A Guide to Finding a Social Skills Group For Your Child

by Malka Rosenzweig

Courtesy of Tree of Knowledge

As summer is approaching, you may be considering different options for your child.  Enrolling your child in a social skills group is a great way to teach and/or reinforce social skills that are important for daily living and interaction. 

Social skills are complex and take time to master.  Children and teens need to learn to generalize their new skills; to apply them in real life situations.  Given the demands of a typical school schedule, it is recommended that students also participate in after-school social skills groups to supplement the work being done in school.  Social skills groups are used to provide opportunities for additional practice to teach individuals ways to appropriately interact with peers and other individuals.

What to look for in a social skills group?

Composition:  The group should be composed of individuals that need specific social skills instruction so the areas of focus during the group meet their needs.  You want to look for a small group of 2 to 8 individuals with an adult facilitator.  Students should be grouped with no more than a two year age span.  There is more room for leniency in the age span for older children and teenagers.

The group may take place at a school either during a lunch period or after school, in a learning center, a therapy office.  These groups may be led by a speech therapist, psychologist, social worker, special education teacher, or guidance counselor.  Groups should meet on a regular basis.  Weekly meetings are ideal, though twice monthly can work as well.  Sessions can range from 30 minutes to 90 minutes, though most groups are an hour long.

Roll-playing:  Most social skills groups include role-playing, practice, feedback and help from others.  While a group could discuss what to do in a given situation, practicing how one would deal with the situation through role-playing allows for practice and feedback during the group.

Communication:  You may want to find a group that communicates frequently and direction with families.  Ask the group leader how s/he communicated with families.  Communication allows for the families to know what they can do at home to practice skills and reinforce learning. 

Generalization:  Learning social skills within the group is just the first step.   Students should be given the opportunity, either through homework or involvement of parents to help the students integrate and generalize the new skills they are acquiring to different social situations.

Social skills groups are often run by school districts, learning centers, and therapy centers.