SOCIAL SKILLS GROUPS
OUR GOAL IS SIMPLE.
Our goal is to help equip our clients with more confidence and understanding of the social world so they can meet the goals they have within it.
Each group provides not only a safe, inclusive and (hopefully) fun environment for them to learn- but also focusing on natural, unstructured interactions with "teachable moments" throughout as they engage, play and goof off with age and developmentally appropriate peers!
We offer the two most evidence based & effective approaches for teaching people social-emotional skills. PEERS® and DIR® Floortime.
PEERS® program
For our older social learners, we use The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) developed at UCLA in the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior is world-renowned for providing evidence-based social skills treatment to children, adolescents, and young adults with Autism, ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, and other socio-emotional difficulties. We couple the PEERS® curriculum with Social Thinking®, which focuses on helping kids figure out how to observe, process and respond in social situations. Kids are taught to observe and think about their own and others’ thoughts and feelings and use that to help them make social choices that line up with their social goals. You can learn more about PEERS® here: www.semel.ucla.edu/peers
DIR FLOORTIME®
For our younger social learners ( 8 and younger), we offer DIR Floortime® . DIR Floortime® is rooted in the science of human development and can sound technical at times, but it is also simple. It is a pathway to promote healthy development in a respectful manner that builds connections, understanding, love, communication, and engagement. The objectives of the DIR model are to build healthy foundations for social, emotional, and intellectual capacities rather than focusing exclusively on skills and isolated behaviors. You can learn more about DIR Floortime® here: www.icdl.com/dir
HOW'S THIS WHOLE THING WORK?
FIRST- WE MEET YOUR FAMILY AND CHILD TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT PEER GROUP WILL BE MOST APPROPRIATE
THEN WE WILL PLACE YOUR CHILD IN A GROUP WITH DEVELOPMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY APPROPRIATE PEERS
DURING GROUP YOUR CHILD WILL BEPROVIDED INSTRUCTION & GUIDANCE AND ALSO OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH PEERS.
YOU ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THEIR SUCCESS AND WILL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY AS WELL WITH HOMEWORK/ PRACTICE AND ENCOURAGEMENT!
WHAT DOES A SOCIAL GROUP AIM TO HELP WITH?
KIDS STRUGGLING TO MAKE OR KEEP FRIENDS
SOCIAL ANXIETY OR SOCIAL AVOIDANCE BEHAVIORS
DIFFICULTIES ENGAGING IN PLAY OR CONVERSATIONS
CHALLENGES IN READING THE SOCIAL CUES OF THOSE AROUND THEM
THOSE WHO ARE INFLEXIBLE WITH PEERS
DIFFICULTIES WITH PERSPECTIVE TAKING OF OTHERS
MEET THE TEAM
Anna Fogle, OTR
DIR Floortime®
Certified Provider
Social Skills Program Director
Laura Labus, COTA/L
Social Coach
Maria Vorel, M.A.
QUICK FAQ'S
GROUPS MEET WEEKLY AT THE SAME TIME AND PLACE.
GROUPS ARE ONLY RUN OUT OF OUR EDMOND LOCATION
GROUPS COST $40 PER WEEKLY SESSION.
GROUPS RUN YEAR ROUND
How will my child’s placement in a group be determined?
We have a well-earned reputation for taking care to match students with like-minded & developmentally appropriate peers. Our own experience — as parents and as professionals — informs our belief that students learn best about satisfying social interaction with peers they are can identify and connect with. We take the time to learn about each child and his or her family before we determine whether we can offer placement in a group. After careful review of each applicant, if we potentially have a good group to offer, we schedule an intake meeting with each child and their family. We discuss the family’s goals, the student’s learning needs, and potential group placements to determine the best fit. Only then do we offer placement in a social group.
What do you do in your groups? How exactly how do you teach them?
We all continually fine-tune our working understanding of the social world, including the hidden social rules of relationships, and how to read and respond to others in adaptive ways. But our students come to us because they need explicit, clear teaching of the social concepts and strategies necessary for navigating the social world. So, we often use visuals like drawings, photos and videos. We also use clear and descriptive but neutral vocabulary from PEERS® & Social Thinking® to describe social cognitive skills we are working on.In our groups, all of this social learning — concepts, vocabulary, strategies and tools — is paired with opportunities for practice and actual socializing in a natural way. Our students do a wide variety of age-appropriate, collaborative, engaging activities that are selected based on group members’ interests and preferences as often as possible. We intentionally model flexibility in the curriculum in order to support our students’ investment in in their own social learning process.
Parent education and support?
To help a child with social learning challenges grow and flourish, parents need to know when to take a different approach, try out new skills, or shift their thinking in some way. Sometimes our children’s social learning differences mean that they don’t learn social lessons as readily from conventional parenting approaches. Along with every lesson your child learns in their group, parents are provided education and guidance for how to help their child learn, practice and generalize these skills in their homes and communities. We provide hands on/digital materials for the content, provide social stories, video modeling and much more to every parent who attends.