Social Skills Groups for Children with Atypical Social-Emotional Development
Jerry Lindquist, Ph.D., OTR announces the availability of Social Skills Groups for Children with Atypical Social-Emotional Development
Social emotional development includes the ability to:
• communicate effectively
• organize and control behavior
• understand nonverbal cues
• imitate other children
• initiate interactions
• take turns
• share
• negotiate
• attend to activities
• maintain meaningful relationships
Children with limited or immature social skills typically have difficulty making friends, playing skillfully and understanding appropriate social behavior. Many special needs children do not have the fundamental ability to learn social skills. These children benefit from a more structured learning environment delivered in a social play group format in order to begin relating to their peers in an intentional organized purposeful and appropriate manner.
Helping a child to understand social cues, recognize others’ emotions, others’ behavior and the associated underlying communication in various social interactions will assist a child towards a more successful, independent, interactive social life.
A social-emotional sensory-motor approach to working on social skills difficulties understands that many skills are needed to form a foundation for a child’s ability to interact successfully and develop relationships with peers. An awareness of a child’s particular family environment, developmental level, temperamental characteristics, behavioral style and sensory responsiveness is the basis for beginning the remediation of social skill deficits.
This social-emotional, sensory-motor approach uses a play-based format, building on developmentally appropriate interests, to assist the child in initiating and reciprocating in social interactions. This intervention offers opportunities for interaction with typical age-appropriate peers.
Social ability is the number one predictor of future success for children with special needs. We have several age groups underway. We currently have openings in the 3 to 4 year-old, the 4 to 5 year-old and the 5 to 7 year-old groups.
Our staff includes registered occupational therapists, psychologists, speech therapists, and paraprofessional teaching assistants.
We ask for a ten week commitment. Fees are $40.00 per group meeting, $350.00 if paid in advance. Group meetings are one hour, fifteen minutes in length.
Every tenth meeting is a parent meeting. This is to inform parents about progress, changes, problems, etc. Parents are important in this process of social skill development. They can help the child practice social coping skills in all areas of their lives.
Jerry Lindquist, Ph.D., OTR is a clinical psychologist and an occupational therapist. As an occupational therapist, he specializes in treating children for sensory processing disorders. His psychotherapeutic interven-tions are with a wide range of psychological, emotional or other adjustment difficulties experienced by children, adoles-cents, adults and families. He is experienced in marital, family and individual psychotherapy.
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