HELP FOR THE LONELY CHILD: Strengthening Social Perceptions

Lonely children, who misread verbal and nonverbal cues, are caught in a cycle of increasing isolation: without feedback or positive interactions, they grow more and more estranged. The Siegels (father, mother, son) maintain that lonely children can improve their social perceptions through ""direct instructional intervention"" at home and at school. Parents and teachers will recognize the spectrum of cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and perceptual problems they describe, for the examples--of anxiety, impulsiveness, concretism--are sensitively characterized, without oversimplification. Remedial activities concentrate on improving observable behavior, a tactic with inherent limitations acknowledged outright by the authors: ""we observe what he does, but can only surmise what he thinks and how he feels."" But the activities are easy enough to introduce (charades, say, with a discussion of facial expressions) and can benefit other children as well. A thoughtful, rounded presentation plus an appendix of recommended readings and suppliers of appropriate classroom kits.