What Is a Social Skills Group For Kids With ASD?

When your child struggles with their social skills, it can be challenging to find the best interventions to help them gain the skills they need to make friends and gain acceptance. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often face social impairments that should be dealt with carefully. That is why social skills groups can be very beneficial. Social Skills Trainings (SSTs) are widely used to improve social-communication skills in children with ASD.

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These small groups are typically led by a group facilitator or adult that will guide the participating children so that they will better understand conversational and problem-solving skills. This is a great way to teach children about friendships, controlling their emotions and understanding the perspectives of others.

Why Should Your Child Attend Social Skills Groups?

Mastering social behaviors is a critical part of a child’s development. With these skills, children will be able to make meaningful connections and succeed in group-based settings like classrooms. Social skill groups are evidence-based and separated into categories based on the age of the participants. Each age group will learn age-appropriate skills that focus on strengths, interests and scheduling factors.

This means that there are various levels of therapy in which a child will learn all they need to know, from the basics to complex skills that will maximize their social development. These groups are focused on improving social skills beyond the duration of the training, i.e. in real life. There are many different coaching methods used within these groups.

SSTs can help your child develop their interpersonal social skills with the use of:

• Structure and predictability.
• Breaking down abstract social concepts into concrete actions with social stories.
• Working in pairs or with other group members to encourage collaboration.
• Role-playing or practice of social interactions.
• Instruction and resources.
• Constructive feedback.
• Involvement from parents and teaching parents.
• Foster self-awareness and self-esteem.

Social skill groups can improve a child’s social awareness and social interactions by discussing and practicing appropriate social behaviours. It is imperative that ASD is diagnosed early and that interventions be put in place to help people with ASD communicate and interact better. The sooner these interventions are implemented, the better the outcomes appear to be.

How Your Child Can Benefit From Social Skills Group Therapy.

Joining a social skills group will give your child the necessary new skills to interact with others and build meaningful relationships. Social skills group sessions will use targeted methods to help participants in the following ways:

• To perceive and understand the perspectives of those around them.
• To initiate and maintain conversations with peers.
• To develop adequate social competence of norms and rules within social situations.
• To recognize and empathize with the emotions of others.
• To Address and resolve social anxiety.
• To create a practical theory of mind, to think about mental states, both their own and that of others.
• To recognize non-verbal cues and body language and interpret them appropriately.
• To develop conflict resolution skills to approach and deal with disagreements and negative feelings effectively.
• To gain problem-solving skills and self-control.
• They will always gain an increased sense of self-confidence to help them with interaction skills such as greeting others, responding to others’ social cues, making and maintaining eye contact, giving and accepting compliments, taking turns, sharing feelings, asking for help offering help and including others.

Practicing social and group skills can help children navigate everyday life and support positive friendship skills and mental health outcomes. Social skills groups offer an opportunity for people with an autism diagnosis to practice specific social skills with each other and/or typical peers on a regular basis, with the aid of professionals like psychologists.