Social Skills Groups
We offer several evidence-based social skills groups for children and youth at Launch Behavioural Services. All groups are offered in-person at our clinic.
Children’s Friendship Training Social Skills Group (ages 8-12)
March 21st, 2023 – June 6th, 2023
Tuesdays from 5:00-6:00pm
12-week group program, in-person at our clinic in Leslieville, Toronto. An intake assessment is required.
Fee is $750 and may be covered by your extended health care benefits or Ontario Autism Program (OAP) funding.
We offer social skills groups based on the Children Friendship Training program (Frankle & Myatt, 2003) for children ages 8-12. Our goal is to teach your child how to apply skills learned within the group, with peers at school, and in the community. Skills will be taught in a small-group format with 6-8 children and 1 lead instructor and an assistant instructor.
An eligibility assessment will be conducted in order to determine if your child meets the pre-requisite criteria to join the social skills group. This assessment is essential to identify if your child displays the prerequisite skills to learn within a group setting.
Our children social skills group address social functioning in several areas:
- Conversational skills
- Peer group entry
- Expanding and developing friendship networks
- Handling teasing
- Practicing good sportsmanship
- Practicing good host behaviour during playdates
What we offer:
- One 60-minute session per week, for 12 sessions
- Parent meetings via Zoom
- Curriculum based learning plan
- Opportunities to connect and interact with all children within the program
- Supervision from a BCBA, BCBA-D
Commitment from parents:
- Participation in homework or parent training opportunities
- Attendance at parent group meetings
- Ongoing communication about challenges, concerns or progress
Facing Your Fears (Ages 7-14)
March 28th, 2023 – June 27th, 2023 | Tuesdays from 5:00pm – 6:30 pm
14-week group program, in-person at our clinic in Leslieville, Toronto. An intake assessment is required.
Fee is $1500 and may be covered by your extended health care benefits or Ontario Autism Program (OAP) funding.
Facing Your Fears (FYF) is a group intervention program for children and youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or anxiety who need assistance managing anxiety symptoms that interfere with daily life. FYF uses a cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) approach for the reduction of anxiety symptoms and management of worries and phobias.
PEERS® Youth Social Skills Group (ages 13-17)
March 29th, 2023 – June 28th, 2023
Wednesdays from 5:00pm - 6:30pm
14-week group program, in-person at our clinic in Leslieville, Toronto.
An intake assessment is required. Fee is $1200 and may be covered by your extended health care benefits or Ontario Autism Program (OAP) funding.
We also offer social skills groups based on the PEERS®(Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) Curriculum (Laugeson, 2014) for adolescents. PEERS® is an evidence-based friendship training program for middle school and high school students who are diagnosed with ASD or related disabilities and have primarily difficulties with making and keeping friends. During weekly sessions, skills are taught in a small-group lesson format with opportunities to practice with the peers in the group.
An eligibility assessment, including an interview with your teen, will be conducted in order to determine if your teen meets the pre-requisite criteria to join the social skills group. This assessment is essential to identify if your child displays the prerequisite skills to learn within a group setting. Your child should also display motivation to learn the skills for making and keeping friends.
The sessions will be conducted in a small group format with 1 lead instructor and 1 assistant instructor.
The goals of the program include:
- Trading information
- Conversational skills
- Electronic communication
- Choosing appropriate friends
- Appropriate use of humor
- Peer entry and exit strategies
- Get-togethers
- Good sportsmanship
- Handling teasing, bullying, and bad reputation
- Handling arguments and disagreements
- Handling rumours and gossip
What we offer:
- One 90-minute sessions weekly, for 14 weeks
- 60-minute parent meetings via Zoom
- Curriculum based learning plan
- Opportunities to connect and interact with all youth within the program
- Supervision from a BCBA, BCBA-D
Commitment from parents:
- Attendance at parent group meetings
- Participation in homework or parent training opportunities
- Provide coaching in socialization opportunities during the week
- Ongoing communication about challenges, concerns or progress