(1-minute read)

What’s It Like Inside Dr. Devora (Samet) Witriol’s Social Skills Course?

Lessons, Laughter, and Life Skills

Hi. My name is Chaya and I’m just finishing up a course on “How to Teach Social Skills” by Dr. Devora (Samet) Witriol. Let me tell you a little about it.

The class is set up nicely for the eight of us each Monday night with papers, pens, candy, nuts, and drinks. I like the candy and nuts. Most of us do. Busy hands. Busy Mouths. Calm Tummies. Calm Minds.

Just like the Multiple Intelligences, the class members each contribute with their own flavor.

Let’s use some WH conversation skills questions to describe this. WHAT does Leah use for taking notes? WHICH technique was Tila a live demo for? WHOSE daughter do we all feel like we know even if she has like zero interest in being known?

We learn many fascinating things in this class like how many slices a jelly ring can be cut into, or how many pieces an M&M can yield. We also learn brand-new tactics about regular old things like timers, tickets, sugar, vinegar, and train tracks. We learn new things about ourselves that we never knew – are we the passive/assertive/aggressive type? And which level of art we’re capable of… And we laugh in this class. A lot.

This class CAN cause a sort of color blindness which has you seeing the world strictly in shades of reds and greens, with some occasional yellow. But that’s okay. We get comfortable with the uncomfortable.

At the end of the night, we drunkenly scribble our ‘tickets out the door’ with bleary eyes and buzzing brains; hungry yet satiated; exhausted yet exhilarated.

Dr. Devora (Samet) Witriol is a talented teacher –

Every question asked in this class is always acknowledged, carefully considered, and fully answered. If I had to sum up the essence of the entire course in under a half a minute, I would just say this:

Every single child out there is capable when the expectations for them are set high enough. And according to Devora – SET THEM HIGH!

The End

About the author:

Chaya Feldman, LCSW, is a skilled school counselor with extensive experience working with children ages 6–16. She specializes in helping children navigate anxiety disorders, OCD, adjustment challenges, and a range of other childhood concerns.

To contact Chaya, call 347-743-9984.

Have a fun holiday week!

Dr. Devora

P.S. One of the homework assignments for this course is to write a sample social story. This was Chaya’s story.

P.P.S. The blog will take a break next week in honor of Chanukah.

Happy Chanukah and Happy Holidays!