The Inspiration for SocialEyes Together

After 30 years of teaching children with disabilities, I had a breakthrough that changed my life—and forever shifted my understanding of therapeutic techniques.

My class consisted of a group of high school students with social challenges, many on the autistic spectrum. They were not eager to improve their relationship skills which was an area we needed to work on.

One morning, I introduced an improvisation game called “Clap it Out”.  Each person “passed the clap” on to the person to his right and so on. They had to clap at the same time, making only one sound. To my surprise my usually recalcitrant students asked for more. That's when I realized that improv exercises teach the curriculum I was charged with delivering. They were learning valuable skills while experiencing relationships in real time and having fun!

After they participated in the exercise (direct experience), we analyzed what made it enjoyable (cognitive awareness), how the games connected us in the moment (being in sync with others), and how we could use these skills in our lives  (generalizing/application).

I’ve been using this program in schools and in private groups since 2012 with phenomenal results. As a result, I am passionate about helping children and teens become joyful, thoughtful, and compassionate people through direct experience via applied improvisation, mindfulness, and cognitive awareness.