We had a great class last night with A+ Solution’s Speech Pathologist, Anna Fredman, MS. CCC-SLP, who presented at Friendship Circle in Cleveland. Her topic, “Friendship Fundamentals, Building Social Skills For Kids Who Struggle.”
We learned so much, most of all how to:
-Expand knowledge of theory of mind and how it lays the foundation for friendships
-Teach children to identify potential friends
-Understand the role of nonverbal communication in making and keeping friends
-Break down conversation skills into teachable components
-Teach children to resolve conflicts with peers
- The understanding that another person’s thoughts, feelings, and knowledge may be different from one’s own thoughts, feelings, and knowledge
- Typically develops by about age 4
- Develops later (or not at all) in children with autism or social pragmatic communication disorder
- Ability to empathize with peers
- Ability to understand peers’ unspoken signals
- Ability to carry on conversation
Anna spent the second half of the class discussing how theory of mind effects friendship skills. She helped us understand how to break down friendship skills into bite size pieces. We now know what it takes to make friends and keep them. Anna gave us many simple, fun activities that we can do with our children who struggle, so that they can become more competent socially.
Do you want to learn more?
Anna Fredman, M.S., CCC-SLP
Certified Speech Language Pathologist
Anna Fredman is a licensed, certified Speech Language Pathologist. She received her Master of Science in speech language pathology from the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, MA and previously worked at the Monarch Center for Autism. She currently sees school-aged children and has also worked with toddlers through students 21 years old. Anna has specialized in therapy for individuals on the autism spectrum, with a special interest in high-functioning students focusing on social pragmatics and young children learning basic communication and social skills. She also addresses reading, expressive language skills, written expression, and articulation with her students.
Anna explained “Theory of Mind”:
Theory of mind affects: