Social Thinking

What Social Thinking does

Social Thinking, operating as Think Social Publishing, Inc., is a privately held social-emotional learning (SEL) publishing and training company founded in 1998 by speech-language pathologist Michelle Garcia Winner. The company develops and distributes the Social Thinking Methodology — an evidence-based framework for teaching social competencies to neurotypical and Neurodivergent individuals across ages 4 through adulthood — through three core curriculum series (We Thinkers!, Social Detective & Superflex, and The Zones of Regulation) plus ancillary card decks, visual supports, books, and games. Underlying technology is content- and IP-based rather than software-based: proprietary visual frameworks (Social Situation Mapping, ILAUGH Model, Social Emotional Chain Reaction), registered trademarks, and 25+ years of clinical practice inform the curriculum.

The company monetizes primarily through direct-to-consumer e-commerce on socialthinking.com, selling physical products and digital downloads, supplemented by recurring-adjacent online training (on-demand courses at $54/attendee, livestream events, free webinars), in-person conferences in multiple US cities, and clinical training services operated in San Jose and Boston. International distribution is handled through seven channel partners across Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Singapore, and the UK, with materials translated into at least nine languages. Primary customer segments are general and special education teachers, speech-language pathologists and clinicians, behavior specialists, parents/caregivers, and neurodivergent adolescents and young adults. The company employs 11–50 people and has cumulatively served over 2.5 million educators, clinicians, and families globally.

Name

Social Thinking

Legal name

Think Social Publishing, Inc.

Website

https://socialthinking.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Social Thinking is a privately held SEL publisher founded in 1998 that sells the Social Thinking Methodology — evidence-based curricula, card decks, and visual supports — directly to educators, speech-language pathologists, clinicians, parents, and neurodivergent learners via e-commerce, conferences, and online training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social-Emotional Learning Resources

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Services (61), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), Health & Wellbeing Curriculum (EDAGAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) & Behavioral Intervention Materials (PBIS, Social Skills) (EDAGAMAE), Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) & Wellbeing Digital Curriculum (EDAFACAM)

Keywords

• Social-emotional learning
• Educational curricula
• Professional development training
• Special education resources
• Self-regulation curriculum

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Clara

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Physical products including curricula, books, games, visual supports, and card decks sold through the company's e-commerce platform. Products range from educational materials for early learners to adult social learning resources.
2. Digital Products: Digital downloads, e-books available on Apple Books and Google Play, and digital versions of curriculum materials.
3. Online Training: On Demand recorded courses and Livestream events offering professional development and CE credits for select professions. Courses cover topics like alexithymia, executive functioning, and social awareness.
4. Conference Revenue: In-person conferences held in various US locations (Reno, Chicago, Springfield, Annapolis, Wilton) with registration fees for professional development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Social Thinking publishes evidence-based social-emotional learning curricula, books, games, visual supports, and card decks anchored in the proprietary Social Thinking Methodology. It complements these products with professional development services including in-person conferences, livestream events, on-demand recorded courses, free webinars, and a clinical training program for speech-language pathologists and other clinical professionals.

Product overview

Social Thinking offers a comprehensive suite of social-emotional learning resources organized around the Social Thinking Methodology. The portfolio includes three award-winning curriculum series—We Thinkers!, Social Detective & Superflex, and The Zones of Regulation (created by Leah Kuypers)—as core educational products for ages 4 through adult. These are supplemented by card decks like Tools to Try Cards, visual supports and posters, and digital product versions available through Apple Books and Google Play. The company delivers its methodology through multiple channels: in-person conferences, livestream events, on-demand recorded courses, free webinars, and clinical training programs. The product ecosystem supports neurotypical and Neurodivergent individuals across developmental ages from Early Learners through Mature Adults, with materials translated into multiple languages for international distribution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• We Thinkers!: Award-winning social emotional learning curriculum series for early learners through young adults, teaching social competencies and flexible thinking.
• Social Detective & Superflex
• The Zones of Regulation

Products and services

• We Thinkers! Curriculum Award-winning social-emotional learning curriculum series for early learners through young adults that teaches social competencies, flexible thinking, perspective taking, and social problem solving through structured lessons and activities, part of the Social Thinking Methodology.
• Social Detective & Superflex Series Award-winning character-based curriculum series that teaches social learners to understand social expectations, perspective taking, and self-regulation through engaging characters and narrative-based lessons, including the Team of Unthinkables/Thinkables framework.
• The Zones of Regulation A comprehensive framework and curriculum created by Leah Kuypers that teaches learners across age groups to identify their emotional states across four colored zones (Blue, Green, Yellow, Red) and apply strategies for self-regulation and emotional control, including tools, games, and visual supports.
• Tools to Try Cards for Tweens & Teens An award-winning multisensory strategy card deck (50 cards) that helps students ages 11+ explore, choose, and practice regulation tools to focus, calm, think, move, breathe, and connect, as part of The Zones of Regulation series; ISBN 9781936943593.
• Online Training / On Demand Courses Recorded professional development courses providing training on social-emotional learning strategies, self-regulation, executive functioning, perspective taking, and related topics, with 1.5 hours of continuing education credit available for select professions and 90-day replay access per registration.
• Livestream Events Live virtual training events allowing real-time participation and Q&A with Social Thinking instructors on social-emotional learning topics.
• In-Person Conferences Annual in-person professional development conferences held in multiple US locations (Reno, Chicago, Springfield, Annapolis, Wilton) providing hands-on training and workshops on the Social Thinking Methodology for schools, districts, and individual professionals.
• Free Webinars Complimentary online seminars covering various aspects of social-emotional learning and the Social Thinking Methodology, used for professional development and parent education.
• Clinical Training Professional training program for clinicians that includes clinical internships and a Professional Directory of Clinical Trainees, delivered from clinical training locations in San Jose, CA and Boston, MA.
• Visual Supports Posters, charts, and visual teaching tools that support implementation of Social Thinking concepts across educational and clinical settings, sold individually through the e-commerce storefront.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• The Social Mind (Australia)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational distributor for Social Thinking products in Australia. Located at PO Box 4170, Hawker ACT 2614, Australia. Phone: +61 (0) 2 5105 5262. Email: [email protected]
• Autism Awareness Centre Inc. (Canada)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational distributor for Social Thinking products in Canada. Located at 56 Sussex Cr. SW, Calgary, AB T2W 0L5, Canada. Phone: 1.866.724.2224. Email: [email protected]
• Odin Books (Canada)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational distributor for Social Thinking products in Canada. Located at 108 East Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5T 1V9. Phone: 604.739.8804. Toll Free: 1.800.223-6346.
• Outside the Box Learning Resources (Ireland)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational distributor for Social Thinking products in Ireland. Located at W6W Tougher's Business Park, Newhall, Naas, Co. Kildare, W91 YR82, Ireland. Phone: + 353 (0) 45 409322.
• CommuniGate - A Gate for Social Communication (Israel)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational distributor for Social Thinking products in Israel. Located at Hagilboa 45, Kochav Yair, Israel. Phone: +1-972-52-6194178. Email: [email protected]
• Connect and Communicate LLP (Singapore)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational distributor for Social Thinking products in Singapore. Located at 167 Jalan Bukit Merah, #07-10 Tower 5, Connection One, Singapore 150167. Phone: +65 6254 7422.
• Thinking Books (United Kingdom)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational distributor for Social Thinking products in the United Kingdom. Located at 6 Gillsway, Northampton, NN2 8HU, United Kingdom. Phone: 0 759 325 9636.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Committee for Children (Second Step): Committee for Children publishes Second Step, the most widely adopted SEL curriculum in U.S. K-12 schools. Directly comparable as a research-based SEL curriculum publisher selling to schools, districts and families with both physical and digital products.
• Conscious Discipline: Conscious Discipline is a leading SEL and self-regulation program for educators and parents, with books, curricula, conferences and online training. Overlaps directly with Social Thinking's methodology-driven, conference-led GTM and Zones of Regulation-style self-regulation focus.
• Rethink Ed: Rethink Ed provides SEL, behavioral health and special education resources to K-12 schools. Comparable as a digital-first SEL and special-ed curriculum provider selling into schools and districts with online training and professional development.
• EVERFI: EVERFI delivers digital SEL, mental health and life-skills curricula to K-12 schools, often at no cost to educators via sponsorships. Comparable as a digital SEL content provider targeting schools, with a similar curriculum-plus-training model, though distributed more broadly across topics.
• Sanford Harmony: Sanford Harmony is a no-cost SEL program from the Sanford Weill Center for Wellbeing, serving PreK-6 classrooms. Direct competitor in the SEL curriculum market, particularly where price-sensitive districts compare Social Thinking's paid offering against free alternatives.

Emerging players

• Aperture Education: Aperture Education offers the DESSA suite of SEL assessments and intervention tools for K-12. Comparable as a school-facing SEL platform, but focused on assessment and data rather than direct curriculum instruction — adjacent rather than head-to-head.
• Move This World: Move This World provides PreK-12 SEL curricula with video-based lessons and educator resources. Comparable as a school-focused SEL curriculum provider, with a more digital/video-native delivery model versus Social Thinking's printed and live-training-led model.
• Panorama Education: Panorama is a K-12 data platform with SEL surveys, intervention tracking and curriculum recommendations used by districts. Comparable as a vendor selling into the same district SEL buying process, though Panorama is assessment/data-led rather than content-led.

Broad incumbents

• Scholastic Education: Scholastic is a large educational publisher with classroom magazines, books and digital SEL content. Comparable as an incumbent reaching the same K-12 teachers and districts at scale, though SEL is a small slice of a much broader content portfolio.
• Pearson Education: Pearson is a global education content and assessment company with K-12 curriculum and clinical/intervention products. Comparable as a broad incumbent with adjacent clinical-education assets serving similar educators, clinicians and school buyers, though not a focused SEL specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/socialthinking
• Facebookfacebook.com/socialthinking
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/socialthinking
• Instagraminstagram.com/socialthinking
• Pinterestpinterest.com/2socialthinking

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Social Thinking