And most importantly, to do this in ways that respect each person’s particular needs and abilities. The goal is to create effective approaches for those with a variety of learning styles. There is no “one way” to teach the whole body listening concept. Truesdale emphasizes that whole body listening is “a tool, not a rule,” meaning that adults need to think flexibly about how best to use it. Similar to other Social Thinking Vocabulary that breaks down the social code, whole body listening has become a foundational concept to help make this and other abstract concepts more concrete and easier to understand, teach, and practice. This expanded concept of whole body listening is woven into parts of Michelle Garcia Winner’s larger Social Thinking® methodology to teach the fundamentals of how and why we listen to figure out the “expected” behavior when around others. This later addition is helpful when working on social interactions and relationships in which the purpose of listening is not just to “hear” and interpret what is being said, but also to demonstrate shared involvement to make a positive impression. Over time, other professionals have expanded the initial whole body listening concept to include the heart as a way to encourage empathy and perspective taking. She states that “when we are asking someone to think about what we are saying, we are in essence asking for the listener’s brain to be connected and tuned-in.” ![]() In a more recent article (2013) Truesdale stresses that the most critical part of whole body listening takes place in the brain. So how is this multi-layered skill best taught? To make listening more concrete and teachable, speech pathologist Susanne Poulette Truesdale (1990) came up with a powerful, and now very popular, concept known as “whole body listening.” This innovative tool breaks down the abstract concept of listening by explaining how each body part other than the ears is involved: the brain thinking about what is being said the eyes looking at or toward the speaker the mouth quiet the body facing toward the speaker and the hands and feet quiet and kept to oneself. ![]() In fact, these skills are clearly outlined in the Common Core Learning Standards that teachers use to grade their students.Īlthough we can easily agree that the ability to listen is important, listening involves more than “hearing” with our ears. Paying attention and listening to others are not only considered essential for social communication, but also for learning to be part of a group and for academic success. Moms, dads, and other caregivers can be heard saying some version of these same words to children everywhere. Phrases like “pay attention” and “listen carefully” ring out in classrooms across the country.
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