Social skills encompass both verbal and non-verbal behaviours that allow us to communicate effectively with others. These skills continuously evolve and develop throughout our life, ranging from simple to complex.
Mastering social skills is key to building strong relationships and thriving in our personal and professional lives.
It is important to develop social skills from a young age to form and maintain meaningful relationships and foster a good quality of life. Social skills are the key to increasing overall happiness and developing high self-esteem by encouraging consistent positive interactions with peers.
Children who are socially isolated or have low social competency will face numerous barriers in life, including an increased chance of mood disorders, bullying, and low self-esteem. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other related disorders, or social anxiety, or social phobias, often struggle with the development of social skills and are at a higher risk of experiencing these barriers.
Social skills training can effectively overcome these barriers by helping children find and build relationships with like-minded peers. It is conducted in a group setting that provides a safe, non-judgmental, and supported environment to practise important social skills and build positive relationships. Social skills groups rely on evidence-based teaching procedures such as direct instruction, feedback, reinforcement, modelling, and natural exposure.
Fun is an essential component of social skills groups, as socialising with friends is meant to be fun and relaxing, and often occurs in the context of games, or conversations about similar interests.
If your child is struggling to have positive interactions with their peers, build and maintain friendships and communicate effectively, then social skills training will be highly beneficial to help them develop these key skills.
Here at Freedom Social Skills, we offer a range of Social Skills groups that focus on developing the skills needed to form and maintain positive relationships and long-lasting friendships. Students learn new social skills through a variety of fun and engaging activities, including Minecraft classes, Art classes, Imaginative Play groups, and more. These classes are run by our trained professional team of staff who confidently assist in the development of socialisation and communication skills.
Our classes are designed to assist with the development of:
- Social-emotional skills (i.e. regulating your emotions and perspective-taking)
- Play skills (i.e. turn taking and following directions)
- Language and communication (i.e. answering and asking questions)
- Group and classroom skills (i.e.following a routine and listening to group instructions)
- Team-work skills (i.e. accepting other ideas, negotiating and being cooperative)
All classes at Freedom Social Skills are run by trained Behaviour Therapists and overseen by a qualified Behaviour Specialist. They are suitable for both primary and high school-aged students, and children are allocated to classes according to skill levels, individual goals, and age groups.
Does this sound like something that could benefit your child?
