Social Skills Groups

CONNECTIONS SOCIAL SKILLS CLASSES AT CTS

Language of Social Skills

The classes provide the opportunity through games and fun activities for children to see themselves as part of a group, value others, and learn by communicating with others. Target behaviors will be “spotlighted” and celebrated. Some of these targeted skills include:

• social referencing with being spoken to such as turning toward the listener
• focused attention
• greeting each other verbally
• recognizing personal space and appropriate distance
• recognizing appropriate vocal volume
• caring for others
• respecting others by changing behavior if requested
• turn taking
• following directions
• noticing others and demonstrating interest in them
• offering help

Preschool Preparatory Classes

At CTS, we also offer preschool preparatory classes for children ages 4-6 years. The classes meet twice a week for one hour each session, and are designed to help verbal children with language and processing delays learn the skills needed to function successfully in formal classes. In the Preschool Prep class, children will learn about using each other’s names, getting along with each other, listening, answering, and asking questions. They will learn that we have different jobs that make our class work well. Our main goal is to get comfortable and to get along with each other. We will address challenges children experience when separating from a parent, transitioning into and out of the classroom setting, taking directions from the therapist, following class rules, sitting quietly for short times while others are taking a turn, playing with other children, sharing with others, recognizing the feelings of others, and being part of a class.

These preparatory classes also train children in language cognitive skills such as making associations, sorting and labeling categories, using specific language labels for nouns and actions, sequencing events to tell a procedure, understanding words for quantities and time, talking about a recent experience, and using descriptive words to explain attributes. Pragmatic skills are taught for taking turns, expressing feelings, making requests, handling transitions between activities, respecting personal space for self and others, and actively listening as well as sharing verbally with others.

School Age Classes

For school age students, we offer pragmatic language and social skills class led by experienced speech pathologists. The classes are designed to be 60 minute sessions for ages 7 – 10 years, 11 – 13 years, and a teen group for ages 13 – 18 years. Each class will have no more than six members.

Emphasis of the class sessions will be to gain linguistic, auditory, kinesthetic and visual processing skills, along with an organized thinking and reasoning language grid to interact appropriately with peers and adults and to increase social problem solving skills. These classes are designed for individuals who have diagnosed language or auditory processing disorders including SPD, ADD/ADHD or CAPD.

The class activities will include various combinations of the following types of activities:

• Interactive group rhythm and sound processing games with motor tasks to increase sequencing, timing, eye contact, attention.
• Play-by-rule games to learn to handle competition, use language appropriately, and increase verbal expression
• Activities that increase understanding of relational idiomatic and social phrases in context, fast running speech in conversation, and awareness of problem solving techniques in a non-threatening atmosphere.
• Role play problematic situations with varying outcomes depending on choices made.
• Role play current cultural jargon to increase understanding of social language for appropriate relating to peers versus adults.
• Learn practical strategies for self-calming then role play to practice applying these in a controlled class setting.
• Complete a step-by-step class project to learn to effectively plan, carry out, and work together to create a desired end result.

Please Note: Each participant must have either a recent language evaluation or a clinical interview with the Jane Shook prior to joining the class. This is not intended to be a psycho-therapy group. An individual with a psychiatric condition such as manic-depression, paranoia, bipolar, schizophrenia, or a similar condition, must be stable on their medications and medically cleared by their psychiatrist. If you have further questions about these groups, please call (972) 233-9019.