Social Skills Groups
Coming
We offer two evidence based social skills groups for children and youth at Launch Behavioural Services.
Children (ages 8-14)
We offer social skills groups based on the Children Friendship Training program (Frankle & Myatt, 2003) for children ages 8-14. 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 90-minute session on Saturday mornings for 12 sessions
- Curriculum based learning plan
- Opportunities to connect and interact with all children within the program
- Supervision from a BCBA, BCBA-D, or Registered Psychologist.
Commitment from parents:
- Participation in homework or parent training opportunities
- Ongoing communication about challenges, concerns or progress
- On time drop off and pick up
- Weekly attendance and participation in parent meetings the last 15-minutes of each session, to share information and homework assignment
Youth Social Skills Group (ages 12-17)
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. 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 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.
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 session on Saturday mornings for 15 sessions
- 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:
- Participation in homework or parent training opportunities
- Provide coaching in socialization opportunities during the week
- Ongoing communication about challenges, concerns or progress
- On time drop off and pick up
- Weekly attendance and participation in parent meetings the last 15-minutes of each session, to share information and homework assignment