Read more
This guide for teens breaks down family, friends, work, and community social situations and provides tips on socially acceptable behavior in everyday situations. Each situation includes examples of do's and don'ts that relate to different perspectives and learning styles. Illustrations.
List of contents
FAMILYDo people feel like I am a good listener? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Do I know how to accept gifts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Do I know how to admit I am wrong and say sorry? . . . . . . . . .10
Do I know how to respond to someone talking about
something I don't like? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Do I know how and when to say no to family? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Do I know how to act and talk when I am around family? . . . . 16
Do I know what to do when other people fight or argue? . . . . 18
Do I know how to plan a family event? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
NON-FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Do people think my house looks acceptable? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Do I get along with my roommate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Do people think I am a good host? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Do people think I am a good guest? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Do I look presentable? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Do I interact well in groups? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Do I realize when my friends are bored? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Do I know how to get out of uncomfortable situations? . . . . . . 38
Do I know when I brag or talk about myself too much? . . . . . . 40
Do I give people enough space? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Do I know how to deal with secrets? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Do I know how to respond to a friend who is sad? . . . . . . . . . . 46
Do I know how and when to say no? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Do I know how and when to text a friend? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Do I know how to talk to a friend on the phone? . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Do I know how to use social media appropriately? . . . . . . . . . . 54
Do I interact well with friends at restaurants? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Do I know how to get a boyfriend or a girlfriend? . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Do I know how to maintain a relationship? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
WORK
Do people at work respect me? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Do I chat well with my co-workers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Do I speak well with my boss? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Do I know when people need space at work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Do I resolve my own conflict at work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Do I understand sarcasm at work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Do I manage my emotions well when starting a new job? . . . . . 76
Do I use the internet responsibly at work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
COMMUNITY
Do I know how to talk to people in the community? . . . . . . . . . . 82
Do I know how to get help in public? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Do I know how to interact with police? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Do I follow social rules when using public bathrooms? . . . . . . . 88
Do I follow social rules when using locker rooms? . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Do I understand social rules at the gym? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Do I know how to use the sidewalk? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 94
Do I know how to interact with my hired driver? . . . . . . . . . . .. . 96
Do I ride the bus without any problems? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Do I have respectful behavior at the movies? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Do I interact well with restaurant staff? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Do I know how to call a store? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
RESOURCES
Tone variation exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Facial expressions examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Body language examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Socially appropriate attire examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Self-assessment charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
About the author
Carlos Torres is an author, coach, and therapist of kids and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He creates curriculum and designs groups for adolescents and young adults with autism, as well as coaches special needs sports teams. With a background in special education, he now works full-time designing skills programs and behavioral interventions for an in-home autism treatment program. He lives in Wisconsin.
Summary
Breaks down family, friends, work, and community social situations to help provide tips on socially acceptable behaviour in everyday situations. Each situation includes examples of dos and don'ts to target different perspectives and learning styles.
