Social Skills Groups
Read this page to learn about our specialized preschool, elementary, middle, & high school groups.
Our gentle preschool groups celebrate this magical developmental period in which fantasy, imagination, and play reign. In a warm, nurturing atmosphere, playful interaction and peer socialization practice is promoted.
Social practice for 4 and 5 year olds is art and play based. Group members create art while having to share space and materials and then practice turn-taking and leading a discussion about their projects. The art is used to structure the social practice - NO prior art talent or fine motor ability is required for kids to succeed! Sessions conclude with a free play period with active social-coaching by the therapist.
Mike Fogel’s Art of Friendship Social Skills Curriculum is the core program used. Simple, clear language with multisensory and memorable lessons make acquiring social skills easy. Children and parents leave each session with concrete strategies and catch phrases that empower them. With their parents’ help, children can generalize their new skills at home.
In addition to core social thinking skills, the preschool curriculum includes:
Perspective-taking and empathy
Emotional self-awareness and self-regulation
Flexibility
Use of language to get needs met and have fun with peers
Ability to follow directions and transition
Cooperative play and reciprocal communication skills
Negotiation and compromise
Problem-solving and sharing
It can be anxiety provoking and exhausting to try new social skills! Our therapists catch and reinforce all positive social behavior shown by group members with real-time targeted praise. A fun, flexible reward system with tokens and prizes teaches which social skills are the best ones to repeat. The reinforcement system is “aggressively positive” and not punitive. We view social “mess-ups” and conflicts as opportunities for on the spot learning.
Each group ends with parent instruction in the key concepts covered that session. Children get to pick out prizes while parents learn the social skill vocabulary and about their child's success in group that day.
Our innovative elementary school social skills groups focus on the important developmental tasks of 6-11 year olds. The elementary school child gains self-esteem by developing three attitudes about him or herself.
I can succeed socially with friends.
I can handle school and family expectations.
I can manage my feelings and impulses.
These attitudes are built up with social practice through individual/group art projects, game playing, and imaginary play. Developmentally appropriate conversation practice occurs simultaneously as participants share projects and ask questions.
Mike Fogel’s Art of Friendship Social Skills Curriculum is the core program used. Simple, clear language with multisensory and memorable lessons make acquiring social skills easy. Children and parents leave each session with concrete strategies and catch phrases that empower them. With their parents’ help, children can generalize their new skills at home.
In addition to core social thinking skills, the elementary curriculum includes:
Reading social cues and adapting to peers’ needs
Flexibility
Positive assertiveness
Initiating and sustaining play and conversation
Negotiation and compromise
Problem solving
Emotional awareness and self-regulation
Dealing with difficult kids and bullies
It can be anxiety provoking and exhausting to try new social skills! Our therapists catch and reinforce all positive social behavior shown by group members with real-time targeted praise. A fun, flexible reward system with tokens and prizes teaches which social skills are the best ones to repeat. The reinforcement system is “aggressively positive” and not punitive. We view social “mess-ups” and conflicts as opportunities for on the spot learning.
Each group ends with parent instruction in the key concepts covered that session. Children get to pick out prizes while parents learn the social skill vocabulary and about their child's success in group that day.
Our middle school groups recognize the difficulty in this transitional time in the young adolescent’s life. We help normalize and support the inner experience of the 11-14 year old. Our goal is to help our clients successfully navigate the developmental challenges of middle school:
Overwhelming and chaotic feelings
Changes - both in physical appearance and personal interests
Belonging to a peer group
Social practice is accomplished through individual/group art projects, conversation practice, game playing, role play, and team-building activities. This socialization may be structured, partially structured, or completely unstructured by the therapist to meet the needs of the group and to challenge participants to master new social skills.
Mike Fogel’s Art of Friendship Social Skills Curriculum is the core program used. Simple, clear language with multisensory and memorable lessons make acquiring social skills easy. Children and parents leave each session with concrete strategies and catch phrases that empower them. With their parents’ help, children can generalize their new skills at home.
Beyond the core social thinking skills, the middle school curriculum includes:
"Hanging-out" skills
Navigating unstructured time
Friendship management
Conversation skills
Young romance
Navigating peer groups and cliques
Coping with difficult peers and/or bullies
Social media management and cyber-etiquette
High school groups are centered on the essential practice of conversation, hanging-out skills, and life-skills. Our adolescent groups are designed to meet the needs of teenagers ages 15-19, for whom the main developmental tasks are:
Developing a clear and strong self-identity around personal interests and strengths to use in peer groups.
Increasing independence and autonomy gradually.
Building skills for transition to activities of young adulthood such as college or employment.
Our groups empower teenage participants to succeed, which helps them create their own self-identity and self-esteem. The group’s focus often turns to peer support as participants share and brainstorm solutions for their social experiences from school and home.
Mike Fogel’s Art of Friendship Social Skills Curriculum is the core program taught in our groups. Simple, clear language with visual and memorable lessons make acquiring social and life skills easy. Teens and parents leave each session with concrete strategies and catch phrases that empower them. With their parents’ ongoing guidance, adolescents generalize their new skills at home.
Our teens have a great deal of control over the selection of the activities, providing them with a sense of ownership and connection to the group. Groups for girls often look quite different than groups for boys due to divergent interests as the teens direct their own group activities. Potential activities include individual/group art projects, conversation practice, game playing, role play and team-building activities. Occasional outings to area eateries, bowling alleys, etc. provide excellent opportunities for social practice in real environments.
Beyond the core social thinking skills, the high school curriculum includes:
Conversation skills
"Hanging-out" skills; making and keeping social plans
Navigating unstructured time
Friendship management
Problem solving
Romantic relationships
Applying for and maintaining jobs
Coping with difficult peers and/or bullies
Social media management and cyber-etiquette
Life skills