Product Detail

1. Articulate the signs attributed to foundational deficits in Theory of Mind, Central Coherence, and Executive Function.
2. Implement treatment strategies designed to improve cognitive thinking, misinterpretation, and poor planning.
3. List the signs of deficiencies in your client’s social interaction, social communication, and social regulation.
4. Design treatment strategies to improve play skills, pedantic speech, and anxiety.

THE “ROOTS OF SOCIAL SKILLS”: IF THE ROOTS AREN’T VIABLE, THE TREE WON’T SURVIVE

Theory of Mind 

• Treatment for: Poor perspective taking, imaginative play, cognitive thinking
• Strategies:
  • The Zone (Kowalski, 2010)
  • Comic Strip Conversations and Social Stories
  • Barrier and detective games

Central Coherence: Seeing the Forest Through the Trees

• Treatment for: Hyperliteral, “Argues”, misinterpretation
• Strategies:
  • Loosey-Goosey Language
  • Cognitive flexibility
  • Big Picture

Executive Functions (EF): Tools for Executive Function Deficits

• Treatment for: Poor planning, problem solving, flexible thinking
• Strategies:
  • Imitation
  • Contingency statements
  • Stroop-like tasks

THE SOCIAL TRIAD

Social Interaction

• Treatment for: Naïve, poor play skills, obsessive interests
• Strategies:
  • Structured play groups
  • Social autopsies
  • Social cause-effect

Social Communication

• Treatment for: Pedantic speech, difficulty with conversation, poor nonverbal communication
• Strategies:
  • Visual strategies
  • Grice’s Maxims
  • Expansion and Repair

Social-Emotional Regulation and Emotional Intelligence: EQ

• Treatment for: Easily stressed, anxious, ritualistic
• Strategies:
  • Recognizing emotions in yourself and others (prosopagnosia)
  • Language of emotions (alexithymia)
  • Forget About It Box

Timothy P. Kowalski, M.A., CCC-SLP, is a licensed speech-language pathologist specializing in social-pragmatic communication deficits and internationally known expert on Asperger Syndrome. His Orlando practice has seen clients from Europe, South America and throughout the USA. Mr. Kowalski regularly consults to schools on best practices for students identified or suspected of having Asperger’s syndrome and provides school-wide district inservices.

Mr. Kowalski presents internationally on a wide variety of issues relative to Asperger’s, is a guest lecturer at universities and colleges and is a consultant for forensic cases involving Asperger’s syndrome. He has worked in a variety of psychiatric healthcare delivery systems including in-patient and outpatient psychiatric hospitals, sex-offender units, and school-based settings. Mr. Kowalski is the author of six books on Asperger syndrome: Asperger Syndrome Explained; Social-Pragmatic Success for Asperger Syndrome and Other Related Disorders; Are You In The Zone?; The Source for Asperger’s Syndrome; Me, Myself, and You; Understanding Emotions: A Guide for Adults; and an article Assessing Social Communication in Asperger Syndrome.

He previously held the position of vice president of professional practices in speech-language pathology for the Florida Speech-Language-Hearing Association and is also a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Autism Society of America, Council for Behavior Disorders, and the Council for Exceptional Children. Mr. Kowalski is the recipient of the “2010 Clinician of the Year Award” offered by the Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists and the 2011 FLASHA nominee for the ASHA Louis M. di Carlo Award for Recent Clinical Achievement. He holds the “TEAMS 2000 Speech-Language Pathologist of the Year” award for his work with Autism in the four-countywide greater Orlando, Florida metropolitan area and has served on the board of directors for the Greater Orlando Chapter of the Autism Society of America.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Timothy Kowalski is the President of Professional Communication Services, Inc. He receives royalties as a published author. Timothy Kowalski receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties, and a consultant fee from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Timothy Kowalski a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Florida Association for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists.

Save time and $10 off the price of other submission methods – purchase & take the CE test online for $9.99 USD per participant. Additional processing fees apply for other submission methods (i.e. mail, fax, etc.). Please contact our Customer Service at 1-800-844-8260 for more details.

Listed below are the continuing education credit(s) currently available for this non-interactive self-study package. Please note, your state licensing board dictates whether self study is an acceptable form of continuing education. Please refer to your state rules and regulations.

Certificates of Successful Completion are available for email, download and/or printing from your online account immediately following the successful completion of the post-test/evaluation.

**Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of mental health professionals. As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice in accordance with and in compliance with your professions standards.

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners. For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

---

Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists
This course contains 1.5 hours of self-study continuing education. It was not offered for ASHA CEUs. Please retain your certificate of completion. If audited for ASHA Certification Maintenance, you can submit this certificate of completion at that time. For state licensure, teacher certification renewal, or other credential renewal, contact those agencies for information about your reporting responsibilities and requirements.

California Speech-Language Pathologists/Audiologists: PESI, Inc. is an approved provider with the California Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board, #PDP 319. This course meets the qualifications for 1.5 hours of self-study continuing professional development credit for Speech-Language Pathologists or Audiologists, as required by the California Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board.

Florida Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology: PESI, Inc. is an approved provider with the Florida Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. Provider Number: 50-399. This self-study course qualifies for 1.5 continuing education credits.

Kansas Speech-Language Pathologists: Approved for 1.5 self-study continuing education clock hours for Kansas licensed Speech-Language Pathologists by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.

---

Other Professions
This self-study activity qualifies for 1.5 clock hours of instructional content as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Retain your certificate of completion and contact your board or organization for specific filing requirements.

Disclaimer: **Information obtained in this course should be used within your scope of practice.
**It is your ethical responsibility to report accurate hours to your licensing board.
**All self-study participants must complete and pass (80% or better) a post-test and evaluation prior to receiving a certificate of completion. If you require a copy of the test/evaluation for CE purposes, please print at the time you take the test. Or you may call our customer service department and a copy of your test/evaluation will be emailed to you. Please allow 30-45 days.

• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Therapists
• Psychologists
• Mental Health
• Social Workers
• Teachers
• Occupational Therapists
• Physical Therapists