Correcting others and tattling too much: Social skills activities to teach kids with autism who have these problems

Social skills games and learning activities for tattling and correcting

I created these materials ten years ago and just finished a re-design of the whole kit.

Picture shows one of the Tattling and Correcting cards.

Young people on the autism spectrum can come across as rigid and bossy at times to their peers. Children with ASD can misinterpret complex social situations and express themselves too openly, without considering the broader social consequences.

Picture showing the two downloadable sheets summarizing Tattling and Correcting.

Figuring out when to “tattle” or correct someone is very hard. I designed the 48 question cards to include not just “easy” ones but also a lot of challenging questions that don’t have clear-cut answers.

When you use the cards, feel free to go through the deck and select the ones that seem best for the young people you are helping, based on their age, level of comprehension and particular issues they are dealing with.

Picture shows cutting out paper cards and a laptop displaying the PowerPoint version of the cards.

Children like to hold the cards and have an actual “deck” to play with, but this social skills activity also really works well in the screen display version (which is the version I most often use myself, for groups and teletherapy).

I have gotten good feedback from teachers, who sometimes post the two one-page summaries (Before Tattling, Ask Yourself and Before Correcting, ask yourself) on their classroom walls.


I hope these materials are useful for you in your work.

Joel Shaul

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