A few years ago, Johnny Multony, transformed from not fitting into a socially savvy kid, started the first-ever social detective agency. He was hired by other students in his school for help with common interpersonal dilemmas, such as cliques, dealing with disappointments, bullying, personal space, friends, body language, and much more. Now, an opportunity of a lifetime, Johnny Multony has opened the Social Detective Academy! And YOU have been invited!During your time at the Social Detective Academy, you will learn some of the most important things a social detective needs to be aware of. Learning these things will help you become a skilled social detective capable of helping others solve their social mysteries, just like Johnny! But even more than that, you will learn the tools for becoming a social ninja, capable of navigating some of the most complicated social mysteries that you might face in your own life. The truth is that some of the best social detective training involves learning how to be more socially skilled yourself. If you can effectively navigate your own social world, you will be much more capable of helping others become successful in their own social journeys. This is how Johnny's first students learned to become excellent social detectives themselves-by practicing solving their own mysteries. Throughout this book, you will have the opportunity to test your skills by trying to solve social mysteries alongside some of Johnny's first students. These mysteries came directly from these students' personal lives and show how they used their social detective skills to make their own social lives better. As you read through the chapters, see if you can use the tools you are learning to identify social mysteries you might have in your own life. Some of the ideas in this book are going to be pretty easy and straightforward. You will probably understand them with very little effort. But some of the things we will be talking about might seem a little more complicated at first. If there is something that you don't quite get right away, don't worry about it. That is to be expected. Just keep going and don't let it hold you back. You can always come back to it later on. If you don't fully understand something, you will still be able to understand later things in the book. In fact, some of the things in this book will probably make even more sense as you read later parts of the book, so if something is not completely clear, keep reading on and come back. Johnny actually encourages his social detective students to come back and reread things even if they understood them the first time because rereading about important ideas can help you to have a deeper understanding. Each chapter will also have a social detective concept summary at the end. These summaries are there to help you organize the most important concepts in each chapter. They serve as a good reference guide to come back to if you need to refresh your memory later on.
Jeffrey E. Jessum, Ph.D., has spent the past 15 years working with children and families in hospital , mental health facilities , schools, private practice and the community, with a primary emphasis on social skills training and education. As a major element of his work with children, he has created a library of stories. Many of these stories communicate important social and emotional le sons in a way that i entertaining to children and their parents, while other stories were created purely for enjoyment. The inspiration for Diary of a Social Detective came from his years of running social skills groups for kids of all ages, and all the stories within the book are based on very real and common struggles that children face.
Custom, timely email blasts to over 9,000 Future Horizons readers. Ad will be placed in Autism Asperger's Digest. Future Horizons will write and place PR to major or targeted national media, book reviewers, and bloggers. Book will be sold at in-person conferences around the US throughout the year.
"Diary of a Social Detective is a wonderful and unique book. It will make a great addition to any social skills program striving to teach social cognition to youth on the autism spectrum. In particular, the social mysteries presented in the book, and the systematic process provided to solve them, show great promise in our efforts to effectively teach perspective taking, social problem solving and knowledge of social rules. I am looking forward to adding it to our 'intervention tool chest' at the Social Skills Research Center."--Scott Bellini, Ph.D., HSPP, director, Social Skills Research Center, research and clinical director, Indiana Resource Center for Autism; author of award-winning Building Social Relationships: A Systematic Approach to Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Social Difficulties "This witty, captivating set of social mystery cases is interactive and full of interesting and helpful information. Readers can try to solve the cases right along with Johnny, the clever social detective. Written for youth, this book is a great tool for any child who struggles to relate with peers."--Judith Coucouvanis, MA, PMHCNS-BC, University of Michigan; author of Super Skills: A Social Skills Group Program for Children with Asperger Syndrome, High-Functioning Autism and Related Challenges and award-winning The Potty Journey: Guide to Toilet Training Children with Special Needs, Including Autism and Related Disorders "Engaging! Charming! Funny! Wise! Just 'naughty' enough for all kids to become hooked on Johnny the Strange turned Johnny the Smooth. A must-read for children with social struggles. While enjoying a good story, children learn how to reflect upon themselves as they observe others; how to read body language and social cues; how to deal with bullies and loudmouths. Most important, kids are taught to take responsibility for their impact on others." --Terry Marks-Tarlow, Ph.D., author of Psyche's Veil: Psychotherapy, Fractals and Complexity and Creativity Inside Out "Jeff Jessum has made an important breakthrough in the teaching of social skills. His creative and imaginative stories incorporating the best practices in social problem solving are compelling, interesting and kid-friendly. The concept of social skills requiring detective work will help children at risk for social issues actively apply the principles for effective social problem solving. This book provides an important new tool for parents, educators and therapists in providing sound practice to practical situations."--Robert Colegrove, Ed.D., psychologist working with children and families; affiliated with Children's Hospital Los Angeles
