The Social Intentional Method (SIM) is an intervention approach aimed at stimulating social cognition and cognitive development in children with social and cognitive deficits. It is based on Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky's theories of teaching, learning, and cognitive development.Vygotsky emphasized that cognition is a social phenomenon because social experience shapes the ways of thinking and interpreting the world. Simply stated, socialization involves using language meaningfully to interact with others, and also using mental processes to evaluate the interactions. SIM emphasizes an integrative approach to the treatment of social cognition deficits in autism and related disorders using meaningful every day routines to encourage learning as a social process.