The Social Response Pyramid™
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The Social Response Pyramid™ is an educational tool developed by Laurel Hoekman Falvo in 2006. She has been expanding and refining it ever since. The Pyramid is a visual representation of social understanding and social effectiveness--how we can better understand ourselves and others (including those with ASD and other disabilities) 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.)
Receive updates on the Pyramid by "liking" our Social Response Pyramid™ FACEBOOK page!
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.
Click below to view "Taking Care of Library books". (Others can also be found on the Laurel Falvo You Tube channel).
Receive updates on the Pyramid by "liking" our Social Response Pyramid™ FACEBOOK page!
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.
Click below to view "Taking Care of Library books". (Others can also be found on the Laurel Falvo You Tube channel).
DOWNLOAD the SOCIAL RESPONSE PYRAMID KIT!
The KIT contains discussion templates and the pieces necessary for having your own Pyramid discussions (2 SOCIAL CONTEXTS, Pyramid templates, and instruction and discussion sheets.) Click here to download.
About The Social Response Pyramid™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 ways. 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. I call these AUTHENTIC RESPONSES. 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 or authentic 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! STRATEGIES are the key to our success...choosing and implementing strategies which will help us respond effectively. Both "innate" and "specific" strategies can be used. This is the basis of The Social Response Pyramid™, a simple tool which is intended to help us better understand ourselves and others to aid in promoting social understanding. Copyright 2007, Laurel A. Falvo COACHING/CONSULTING:You can receive personalized coaching/consulting from Laurel Falvo (including help planning goals and next steps for achieving those, help learning and implementing the Social Response Pyramid™, and more, by selecting your preference below or by calling 616.422.5886 or emailing us).
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Fun ways to incorporate the Pyramid (and traffic lights) into your home and school life:
Other great resources which provide additional support for the brain research behind the Social Response Pyramid™ :
Other STRATEGIES which work well with the Social Response Pyramid™ :
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Accessing coaching/consulting:You can purchase your session(s) online here. Your credit card payment will be processed quickly and securely by PayPal. You can pay with a credit card using this method even if you do not have a PayPal account. We will contact you to schedule your session(s) after receiving your payment. You may also pay in-person with check or cash.
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To invite Laurel Hoekman to speak for your conference or other event, or to provide consulting for your staff, EMAIL US.
Comments from people who have attended Laurel Hoekman's Social Response Pyramid™ presentations:
- Excellent. I appreciated her applying this information to a variety of settings. She knew what she was talking about.
- Really enjoyed Laurel's presentation--her knowledge along with personal experience really made it dynamic and useful.
- Applies to so many situations!
- I liked the Social Response Pyramid(TM)--very helpful to solve conflicts!
- Ideas seemed like they will be very useful in my classroom. I will be directing at least one parent to your web site!
- Laurel has a very strong style of delivery. Her visuals were excellent.
- Gave me strategies I can use in class. I appreciated the "real life" examples and strategies!
- Well informed and experienced resource--everything was truly valuable!
- The personal stories were a great help in understanding what is going on in the mind of a person and how they process information.
- The language and structure of the process may be applied to most students--such as emotionally disturbed or ADHD.
- The training provided me with information on Autism and Asperger's that I was not knowledgeable about. It also gave me many tips and tools I can use with students I am working with in class. It gave me a better understanding of their needs--thank you!
- I appreciated the interactive dialogue and time for asking questions--thank you!
- Laurel is very knowledgeable!