps us be consciously aware of each other and consider the thoughts, feelings, and intentions as we participate in and work our way through social situations.
Perspective taking is what helps us make sense of social situations—where we are, who is there with us, and what’s happening—even when we aren’t actively interacting with each other. Perspective taking helps us regulate our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and adjust what we do and say to meet our own and others’ social goals—whether we’re playing a game, enjoying a family meal, learning in a group, or driving a car. Our ability to take perspective is a developmental learning process that impacts everything we experience in the social world. Most of us begin learning to take perspective intuitively as infants, but those with social learning differences and/or challenges may need explicit guidance and tools. It’s that important.
The Social Thinking Methodology deconstructs the perspective taking process to make each element visible, understandable, and doable. We explain terms such as emotional regulation, Alexithymia, and social learning differences. Its evidence-informed conceptual and teaching frameworks show interventionists, children, students, and clients how the social world works and why through concrete, explicit vocabulary and step-by-step instruction. And it provides developmentally based strategies and engaging activities to support social learners ages four to adult in moving toward improvement in their own social goals.
Explore our broad range of products, online courses, conferences, and free resources for teaching practical concepts, vocabulary, and strategies to help guide social learners in some of the most significant learning of their lives.
The Social Thinking Methodology provides evidence-based strategies to help people of all ages develop their social competencies, flexible thinking & social problem solving and improve: conversation & social connection, executive functioning, friendship & relationship development, perspective taking, self-regulation, and Social Thinking vocabulary.
All Ages
Social Thinking® Frameworks Collection | Core Practical Treatment Frameworks Set 1
Social Thinking® Frameworks Collection | Core Practical Treatment Frameworks Set 1
Ages: 4 - adult
Set 1 serves two purposes: A. provides interventionists with information to assess the needs of their social learners through 7 conceptual frameworks and B. provides 6 treatment frameworks for use with social emotional learners. Each one of these ready-to-use visual scaffolds displays an important social concept through a user-friendly graphic on one side and step-by-step instructions and resource recommendations on the back.
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$24.99
Social Thinking® Frameworks Collection | Practical Treatment Frameworks Set 2
Social Thinking® Frameworks Collection | Practical Treatment Frameworks Set 2
Ages: 4 - adult
With Set 2 of this collection, help students build social competencies with 13 more of our most popular and important teaching frameworks to promote social emotional learning and self-regulation at home, in clinic and school settings, and during individual or group teaching. Each teaching framework presents a specific, visually scaffolded graphic to introduce core social thinking concepts.
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$24.99
Social Thinking Frameworks Collection | 26 Teaching Frameworks (Sets 1 & 2 Bundle)
Social Thinking Frameworks Collection | 26 Teaching Frameworks (Sets 1 & 2 Bundle)
Ages: 4 - adult
We’ve got 26 powerful visual tools to help you and your social learners crack open the social emotional world—all in one collection. We’ve distilled 25 years of our core learning and teaching into hands-on, ready-to-use , 8.5” x 11” scaffolds to help both interventionists and social learners organize, talk about, understand, and navigate diverse social landscapes.
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$44.99
$49.98
Social Situation Mapping: Making Sense of the Social World
Social Situation Mapping: Making Sense of the Social World
Ages: 8+
What’s going on around us influences our thoughts, feelings, and choices. Social Situation Mapping (formerly Social Behavior Mapping) teaches learners how to use social observation to figure out what to do or say (or not do and say) based on the situation. Revised, updated, and retitled, this hands-on book includes 80+ completed Social Situation Maps to explore 40+ common situations at school, home, and in the community. The maps outline the Social Emotional Chain Reaction, which shows how we all impact one another when sharing space, and provide multiple options for choices and their consequences through the learner’s perspective.
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$25.99
Why Teach Social Thinking?
Why Teach Social Thinking?
Ages: 4+
This unique resource explores core questions related to the importance of social emotional learning in academic, professional, and personal well-being. Why Teach details how components of the Social Thinking® Methodology can support learning in a group, paying attention, self-regulating emotions, and even improving academic performance. It also addresses the evidence-informed and research base that is foundational to the Social Thinking® Methodology. Includes a free readers’ study guide.
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$29.99
Early Learners (4-7)
We Thinkers! Volume 1 Social Explorers Deluxe Package
We Thinkers! Volume 1 Social Explorers Deluxe Package
Ages: 4-7
Our premier social emotional learning package for children ages 4–7 helps develop foundational social competencies. The multiple award-winning We Thinkers! Volume 1: Social Explorers includes five storybooks and a thorough unit-by-unit curriculum. The storybooks correspond to and support detailed lessons for teaching five evidence-based concepts that establish a common social vocabulary for early learners and are fundamental to all social experiences. These practice-proven materials are designed for both neurotypically developing children and those with social learning differences and/or challenges to strengthen perspective taking, self-awareness, and so much more. The We Thinkers! series is loved around the world by kids, parents, and professionals alike!
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$124.99
We Thinkers! Volume 2 Social Problem Solvers Deluxe Package
We Thinkers! Volume 2 Social Problem Solvers Deluxe Package
Ages: 4-7
Building on the core social concepts and vocabulary introduced in We Thinkers! Volume 1: Social Explorers, multiple award-winning Volume 2 provides the structure, curriculum, storybooks, and support materials to teach executive functioning and social problem solving to neurotypical children ages 4–7 in a classroom setting, as well as to Neurodivergent students who might have social emotional learning differences and/or challenges. Includes our groundbreaking Group Collaboration, Play and Problem Solving (GPS) Scale, observation and scoring tools, and related differentiated play activities. Five storybooks introduce five Social Thinking® Vocabulary and concepts: hidden rules and expected and unexpected behavior, smart guess, flexible and stuck thinking, size of the problem, and sharing an imagination. Use only after Volume 1!
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$179.99
We Thinkers! All-In-One Bundle
We Thinkers! All-In-One Bundle
Ages: 4-7
Now for the first time in one great-value bundle! Multiple award-winning We Thinkers! is our premier social emotional learning series for helping social learners ages 4–7 develop foundational social competencies. These practice-proven, evidence-based materials are designed for both neurotypically developing children and those with social learning differences and/or challenges to strengthen social perspective taking, self-awareness, executive functioning, social problem solving, and so much more.
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$274.99
$304.98
You Are a Social Detective! Explaining Social Thinking to Kids, 2nd Edition (Storybook)
You Are a Social Detective! Explaining Social Thinking to Kids, 2nd Edition (Storybook)
Ages: 5-10+
A multiple award winner! The social world is a big, complicated place that requires us to constantly figure out hidden rules in situations to help us make sense of how we are all interpreting and responding to each other’s actions and reactions. Expanded and revised, this award-winning 2nd edition storybook provides an all-new structured approach to observation, illustrations that reflect a broader range of inclusion and diversity in characters, and lessons for deeper learning.
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$29.99
You Are a Social Detective! Teaching Curriculum & Support Guide
You Are a Social Detective! Teaching Curriculum & Support Guide
Ages: Adult
You Are a Social Detective! Teaching Curriculum and Support Guide is just the tool you need to bring this important social emotional learning (SEL) into the classroom. Help your students become Social Detectives with this easy-to-use curriculum that fits into your current teaching day. This curriculum provides 10 structured lesson plans and visual tools to support building students’ social attention, social interpretation, and self-awareness—the foundation for social emotional learning for everyone.
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$35.99
You Are a Social Detective!: Curriculum Guide + Storybook (2-book teaching set)
You Are a Social Detective!: Curriculum Guide + Storybook (2-book teaching set)
Ages: 5-10+, Adult
Bring social, emotional, and academic learning for children ages 5-10+ into your classroom—and save 10%! This bundle includes the award-winning storybook, You Are a Social Detective! 2nd Edition and its new companion Teaching Curriculum & Support Guide, an easy-to-use curriculum that fits into your current teaching day. The storybook introduces students to core social emotional learning (SEL) concepts, and the curriculum provides 10 fun, structured lesson plans and visual tools to support building students’ social attention, social interpretation, and self-awareness—the foundation for social emotional learning for everyone.
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$59.99
$65.98
I Get It! Building Social Thinking and Reading Comprehension Through Book Chats
I Get It! Building Social Thinking and Reading Comprehension Through Book Chats
Ages: 4-9
Reading comprehension is more than decoding words. In fact, it depends less on language comprehension and more on a student's social thinking ability. Use this innovative resource to leverage children’s love of stories while teaching core Social Thinking® Vocabulary and concepts to strengthen reading comprehension. This book presents an organized teaching approach called Book Chat that helps kids explore social context and unlock character perspectives and emotions within a story. It’s loaded with recommended storybooks aligned with specific Social Thinking concepts, as well as ideas and examples for writing IEP goals for learning social emotional concepts through reading.
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$28.99
Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick—2nd Edition
Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick—2nd Edition
Ages: 4-11
Parents and teachers! Here are 185+ user-friendly, adaptable activities, demonstrations, and rehearsal opportunities to support social emotional learning in early learners in diverse social settings—from the dinner table, to the school setting, to the greater community. Using contributions from numerous social learning experts, this handbook helps build social emotional competencies with a focus on consistency, modeling, play, and practice. By making a "social learning diet" part of everyday life, social learners develop verbal and nonverbal language, listening skills, understanding of hidden rules, perspective taking, emotional self-regulation, and more.
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$21.99
Elementary School (Ages 8-11)
You Are a Social Detective! Explaining Social Thinking to Kids, 2nd Edition (Storybook)
You Are a Social Detective! Explaining Social Thinking to Kids, 2nd Edition (Storybook)
Ages: 5-10+
A multiple award winner! The social world is a big, complicated place that requires us to constantly figure out hidden rules in situations to help us make sense of how we are all interpreting and responding to each other’s actions and reactions. Expanded and revised, this award-winning 2nd edition storybook provides an all-new structured approach to observation, illustrations that reflect a broader range of inclusion and diversity in characters, and lessons for deeper learning.
Learn more
$29.99
You Are a Social Detective! Teaching Curriculum & Support Guide
You Are a Social Detective! Teaching Curriculum & Support Guide
Ages: Adult
You Are a Social Detective! Teaching Curriculum and Support Guide is just the tool you need to bring this important social emotional learning (SEL) into the classroom. Help your students become Social Detectives with this easy-to-use curriculum that fits into your current teaching day. This curriculum provides 10 structured lesson plans and visual tools to support building students’ social attention, social interpretation, and self-awareness—the foundation for social emotional learning for everyone.
Learn more
$35.99
You Are a Social Detective!: Curriculum Guide + Storybook (2-book teaching set)
You Are a Social Detective!: Curriculum Guide + Storybook (2-book teaching set)
Ages: 5-10+, Adult
Bring social, emotional, and academic learning for children ages 5-10+ into your classroom—and save 10%! This bundle includes the award-winning storybook, You Are a Social Detective! 2nd Edition and its new companion Teaching Curriculum & Support Guide, an easy-to-use curriculum that fits into your current teaching day. The storybook introduces students to core social emotional learning (SEL) concepts, and the curriculum provides 10 fun, structured lesson plans and visual tools to support building students’ social attention, social interpretation, and self-awareness—the foundation for social emotional learning for everyone.
Learn more
$59.99
$65.98
Should I? or Shouldn't I? Revised Elementary Edition
Should I? or Shouldn't I? Revised Elementary Edition
Ages: 8-11
Motivate students ages 8-11 to explore social expectations and consider how they perceive, interpret, and emotionally respond to others’ actions and reactions. Use the cards to explore and discuss group expectations across a wide variety of social situations. Teachers, clinicians, and parents can gain information about which social concepts might need deeper teaching. This game leads to greater self-awareness and builds upon social competencies when players talk to each other about their shared social expectations! It also makes thinking and talking about social situations fun and allows kids to explore their own thoughts, perspectives, and behavior choices within a safe and consequences-free environment.
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$34.99
Should I? or Shouldn't I? Elementary School Edition Expansion Pack
Should I? or Shouldn't I? Elementary School Edition Expansion Pack
Ages: 8-11
Triple your students’ fun and social emotional learning with this expansion pack featuring 200 new prompt cards and 100 new challenge cards that extend play with fresh, age-specific situations and topics. This product is an add-on to the original game Should I or Shouldn’t I? What Would Others Think?™ Elementary Edition for kids ages 8-11. (Game sold separately.) Students love playing this game so much they requested more cards—and we listened!
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$24.99
Should I? or Shouldn't I? Elementary Game + Expansion Pack Bundle
Should I? or Shouldn't I? Elementary Game + Expansion Pack Bundle
Ages: 8-11
Make thinking, talking, and learning about the social world fun! Save 10% with this bundle that includes the original game and its 300-card expansion pack. Should I? or Shouldn't I? Revised Elementary School Edition is designed to give children a fun and motivating way to discuss age-relevant issues and their own thoughts, perspectives & choices in a nonjudgmental and safe setting. Players explore how their social interpretations might impact their own actions and reactions, using social situations that elementary-aged students may encounter daily. The Expansion Pack provides 300 additional prompt and challenge cards to keep the play stimulating and prompt deep discussion and learning on perspective taking, self-awareness, and executive functioning.
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$53.99
$59.98
The Power of Thought on Feelings
The Power of Thought on Feelings
Ages: 7-10
This wonderfully illustrated children's book not only introduces young readers to the concept of thought but also to the amazing power of their own thoughts and feelings. Through a rhyming poem, the authors communicate a simple yet profound message: our thoughts create our feelings and behavior, and when our minds are calm, we have access to mindful, healthy feelings and responses. A perfect read-aloud for parents and an important book for all early primary school teachers to share in their mainstream classes. Use this book as a powerful metacognitive teaching tool. Download the 10 Lesson Plans and Activities.
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$22.99
Growing Friendships: A Kids’ Guide to Making and Keeping Friends
Growing Friendships: A Kids’ Guide to Making and Keeping Friends
Ages: 6 - 9
Friendship is complicated for kids. Children everywhere want to be liked, fit in with a group, and be good at sports—but most kids struggle at times. This practical, research-based friendship guide has plenty of true-to-life examples presented through more than 200 lighthearted cartoons that make learning fun for kids. With this book, children learn strategies to help them build meaningful friendships and navigate the challenges that come up along the way.
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$16.99
Tweens, Teens & Young Adults
Social Thinking and Me (two-book set)
Social Thinking and Me (two-book set)
Ages: 9-12
Our best-selling curriculum for children ages 9-12, The Kids’ Guidebook introduces select Social Thinking Vocabulary through colorful illustrations and easy-to-understand content. This award-winning two-book set provides the teaching tools to break down complex social concepts to make it easier for interventionists to teach and for students to learn. Thinksheets for Social Emotional Learning includes multiple mini-lessons for in-depth exploration of each chapter of The Kids’ Guidebook to help build social learners’ metacognitive awareness and develop practical strategies. Kids enjoy becoming stronger social observers and problem solvers. A natural fit for school, clinic, and home.
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$69.99
Should I? or Shouldn’t I? What Would Others Think? Revised Edition for Teens
Should I? or Shouldn’t I? What Would Others Think? Revised Edition for Teens
Ages: 12-18+
Revised and updated, this popular social learning card game provides the all-new Social Interpretation Scale to motivate teens to explore how they perceive, interpret, and emotionally respond to others’ actions and reactions and discuss group expectations across a wide variety of social situations. The new Teaching Guide and Instructions help interventionists shift students’ focus from discussing how someone behaved to instead learning about the power of one’s own social interpretation within a fun, safe, and consequence-free setting. This revised edition extends teaching the concept of the Social Emotional Chain Reaction (SECR), a Social Thinking® Methodology framework.
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$34.99
Should I? or Shouldn't I? Teen Edition Expansion Pack
Should I? or Shouldn't I? Teen Edition Expansion Pack
Ages: 12-18
Double your teens’ fun and social learning with this expansion pack featuring 200 new prompt cards and 100 new challenge cards that extend play with fresh, age-specific social situations and topics—and are useful for play with savvy social learners who have memorized responses to the original cards in the game! This product is an add-on to the original game Should I? or Shouldn’t I? What Would Others Think? Revised Edition for Teens for players ages 12—18. (Game sold separately.) Social learners love playing this game so much they requested more cards—and we listened!
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$24.99
Should I? or Shouldn’t I? Teen Game + Expansion Pack Bundle
Should I? or Shouldn’t I? Teen Game + Expansion Pack Bundle
Ages: 12-18+
Save 10% with this bundle of the popular, fun social learning game Should I? or Shouldn’t I? What Would Others Think? Revised Edition for Teens and its add-on Expansion Pack of 300 additional cards. Revised and updated with the all-new Social Interpretation Scale, this game stimulates authentic peer-based discussions on a wide range of teen-friendly and relevant social situations that engage them in thinking and talking about social problem solving for responsible decision making. Shift students’ focus from discussing how someone behaved to instead learning about the power of their own social interpretation within a fun, safe, and consequence-free setting.
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$53.99
$59.98
Socially Curious and Curiously Social: A Social Thinking Guidebook for Bright Teens and Young Adults
Socially Curious and Curiously Social: A Social Thinking Guidebook for Bright Teens and Young Adults
Ages: 14-22
New edition! All-new language, content, and book cover design featuring artwork by a Neurodivergent artist! Teen and young adult readers give rave reviews of this award-winning “get real” guidebook with anime illustrations that helps social learners sail the stormy seas of dating, texting, lies, and everyday relationships. Targeted social emotional strategies encourage readers to better navigate their social worlds, develop stronger social competencies, and manage social anxiety. Interventionists (parents, caregivers, and professionals) appreciate how it better equips them to explain the Social Thinking® process, helping young adults learn to use metacognitive strategies to navigate to self-regulate within social situations. Use the free Socially Curious Thinking and Reading Guide with the book to enrich the social learning and conversation.
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$29.99
Social Fortune or Social Fate: A Social Thinking Manga-Style Map for Social Quest Seekers
Social Fortune or Social Fate: A Social Thinking Manga-Style Map for Social Quest Seekers
Ages: 10+
Award winning and kid friendly, this graphic novel-style book uses comic strip scenarios to teach about common social and emotional chain reactions. Co-developed, critiqued, and inspired by Neurodivergent tweens and teens, this book represents the 10 social scenarios they most often encountered. Readers will get to see the choices of three characters and the outcome of those choices (social fortune or social fate). Designed to show “both sides of the [choices] coin,” the book allows students to read the book forward or backwards. Readers also get to see how protagonists’ choices are tied to their own thoughts, their actions or reactions, which ultimately impact how they feel. Each scenario includes either an analysis and strategy codes to decipher the characters’ choices or an “autopsy” for a better understanding of what happened and why.
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$27.99
Social Thinking at Work: Strategies for Understanding and Navigating the Workplace 2nd Edition
Social Thinking at Work: Strategies for Understanding and Navigating the Workplace 2nd Edition
Ages: 18+
This award-winning book unpacks the power of our social cognition. It’s written for both neurotypical and Neurodivergent adult readers to better understand the powerful ways in which we “read” not only what people mean by what they say, but also how others perceive how we emotionally relate. This book is also a good primer for neurotypical employers/employees or HR departments to read about the experiences and perspectives of Neurodivergent coworkers and perhaps develop empathy for the complexity of the bi-directional social learning process. Provides practical strategies for how to effectively work in a group, understand the hidden rules of the social world—including workplace etiquette and politics—and build relationships.
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$29.99
Slaying Digital Dragons: Tips and Tools for Protecting Your Body, Brain, Psyche, and Thumbs from the Digital Dark Side
Slaying Digital Dragons: Tips and Tools for Protecting Your Body, Brain, Psyche, and Thumbs from the Digital Dark Side
Ages: 13+
With respect, empathy, and wacky humor, Slaying Digital Dragons empowers teens to explore their screen scene; join the resistance against Big Tech’s manipulations and addictive algorithms; protect their body, brain, psyche, reputation, and relationships from the Digital Dark Side; and conduct a self-intervention (called an “App-endectomy”) to reset and optimize their digital lives.
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$24.99
Strategies to Build Social Competencies
The Social Thinking Methodology provides evidence-based strategies to help people ages four through adult develop their social competencies, flexible thinking & social problem solving to meet their own social goals and improve:
- Conversation & social connection
- Executive functioning
- Friendship & relationship development
- Perspective taking
- Self-regulation
- Social Thinking Vocabulary
What People Are Saying About Social Thinking
Parents & Families
Elementary School
Schools
Mental Health & Clinicians
Speech Language Pathologists
Parents & Families
Adult Clients
