Suitable for ages

13-17, 18-24, 25+ years

Autism Friendly

Disability (all) provider

Support Provided

Minimum Support

Sensory Considerations

This event is held indoors

Location

Online

Everything you need to know

In weekly 90-minute online small group sessions, teens/young adults are taught important social skills and given the opportunity to practise these skills during socialisation activities in the session.

Parents/caregivers attend online 60-minute weekly small group sessions separately to their teens/young adults and are taught how to become a social coach for their teen/young adult to support them in practicing their new skills at home, coaching them during their weekly socialisation homework assignments and providing feedback.

Sessions are relaxed & fun whilst using evidence-based teaching methods …

* Small group (6-12 participants)

* Safe environment where everyone finds success

* Didactic instruction (concrete easy to follow rules & steps)

* Socratic questioning method (a question/answer dialogue to draw out ideas)

* Teaches ecologically valid skills (skills that socially successful people use)

* Correct/Incorrect role play examples

* Role-playing and modelling practice of correct skills (behaviourial rehearsal)

* Perspective-taking questions targeting social cognition

* Social coaching from both course facilitators & parent(s)/carer(s)

* Homework exercises (with parent/carer assistance)

* Each session builds upon the previous week

Teens/Young Adults learn how to …

• Develop & maintain friendships
• Improve conversational skills
• Choose appropriate friends & find common interests
• Appropriately use electronic forms of communication
• Appropriately use humour & assess humour feedback
• Start, enter & exit conversations between peers
• Organise successful get-togethers with friends
• Be a good sport when playing games and/or sports with friends
• Handle arguments & disagreements with friends
• Handle rejection, teasing, bullying, rumours/gossip & cyber bullying
• Change an unwanted reputation
• Dating Skills (Young Adults Program only)