Social Stars is our new program for children who have challenges interacting in social situations.
Many children have difficulty making friends, talking to peers with ease, and participating in typical play routines that are expected a variety of ages and developmental milestones. Some children are unaware of their difficulties, prefer to play alone, or become overwhelmed when they attend functions with their extended family, neighborhood gatherings, shopping, and school related activities. Quite often some children appear to function well in school with their academics but struggle with the ability to make and keep friends.
Social Stars is a social program created for children who have social challenges, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome, yet our program includes working with children with other diagnoses, disorders and educational disabilities who also struggle with social development.
Our program is based grouping children who are not going to feel the pressure or judgment that can occur in a typical setting. Instead, we group and structure our children with peers who can support each other and learn from one another.
The sessions are lead by Speech-Language Pathologists who are trained to work with children with autism spectrum disorders, Asperger’s Syndrome, and children with other social delays. To each language skills and social development, Social Stars uses a variety of direct and indirect techniques and strategies derived from programs such as Michelle Winner / Social Thinking, Model Me, and Teach Me Language are some, but not all of the formats we use. The sessions are play-based, child-focused and include interactive social and language activities such as:
- Arts/crafts activities
- Cooking activities
- Sharing time
- Video modeling of social skills
- Music assisted learning
- Social Stories
- Pretend / Imaginary play
- Gross motor games
New topics and goal areas are introduced each week and materials for home practice are also provided after every session. Topics include:
- Greetings
- Sharing
- Turn-Taking
- Asking Questions and Commenting to Peers
- Initiating and Maintaining Play
- Shared Enjoyment with Peers
- Body Language and Eye Contact
- Emotional / Sensory Regulation
- Pretend / Imaginary Play
- Following Classroom Rules and Listening to the Teacher
