Peer Reviewed Article

Featured in Word of Mouth Journal: Social Thinking® in the Landscape of Evidence-Based Practices

Pamela Crooke and Michelle Garcia Winner
May 1, 2017

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is a term that is now commonplace amongst educators, therapeutic professionals, and parents. Rightly so—we all want evidence for our actions! But what exactly does the phrase "evidence-based" mean in the context of our practices? Thoughtful consumers should consider that just as we ask questions to seek quantitative evidence, we should also ask questions to seek qualitative evidence: Is the targeted skill useful? Is it necessary? Is it ethical? Is the individual simply memorizing the skill with little or no understanding of how it connects to other skills and competencies? Does it relate to the core challenges and strengths of this individual? Does it promote a better quality of life? Does it move the individual towards independence? This short, concise and powerful article gives the reader an overview of how different types of evidence relate to the Social Thinking methodology.