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The problem with traditional social skills training is that it focuses on teaching autistic individuals to mimic neurotypical behaviors and suppress their autistic traits. And this comes at a significant cost to the autistic individual's self-esteem. By encouraging masking, or hiding one's true self to fit in, these programs can lead to exhaustion, burnout, and a loss of identity. The emphasis on fitting into a conventional mold can increase anxiety, stress, and feelings of inadequacy, as it suggests that an autistic person's natural way of interacting is wrong or insufficient. And I don’t think any of us want that for our students. So on this episode of Making the Shift, we’re going to be diving into the problem with social skills training and we’ll be giving you our best tips on what we should be doing instead.