ALL ABOUT LANA
How Suped Up Social Skills came to be...
My name is Lana Babich. I was employed in the public school system as an Education Assistant from 2004- 2015. Previous to that I completed the Education Assistant Program at Langara College. Since my training there, I have sought out additional training in the field of autism. Of all the additional training I have received the field that has interested me the most is the Social Thinking® Methodology, Founded by Michelle Garcia Winner. www.socialthinking.com
During my second year with the Vancouver School Board, I attended my first two-day workshop about the Social Thinking Model presented by Michelle Garcia Winner. It changed the way I viewed the world of autism and most importantly, it made sense of what I thought was the most daunting task that I was expected to do......teach social skills to the students I worked with. Over the years I have delved into the Social Thinking Model regularly and attended countless workshops put on by Michelle Garcia Winner and her team from the Social Thinking clinic. I feel that I have made sense of teaching something that didn't make sense to me before. In October 2013, I completed the Clinical Training Assessment level 1A program at the Social Thinking Clinic in San Jose, California. This proved to be a very insightful and intensive training experience. It has also given me more suped up skills to support the students I am working with. (see my online posting here)
As you can see, I don't have any letters after my name, and I certainly don't profess to be an expert. I’m not a Social Thinking-approved ambassador or representative. I’m just paving my own path and working with individuals on their social competencies and helping them be better social thinkers.
I’ve learned, through triumph and error, how to successfully work with kids with autism and all other kids who struggle with their social/communication skills. I’ve discovered how to teach them to think and communicate with others more effectively and how to be a better social observer and social thinker. If you teach kids what that means and how to think socially, they are better equipped to figure out what social skill to use in every situation.
After years of working in the public school system I started working privately, as a Social Cognitive Specialist. I zeroed in on applying different strategies and methods to support the students I work with to develop or supe up their social skills. The results were positive and the demand continues to grow. So here I am today, doing what I love and I happen to be making a difference all at the same time!