The Hidden Curriculum: Practical Solutions for Understanding Unstated Rules in Social Situations (Paperback)

by Brenda Smith Myles (Author), Melissa L. Trautman (Author), Ronda L. Schelvan (Author)
Key Phrases: hidden curriculum items, hidden curriculum rule, comic strip conversations, Power Card, Asperger Syndrome (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A truly practical approach to understanding the hidden rules associated with the complex social dialogue of life. -- Peter F. Gerhardt, Ed.D., Gerhardt Autism/Aspergers Consultation Group, LLC

Finally a book that spells out the ‘real’ rules of social conduct, not just how to be polite. -- Jed Baker, Ph.D., Director, Social Skills Training Project in New Jersey, Author, Social Skills Training for Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Social-Communication Disorders

Presents how to navigate those mysterious cues emitted by body language and the uncharted areas of meaning "between the words." -- Stephen M. Shore, Author, Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Editor, Ask and Tell: Self-Advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum, Board President, Asperger’s Association of New England

Product Description
This book offers practical suggestions and advice for how to teach and learn those subtle messages that most people seem to pick up almost automatically but that have to be directly taught to individuals with social-cognitive challenges. Given the serious consequences that can befall a person who violates a social rule, the strategies and detailed lists of curriculum items make The Hidden Curriculum a much-needed resource.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Autism Asperger Publishing Company (July 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931282609
• ISBN-13: 978-1931282604
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,099 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! A simple solution!, April 23, 2005

By	Kristi A. Sakai (Oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

One of the missing components to the concept of teaching "social skills" to children and young adults on the autism spectrum, is that instructors focus on textbook manners instead of teaching REAL life practical knowledge. The Hidden Curriculum explains that every society has unstated rules, the things that no one explains to you, but which you are supposed to pick up somehow on your own. Remember how awkward and geeky most of us were in Jr. High? And there were always the "cool kids" who somehow knew just how to dress, just what to say and meanwhile you (and I) were clueless? It's because they understood the unstated rules, they had an unkanny ability to pick up the exact tools necessary for "coolness." As we grow up, we learn better how to adapt to social situations, we know how to behave in a variety of settings, even perhaps cross culturally. Adults grow into a sense of ease in our surroundings, we know what we are supposed to do. Now, imagine that you never got over that awkward phase, you were perpetually spending your life roaming around trying to figure out the world with little to go on. No one pulled you aside and explained, "This is how it is, Kid." That's exactly what it's like for our kids on the spectrum. Well, here comes The Hidden Curriculum to the rescue! Not only does it explain many of these "unstated rules" (many of which are humorous--who doesn't know you should take tuna in your school lunch because it stinks? many of our AS kids!) It also goes beyond to explain how to uncover them. It highlights how crucial it is for us as parents, as educators and just as a society to literally pull our AS folks aside and say, "These are the rules." For example, "Don't pick your nose." Good advice right? But p-leeeze, everybody picks their nose! (Okay, not me, but everybody else! :-) What we really need to teach our kids is not, don't pick your nose, but not to pick their nose where people can see them. Sound silly? Our children and friends on the autism spectrum just need for us to teach them one little tidbit like this every day and they'll find their way with increasing ease. And wouldn't you have liked someone to pull you aside in Jr. High and done the same for you? Let's equip our kids with the real skills to make their way in the world. The Hidden Curriculum does just that!

Kristi Sakai, parent of 3 with Asperger Syndrome and author of
Finding Our Way: Practical Solutions for Creating a Supportive Home and Community for the Asperger Syndrome Family

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bridging the Gap & Crossing into Neuro-neutral Grounds, December 23, 2004

By	BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is another book that people on the autism/Asperger's (a/A) spectrum have been praying for! This sterling work helps decode and identify tacit Social Codes & Rules. For many people on the a/A spectrum, learning these nonverbal subtleties is a major challenge. a/A related conditions are neurobiological and affect sensory processing and integration as well as communication. People on the a/A spectrum encounter a wide range of social difficulties, many of which are addressed in this book.

This work gives good advice on how to make and maintain eye contact; how to position oneself when talking to and listening to another; how to appear natural in practicing these skills. This book also gives a good explanation of how to "read" people socially and how to learn to anticipate possible seeming changes in the Tacit Social Codes & Rules. People with neurotypical (NT) brains already know these Rules and NT readers also can benefit from this book by seeing what people on the a/A spectrum contend with. Rather, people on the a/A spectrum learn these behaviors cognitively as this is not intuitive knowledge among the a/A population. Once the Rules are learned, the next step is understanding when and how and to apply them.

Make a place for this book. It is every a/A navigator's best friend when it comes to improving social skills and interpreting human behavior. It is a bridge from the a/A population to the NT population and moves all, a/A and NT readers alike onto neuro-neutral ground. The information found in this book makes communicating in the NT world so much easier and so much more logical!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good reference but scant on practical strategies, July 24, 2007

By	R. Bell "Students Grow" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I purchased this book a year ago and it sat on my shelf until today. I dusted it off because I am developing a community-based social skills coaching program for an adolescent with high-functioning Autism. I recalled that the book had a nice list of the hidden curriculum for a variety of social situations (e.g. eating at a restauant, telephone skills, rules for dating, reading body language). There were a few in there that I never would have thought of. This was helpful as a jumping off point for making goals and developing a concise script for the sessions.

There is a section in the book on the strategies to teach the hidden curriculum, but it is limited in content. There is a brief description of a technique, examples of worksheets one could use, but there are no blank reproducible materials of the worksheets they used as examples.

I would recommend this book for those just starting out in the field and teachers or parents who want to know what words to use to explain to their child the "unwritten social rules."

By the way, I would also recommend that you "do not talk about how mucus looks or feels in the throat or looks in your tissue." :)