Facial Expressions in Autism: Teaching Kids Social Cues Effectively

Raise your hand if you’ve ever asked a student how a peer was feeling and been met with a confident “...Minecraft?” (Just me?)

Teaching kids to read facial expressions can be tricky — especially for students who thrive with structure, rules, and clear expectations.

While some kids seem to pick up social cues like free samples at Costco, others need explicit teaching. Rump et al (2011) found that by as early as 5 to 7 years of age, children with autism are less proficient at recognizing some emotional expressions than are typically developing children.

Not every brain works the same way, and it’s not about changing who students are — it’s about offering them tools they can use, if and when they want to. That's why it's essential to include teaching facial expressions in autism social group curriculum, individualized therapy, or in class-wide contexts.

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Why Facial Expressions in Autism Matter 

Understanding facial expressions helps students:

✔️ Build empathy 

✔️ Know when to give a peer space 

✔️ Figure out if someone’s joking or actually mad 

✔️ Avoid asking “Wanna play?” ten times in a row to someone who’s clearly over it

And let’s be real: facial expressions can be confusing, even for adults. (Is that teacher smiling because she’s happy or because she’s holding back tears and caffeine withdrawal rage? We may never know.)

Break Down the Face

Portion of the "What Sad Feels Like" Emotion Poster

Expressions are basically visual puzzles, and some students need help figuring out the pieces. That’s where my Emotion Posters (Included in my Facial Expressions & Emotions Social Skill Bundle) come in — they highlight facial features like:

• Forehead (relaxed = happy, furrowed = "I just stepped on a LEGO")

  
  

• Eyebrows (raised = surprised, scrunched = irritated at your dinosaur facts)

  
  

• Eyes (wide = scared or excited — context matters!)

  
  

• Mouth (smile, frown, or the classic “I am done” flat line)

  
  

Once you teach students to look at specific parts, they’re way more confident interpreting the whole.

🔬 Evidence-based tip: Rump et al. (2009) explain that telling the difference between expressions like scared and surprised comes down to noticing small shifts in facial muscles. A slightly raised eyebrow or a more open mouth can completely change the emotion.

That’s why it’s so important to give students lots of practice breaking down facial features—so they can start spotting those small differences with confidence.

Emotions such as tired and sad can look very similar, but breaking them down into the facial components can help students identify the true emotion.

Sort It, Match It, Master It

Sorting activities are simple, fun, and perfect for building facial expression recognition skills. Start with easy tasks and gradually increase the complexity to reinforce learning through multiple examples. These activities help students generalize skills by practicing in different contexts.

Eyes Only: Start with basic emotions by focusing on just the eyes. Gradually add more complex expressions as students get comfortable.

Mouths Only: Begin by distinguishing clear emotions like angry vs happy. Progress to more subtle mouth differences for advanced practice.

Full Faces: Match full facial expressions to emotions, using visual clues. Start with easy, clear expressions and work up to more nuanced ones.

Teaching Tip: These activities work great as centers, early finisher tasks, or quiet activities for those "it's indoor recess again, and we’re all one rainstorm away from chaos" days. 

Teaching Basic Perspective Taking 

Now that students can see the emotion, it’s time to guess what the person might be thinking. My Mind Reading worksheets, from my Facial Expressions & Emotions Social Skill Bundle, gives students a picture and three possible thoughts. They choose the one that makes the most sense.

Example: A boy with his arms crossed and a scowl. Is he thinking:

• “I’m mad I lost that game”?

• “I love this activity”?

• “I’m going to build a spaceship”?

  
  

No wrong answers… except maybe that last one (unless he’s an innovator, in which case: carry on).

This step helps students move from “He’s mad” to “He might be thinking ___,” which builds perspective-taking and reduces social misfires like offering a high five to someone mid-meltdown.

Conversation Starters That Actually Fit

Once students can guess what someone might be thinking or feeling, they’re better equipped to choose a conversation starter that makes sense.

In my Conversation Starters worksheets, included in my Facial Recognition & Emotion Social Skill Bundle, students look at an expression and choose from three ways to start a conversation. Because asking “Wanna hear a joke?” to someone who looks like they just lost their recess minutes… maybe not the best move.

That said — not every student wants to initiate conversations, and that’s okay too. This activity is about options, not expectations. We’re giving kids tools, not social scripts they’re forced to follow forever and ever, amen.

Final Thoughts

Teaching facial expression reading doesn’t have to be a serious, stiff, one-size-fits-all kind of thing. It can be visual, playful, and rooted in understanding that all students — neurotypical or neurodivergent — benefit from clear, concrete teaching and room to be themselves. 

And don’t forget—teaching kids to recognize facial expressions is just one piece of the puzzle. We can also help students advocate for themselves by teaching them how to describe what their own faces and bodies might look like when they feel different emotions.

This not only supports self-awareness, but also helps neurotypical peers and adults better understand and respond to them—especially when their expressions don’t match the "expected" look for a feeling.

We’re not trying to create little social robots. We’re helping students interpret the world in a way that makes sense to them, while also reminding them (and ourselves) that communication is a two-way street. Everyone deserves to be understood.

Want to make this easier on yourself?

Grab my Facial Expressions & Emotions Social Skill Bundle — complete with posters, visuals, sorting pages, “mind reading” worksheets, an interactive game-show style game and more. It’s packed with everything you need to help students recognize, label, and respond to emotions confidently.

👉 Get the bundle here and save time while boosting student success.

REFERENCES:

Rump, K. M., Giovannelli, J. L., Minshew, N. J., & Strauss, M. S. (2009). The development of emotion recognition in individuals with autism. Child development, 80(5), 1434–1447. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01343.x