Social Response Pyramid™
The Social Response Pyramid™ is an educational tool developed by Laurel Falvo (formerly Laurel Hoekman). It is a visual representation of social understanding and social effectiveness--how we can better understand ourselves and others (including those with ASD) in order to develop and utilize strategies to increase the effectiveness of our responses. It can be used by anyone and for anyone! See below for additional information about the Pyramid. (Please cite this source when using this material.)
To invite Laurel Falvo to speak to your group or organization, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . She is available to present on a variety of topics. More information about her presentations is available by clicking here.
NEW: Download a FREE one-page worksheet/poster of the Social Response Pyramid™. Use it to display at home or in the classroom, and refer to it when praising someone for a friendly choice they made, or for brainstorming more socially effective solutions.
You can now view sample video clips of Laurel using The Social Response Pyramid(TM) on YouTube!
Click below to view "Taking Care of Library books".
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Click below to view "Resolving Sibling Conflicts" (with a 12-year-old)
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Click below to view "Resolving Sibling Conflicts-#2" (with a 7-year-old)
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Would you like to know when new Pyramid resources become available? Would you like to share stories of how you're using the Pyramid? Join our Facebook FanClub by clicking here.
The Social Response Pyramid(TM)
Have you ever considered why it is that immediate family members can experience the same situation, yet have different thoughts, perspectives, and feelings about it, and respond to it in different waysω In fact, each of us approaches life deeply rooted in our own "immediate individual context," or our "own reality." This reality is shaped by our past experiences (and how we feel about them), our current state of mind (emotions, etc.), our opinions and expectations, our knowledge and functioning level (including the presence of a diagnosis such as autism), and our ability to integrate the sensory information around us. Our approach can vary from day to day (or minute to minute), as our experiences and perspectives change, as we learn new things, and as our feelings fluctuate. This starting point is highly individualized, making each one of us unique from everyone else around us, even our own family members.
As we face a variety of input in life, whether it's something someone says or does, or a sensory stimulus, or a memory or situation which prompts a memory, we filter that input through our own reality, or context, before producing a response. Often, our responses are immediate--almost "knee-jerk responses" to the input. A classmate, family member, or colleague says something that makes us angry, and we respond with a passionate retort. We hear a loud noise and cover our ears or move away from the sound. We may approach a decision or situation the same way we did in the past, whether or not our response works, simply because it's familiar.
The problem is that our responses generally take place within a "social context." We rarely are in complete isolation as we respond to input. And our immediate responses often are inconsistent with the expectations of the given social context (or the contexts of those around us). For example, an angry retort will not be as appropriate or effective in the middle of a classroom lecture. An offending noise cannot make us bolt from the room if we find ourselves in the middle of a reverent worship service or other solemn ceremony. And doing something the same way we've done it before isn't effective if someone is trying to teach us a new way of doing the task, if the result of our response is that someone is hurt, either physically or emotionally, or if it simply does not work.
Yes, we approach life--and respond to it-- from our own unique individual context. However, each of us generally operates within a social context. So our responses need to be more than "knee-jerk" responses. Instead, they need to be socially effective! This necessitates a more deliberate response; one that takes into account our own perspective as well as that of the social context, or the contexts of those around us. In other words, we have choices as to how we will respond to life's situations, and we are able to have some control over the effectiveness of our responses, and ultimately, our success in life!
This is the basis of The Social Response Pyramid(TM) that I've developed. In other articles (see below), I further detail this educational tool, which is intended to help us better understand ourselves and others to aid in promoting social understanding.
Copyright 2007, Laurel A. Falvo
MORE ARTICLES RELATED TO THE SOCIAL RESPONSE PYRAMID(TM):
To better understand--and to use The Social Response Pyramid-- you can do the following:
1. Purchase the DVD of Laurel's introductory presentation on the Social Response Pyramid™ or her Instructional KIT, which contains pieces and training to enable you to use the Pyramid yourself (or email her to inquire about a training for your district, conference, or other group). You can also purchase a more in-depth and up-to-date workshop DVD, Bridging the Gap, by clicking here.
2. Read additional SUN News articles Laurel has written about this topic. They can be found at graycenter.wordpress.com. To receive these articles each week by email, sign up for our newsletter.
