Making and keeping friends can be challenging, especially for children who are not confident in their social skills. At TAG we believe that learning and practising these skills in a safe environment can support children to be more confident in social skills.
We offer one on one therapy services to address social skills, but we also love to offer group social skills programs which allow children to apply these skills to real-life situations.
What are social skills groups?
Social skills groups are designed to support children to learn and practice how to interact with their peers. They are often small groups of children (generally 3-8) who are at a similar stage in social skill development, facilitated by a clinician (such as a Speech Language Pathologist or an Occupational Therapist). The specific goal of the group varies on the children’s needs however they can address:
- Turn-taking;
- Understanding other people perspectives;
- Social communication including initiating and maintaining a conversation;
- Managing disagreements;
- Making and keeping friends.
Overall the goal of a social skill group is to support children to develop knowledge and skills required for social communication and positive relationship with peers.
Would my child benefit from attending a social skills group?
Some signs your child may benefit from a social skills group include:
- The child has difficulty reading other’s feelings and does not adapt to respond to their needs.
- Having difficulty appropriately responding to frustration, failure and disappointment appropriately during play. This may include distress when losing a game or anger if others don’t do what they want which impacts on their ability to play.
- Struggling to take turns when talking or playing games, including interrupting others frequently.
- They talk ‘at you’ rather than ‘with’ you. Not responding to information you provide to the conversation.
- They play on their own for most of the time and doesn’t appear to any friends whose company they enjoy.
- Their teacher at school or kindy reports concerns with peer interactions.
What are the benefits of social skills groups?
- Improvements in social competence
- Improved friendships
When can I sign my child up to a social skills group?
Contact your local paediatric Speech Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist or Psychologist. They may offer social skills groups or will be able to point you in the right direction.
At Therapy Alliance Group we are excited that we are offering social skills groups at our Toowoomba and Chinchilla sites.
FOR CURRENT TAG CLIENTS, PLEASE DISCUSS WITH YOUR THERAPIST TO DETERMINE WHETHER PARTICIPATION IN A GROUP WILL BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR CHILD’S NEEDS.
Not a TAG client? No problem! To be considered for a group, you just need to book a 30 minute consultation ($88) with the therapist running the group. This allows us to determine your child’s needs and determine whether the group will be suitable for them. Both you and your child will need to attend this consultation. If you are interested in more than one group, you only need to book one consultation.
We have Occupational Therapy appointments available in Beenleigh, Chinchilla, and Toowoomba. We also do consults via video conference with TeleTAG. Book a phone consult now to discuss your specific therapy needs!
Brooke Tunks
Occupational Therapist
Brooke is a registered Occupational Therapist who graduated from the University of Queensland with 2A Class Honours and the Dean’s Commendation for Academic Excellence. Her clinical experiences have ranged from children to adults in a variety of settings, her flexibility and compassion has allowed her transfer occupational therapy knowledge in a way that is meaningful to each individual. Throughout her degree Brooke worked as a support worker where she gained valuable insight into the daily goings-on for a family who have a child with a disability making her passionate about providing therapy centred around each families’ unique needs. Her previous experience also includes supporting a circus class and working for a modified bike program, where she was able to play a part in supporting people of all abilities to participate in healthy and fun activities. Brooke is new to Chinchilla, so please give her any insider tips as to places in town to check out or where she should day trip to on her days off.
Things I love: baking (especially getting to eat the finished product), cute stationary and animals (once having a chicken called Zapdos for 14 years!)
Things I don’t love: snakes, tomatoes and sad movies.
Favourite colour: Yellow.
“Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best” – Henry Van Dyke