Building Social Cognition Skills

Humans are social animals who ultimately seek connection, companionship, and belonging with one another. As social beings, we have automatic, neurological processes occurring on a constant basis which help us communicate and cooperate with others. Social cognition is the ability to interpret and adapt to changes in different social interactions, circumstances and environments. The very nature of social communication is often in opposition with the manner in which the autistic brain processes the world. Social cognition includes various skills such as interpreting nonverbal cues, taking another person’s perspective, recognizing emotional responses, showing understanding, and solving social problems. Social cognition is most likely improved over the course of social communication skills treatment or training. Improving social cognition cannot happen in a vacuum, but instead can be intentionally integrated at any point through individual counseling and group treatment scenarios.