Social Thinking: Chicago Metro Conference

Social Thinking Conference 

April 24-26

Social Thinking presents: Chicago Metro Area Conference

April 25-27, 8:30-3:45 PM

Conference led by a speech language pathologist, Michelle Garcia Winner, will also include other presenters. Organization that helps people develop their social competencies to better connect with others. They teach different skills and strategies that can be used in the classroom, home or community centers to help students with organizational skills and social emotional learning.

What is social thinking? Social thinking is the process by which we interpret the thoughts, beliefs, intentions, emotions, knowledge and actions of another person along

with the context of the situation to understand that person’s experience.

Topics Conference will cover:

Executive functioning: Tackle Homework and classwork with these helpful strategies!

(5^th graders – young adult)

Learn organizational skills, strategies to find motivation to tackle tasks, and strategies to complete homework.

Zones of regulation: A framework to foster self-regulation and emotional control (K-Young adult)

Learn the frameworks for self-regulation and emotional control, and executive functioning. It is a cognitive behavior approach that uses four zones (colors) to help students visually and verbally self-identify how they are functioning in the moment given their emotions and state of alertness.

Helping teens prepare for the real adult world (upper elementary – young adult).

This conference focuses on helping parents and educators prepare for and learn how to respond to the transition to independence. Discuss strategies that will help individuals develop a more mature social mindset.

The frameworks and strategies taught in these courses are developed from

Using peer-reviewed research and client family values. Also, it connects to research in fields that study how individuals have evolved and developed in order to function in society like: anthropology, cultural linguistics, social psychology, child development etc. 

This conference fits in the Promote a school climate and culture conducive to student learning and teaching excellence section of the School social work model. It is allowing the enhancement of professional capacity of school personnel by providing them with an opportunity to further their knowledge on social emotional and executive functioning skills that could be applied within special education classrooms.  

Link to Brochure: Brochure