My DS8 has some social skills deficits that we are addressing through therapy. It is helping him to understand that "other people have thoughts about what we say and do." So basic, but he really did not *get* this concept until social group therapy.
He can come across as argumentative, defiant, disrespectful, or bothersome-- and it was heartbreaking because he's not truly oppositional and so.... wants to be liked and valued.
The social therapy is helping him to understand *why* other people react to him in negative ways, and he's starting to be able to adjust his behavior accordingly (the second part will be a long work in progress). Before, DS just did not understand why people weren't onboard with his agenda or why teachers and peers did not appreciate his blunt honesty. For instance, when he did not begin a class assignment on "what I learned my field trip" because "he already knew the stuff being taught, and he didn't learn anything." (literally, he said this to his teacher).
