Tag Archive for: ADHD

Teaching Your Child How to Start Conversations: 3 Brilliant Basics

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]You may be wondering where to begin when it comes to teaching your child how to start conversations. Here are a couple of great tips to help you: breaking the skill of starting conversations into three basic steps and video recording your role-play session with your child.

Maybe, like me, once you realized your child needed help practicing social skills, and starting conversations you may think, this is a tough problem to teach!

For parents, starting and having conversations is such a basic, ingrained activity. How do you explain starting conversations in a way it that your child will understand? Here are some ideas.

Teaching Your Child How to Start Conversations

I like the way teaching how to start conversations is explained by Kerry Mehaffey Mataya, M.Ed. on this website. She boils the entire social skill—starting conversations—down to three brilliantly simple basics:

1. Asking questions

2. Telling stories

3. Making comments

She reminds us that a balance of these three components is the fluid that makes good conversations start and flow.

Asking questions. When practicing the asking questions step, remind your child to use the “w” words like who, what, when, where, and why (also, how). Explain how follow up questions are used to show the other kids that he’s interested in what they’re saying.

Telling stories. Practice with your child to help him think about the kinds of things he can tell a story about. For example, a family trip to the zoo, a movie he really liked or other fun event. Be watchful for your child’s tendency to tell stories that are too long.

Making comments. Talk to him about how to use good comments during conversations. Brainstorm with your child the words or phrases that he can easily use to make appropriate comments during conversations. Demonstrate for him how a comment made at the wrong time in a conversation can sound like he’s not interested in the other kid’s story. Or can make it seem that he’s not listening.

Video role-plays. Record your role-play sessions using a video camera.  Your child may respond well to watching a video of him and you practicing having conversations. This way you can easily point out skills he is doing well, and those that he needs to practice. As long as you use lots of positive feedback, this could work quite well.

Always, give praise and positive feedback. According to Anxiety BC website, it’s best when role playing with your child to immediately afterwards, give lots of praise about what your child did well. Look hard to find any small, yet noticeable, signs of improvement. For example:

“Well done! You smiled and looked me in the eye when you asked me the question. You looked very friendly!”

You can download the Anxiety BC document here at their website.

Be sure to check out the helpful handout, “Conversation Basics”, created by Kerry Mehaffey Mataya, you can find her handout and download it here.

I wish you and your child many great role-play sessions on starting conversations!

–Marc

Dad, Developer

If you’re looking to help your child learn social skills, our online engaging animated program may benefit your child. Parents tell us that kids love the Hollywood style animation and characters and actually ask to use The Social Express!
To see how it works, click here.   Click here to try our 10-day, no risk trial.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT TO IMPLEMENT SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING PROGRAM FROM THE SOCIAL EXPRESS®

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT TO IMPLEMENT SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING PROGRAM FROM THE SOCIAL EXPRESS®

LAUSD educators to use the award-winning interactive program to help students with social learning challenges

Encinitas, Calif. – Sept. 9, 2013 – The Social Express, a web-based program for students struggling with Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, and other social learning challenges, has been selected by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to support social and emotional learning in classrooms across the district.  With more than 650,000 K-12 students in nearly 1,000 facilities district-wide, LAUSD is the second largest school district in the nation.

Incorporating cognitive behavioral research and evidence-based social learning practices, the lessons in The Social Express use “Hollywood quality” animation to model the social skills integral to relationship building as well as career and life success.   The animated webisodes target 14 different skills and multi-tiered user levels, and are supported by quizzes, worksheets, and offline activities.  In addition, students have access to a private social network, The Clubhouse, which serves as an extension of the lessons where students can practice their skills and make friends in a safe environment.

“The Social Express offers a comprehensive curriculum and guide containing the very foundations of social and emotional skills that we are required to teach,” said Amy Nguyen, special education specialist for LAUSD.  “It is easy for teachers to use, and fun for the students.”

Through a robust student management system called “Central Station,” The Social Express allows teachers and professionals to manage individual student and group use of the program, track usage and progress, run reports, and even export data for IEP reporting compliance.  Activities in The Social Express adhere to the California State Board of Education Content Standards and the Common Core State Standards.

“Research shows quite clearly that children with social learning challenges have a much harder time succeeding at school and in the workplace.  Despite this, the unfortunate reality is that far too few schools provide support in this area,” said Marc Zimmerman, founder and CEO of The Social Express.   “We applaud LAUSD officials for acknowledging the need to provide social skills instruction to its challenged learners and helping them develop the skills necessary for life-long success.”

About The Social Express

Launched in 2011, The Social Express is an interactive program that supports social and emotional learning for students struggling with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), ADHD, and other social learning challenges.  Available to schools, professionals, and parents, the award-winning online program teaches users how to think about and manage social situations, helping them to develop meaningful social relationships and succeed in life.

For more information visit http://www.TheSocialExpress.com

Media contact:

Leslie Eicher, APR

314-965-1776

Leslie@EicherCommunications.com

 

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Mom Calls New App For Kids with Autism “Amazing”

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Social Express™ is a new interactive software application that helps children with ADHD, autism and Asperger’s and related disorders improve their social skills.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Social Express, New App For Social Skills

The Social Express, New App For Social Skills
PRLog (Press Release) – Dec 15, 2011 –
Mandy Nite, the creator of Welcome to Their World blog, shares encouraging results about her young daughter’s progress since working with The Social Express. Nite posted the following assessment on her blog: “This app has everything imaginable about social skills learning except for the live person!!! This app is amazing for children with ADHD, Autism, and Asperger’s.” Find more information here http://thesocialexpress.com/Nite’s daughter, who will turn eight years old soon, has significant social skill problems, high functioning autism and ADHD.  Nite explains that after her daughter completed just half of The Social Express lessons, “She is starting to use what she learned in The Social Express in the real-world.” Nite continues, “I’m amazed everyday by the progress she’s made. She has even started to talk with other children one on one slowly with a little prompting and a few reminders of social skills but is getting the hang of it.”

Marc Zimmerman,  CEO and Founder of Brighten Learning,  the developer of The Social Express, commented, “The Social Express teaches children how to think about and manage social situations through video modeling.”  Zimmerman continued,  “The highly engaging interactive software and crisp clear graphics enables children with autism to build social-emotional skills more easily.”

The Social Express targets core deficit areas that stand in the way of school, social, and life success for children and young adults with social learning challenges.  Learn more and view a demonstration by visiting the company’s website at TheSocialExpress.com

The Social Express is available for the iPad, Windows PCs and Apple computers and can be purchased and downloaded from http://thesocialexpress.com/ or iTunes.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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2011 Readers’ Choice Awards Nominations

The Social Express was just nominated for the 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards for “best kids apps”, Thank you Mandy!

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48 Countries in less then 30 days!

We are proud to announce that The Social Express has been downloaded in 48 countries in less then 30 days! We are so excited to begin hearing success stories around the globe!

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A Great Mom Gave Us A Shout Out On Facebook

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This is a great quote from a Mom who just downloaded the Lite version

“Love the characters..pause button is a huge plus to engage in lesson tailored to your child..created by a dad with two autistic sons, this one is worth the purchase.” 

Thank you![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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