Social Skills Groups
PEERS® Youth Social Skills Group (ages 13-17)
September 14, 2022 - December 14, 2022
Wednesdays from 5:00pm - 6:30pm
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 groups will take place at our clinic in Toronto at 250 Carlaw Ave, Unit 102.
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, or Registered Psychologist
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