Social Skills Groups2024-03-14T20:08:48+00:00

Best Orlando ADHD High Functioning ASD Social Skills Groups

ADHD, High Functioning ASD & Anxiety Social Skills Groups | Counseling & Therapy Services. Serving Orlando, Winter Park, Clermont, East Orlando & Lake Mary Florida FL

Orlando Social Skills Groups – ADHD, ADD, ASD or Social Anxiety Day Camp Builds Kids, Teens, College, and Young Adults Leadership Groups and Social Skills – These Social Skills Groups are for elementary, middle, high, and college students that may have social skills issues with their peer group or lack assertion confidence.

Is your Child Struggling with Social Skills?

Call Now for a Complimentary 15 Minute Phone Consultation

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Jim West is an Author, Communicator, School Consultant, Nationally Certified, Licensed Counselor and specializes in counseling for Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADD/ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder and Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD).

Social Skills Program Overview

Who

Who Should Attend?

  1. Most average to high functioning students or young adults with the 15 social delays listed below
  2. ADHD or ADD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) – Most are behind 25% socially and emotionally.
  3. Autistic Spectrum Disorder formerly Aspergers or High Functioning Autism.
  4. Social Phobia or Social Anxiety – Lack assertion – Never call their peers and just wait for peers to call.
  5. Bullied or have trouble responding to teasing and may overreact or isolate.
  6. Low self esteem or self confidence and isolate themselves from their peers
  7. Think they have friends, but does not do anything with them outside of school.
  8. Play with kids older or younger, but have trouble with peers their age (same age peers).
  9. Depression or Anxiety and have trouble engaging in conversation with their peers.
  10. Do not have friends calling to do things or spend the night.
  11. Not invited to birthday parties.

Still not sure if social skills groups are for your child?  Review 15 Symptoms or Tips to Identify Social Concerns

What

What should I expect?

  1. Pizza the first group of the month!
  2. First 30 minutes of group students earn points for appropriate conversation and making their peers feel like a million bucks with encouragement and saying their name.  We redirect their conversation when appropriate.  We prompt quiet students to interject when they hear someone likes the same activity. “I like soccer too.” “I like to write also!”
  3. The group is always open to new members which helps new members learn how to meet new students, say their name (because people love to hear their name), and look for connections!
  4. Learn how to start and continuing conversations.
  5. Learn to reciprocate – “How was your weekend Billy?” Response: “Great Steven, how was your weekend?”
  6. Roll with Teasing to help fly under the bullies radar and show confidence – “Your an idiot!” Response: “That’s the Best thing I’ve heard all day!”
  7. We have 15 minutes to play outside or play a game inside! Often the high school and college students would rather just want to talk the entire hour instead of playing games.
  8. Last 15 minutes parents come into the group and the students receive points toward chocolates for telling you what they learned.  We know when parents are not in the loop and they ask their kids what did they learn or do they always say “Nothing” “I don’t know.” So we want you to be sure you know they are learning and benefiting in the group.
  9. We encourage parents and group members to get each other’s phone numbers to set up outings outside the group.  This build social confidence and self esteem while they are in the group and sometimes well after they have graduated from the group.
  10. Laser Tag – TBA
    • Once a month all the groups meet together and we play laser tag in our age group!  There is 2 purposes:
    • Simulate a Play Date or Peer Outing
    • Learn to work as a team – Many kids who struggle socially either do not want to work in a team or do not have the skills to play sports! So laser tag may be a rare opportunity for them to experience what it is like to work in a team and to communicate to each other!  “Ok you cover the right, we have the left.” “Guys I need your help, they are coming on the right!”
    • Testimonial – “It felt so good to compete in a team and be live in person and not on video games with people I have never met!” “To know someone had my back and I had there’s felt so good!” Mike – 18 years old.

Where

Orlando Social Skills Groups

TLC offers several child and adolescent social skills groups in the Orlando area covering leadership skills, social skills, anger management, dealing with provocation, support and coping skills. Additional, groups are offered as well and are listed below.

When

Weekly Social Leadership Skills Groups

  • Elementary School Students (Grades 1st – 4th): Fridays from 6pm – 7pm
  • Middle School Students (Grades 5th – 7th): Thursdays from 6 pm – 7pm
  • High School Students (Grades 8th and up): Mondays from 6pm – 7pm

Why

3 Key Benefits:

  1. Meeting others struggling with the same concerns provides reassurances that we are not the only one in our situation.
  2. Group members often help others and show true empathy to your situation.
  3. Make new friends that understand and provide support

Call For a Complimentary 15 Minute Phone Consultation

We take the guesswork out of finding the right counselor. Our counselors are subject matter specialists and we link you to the therapist that best fits your concerns. Get started today with a complimentary 15 minute consult:

Orlando Marriage & Family Counseling for ADHD Defiance Depression Anxiety Trauma EMDR Play Therapy

“It felt so good to compete in a team and be live in person and not on video games with people I have never met! To know someone had my back and I had there’s felt so good!”

Mike – 18 years old

What To Look For

15 Symptoms or Tips to Identify Social Concerns

If you can answer yes to two or more of these items about your child, he or she may benefit from learning skills that will help him or her to connect better with peers, and to more confident and prepared for the real world.

Socially awkward child avoiding group

Here are a few symptoms to look for:

  1. Doesn’t recognize non-verbal cues – Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (NLD)
  2. Gets in peers personal space
  3. Annoys to get attention because they do not know how to get it another way
  4. Low self confidence
  5. Poor eye contact
  6. Only interested in themselves rather than taking an interest in their peers
  7. Talks too much
  8. Lacks assertion
  9. Impulsive or blurts out responses
  10. Tries too hard to make friends laugh – thinks humor will make them friends
  11. Reacts to teasing and does not know how to roll with conflict
  12. Has a need for justice and fairness and judges peers
  13. Isolates or withdraws from peers
  14. Always wants to be first or wants to play what they want
  15. Kids do not call for play dates or to hang out!
Youth scales rock wall on the ropes course at our adventure based ADHD ASD social skills camp in Orlando, Florida

Adventure & Growth Await

Ready to Close the Social Gap?  Call us NOW to answer any Questions

Student Leadership Social Skills Camps

We also have Student Leadership Social Skills Camps which is a fun SaturDay Camp, or Overnight Summer or Winter Camp that helps build leadership, learning and life skills in kids and teens! This adventure camp for students in the Orlando area is for students that may have social skills issues with their peer group and/or lack assertiveness and self-confidence. This camp takes place at the YMCA Camp Wewa ropes course with a climbing wall and zip line.

Leadership Article

Have you ever seen a Leader without Followers?

New Leadership Social Skills Groups, Camps & Services in Orlando & Winter Park.

“I was first!” “You are doing it wrong!” “I want to go next!” “Can I be first!” These are a few statements from students that most likely exhibit leadership skills. They are often told to go to the end of the line, or given a consequence for telling someone what to do, but maybe they needsomeone to tell them “what to do.” Silly to think of someone that calls themselves a leader, but have yet have no followers. However, there are future leaders around us that need to learn how to find followers to influence, but they just need some direction. We might call them “Bossy” but they are really leaders that need some tweaking. Some might say they are “Caretakers”, but really they want to Help others but not sure what is the right way. We might have “Gossipers” or they are just future Communicators that need to learn the how to communicate more positively.

Consider how a student views leadership. Basically, they see leaders (parents, teachers, principal, police) as anyone that “tells them what to do (bosses them).” So when they start to assert their leadership skills they start telling their friends what to do and tell them how to do things and therefore they are called “Bossy.” Big surprise! So instead of calling these kids “Bossy” maybe we could give them suggestions on how to lead, affirm, compliment, build others up, brag on other’s rather than themselves, take an interest in someone’s life or passions, offer help to someone, share an idea, etc.

According to Dr. Russell Barkley, MD, students with ADHD or ADD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Attention Deficit Disorder) as well as students with aspergers are often 25-30% behind socially and emotionally. Students like these may not have ADHD and need help with boundaries, assertion, impulse control, coping skills, starting conversations, greeting, etc., to help close the gap.

The premise of our Leadership Groups is to teach students leadership. Once they know how to lead and do some of the above listed items, they will in turn make their peers feel good to be around them and gain their influence. Once they have influence they have “friends” and can call themselves a leader. Students are taught how to roll with teasing with comical statements that do not provoke their peer.

Our groups incorporate:

  1. A point system to keep them engaged an reward appropriate responses
  2. Games | We play tag to see how they handle competition, fairness, cheating, losing or if they play too hard or do other things they may do to stand out.
  3. Parent involvement | Are you tired of asking your kids what they learned after school or an education function and they say “I don’t know” or “nothing!” At our groups parents come in to the last 15 minutes of the session and the students earn more points for telling them what they learned!
  4. Experiential learning which include games used at ropes courses to improve communication, teamwork, and help students connect with their peers.
  5. Group Laser Tag monthly to simulate an outing with friends and to also help them see the benefits of working together in a team!
  6. “Trust” is the glue in relationships and everything we do with our peers either builds trust or breaks trust. Students are encouraged to Re-Build Trust with a peer in our groups by doing something nice (by giving them a point) in an effort to repair the trust. Our groups have been very effective and Channel 13 did a story on one of our students who reported having no friends to having friends as a result of our services.
Clermont Counseling Services for Social Skills Coaching Groups Family Therapy Child Teen Counseling ART & EMDR Resolution and Play Therapy

Call For a Complimentary 15 Minute Phone Consultation

If you know of students or families that would benefit from these services or would like to set up a screening for the group or consultation with James West, MA, LMHC, NCC  please call us at Total Life Counseling Center:

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Social Skills Videos

StressLess Educational Series: Social Skills for Children & Teens Video & Workbook

Is your Child Struggling with Social Skills?

It’s Time to Stress Less!

Get Started Now with a Home Social Skills Program with flyers and games Jim West uses in his social skills groups and camps.

Testimonials

A Few Kind Words From Satisfied Clients

“I just wanted to shoot you an email to thank you for your help with our daughter. I can’t tell you how perfect these Monday evening sessions are. They address the EXACT problems she is currently having at school. She loves coming to see you and the boys in her group. I am sorry for all the interrupting she does. I am grateful for how kindly and respectfully you handle it–it teaches me how to do the same. I have been spreading the word about the TLC center. Her psychiatrist, Dr. Susanna Chyu was very intrigued.”

Anonymous

Parent

“Thomas is doing awesome! You would be so amazed to see God’s work in progress. Thank you for . . your leadership camp have changed Tommy’s life.”

Anonymous

Parent

“We were so thankful to Total Life Counseling. Over the past five years, we had seen five other counselors/psychologists with our son, but in the last 1 1/2 years our son gained skills to cope. The ADHD/Social Skills group helped our son realize that he was not alone. The parenting skills group helped us know how to anticipate problems and equipped us to handle them. Thank you Jim and Total Life Counseling – you are an answer to prayer.”

Tim & Janet

Parents

“Jim really speaks to the children where they are. You might expect a child to feel negatively singled out when they attend special group sessions. However, in this case, the singling out is positive. My child looks forward to attending the group and is seriously disappointed when a session has to be missed.”

Anonymous

Parent

Call For a Complimentary 15 Minute Phone Consultation

We take the guesswork out of finding the right counselor. Our counselors are subject matter specialists and we link you to the therapist that best fits your concerns.  Get started today with a complimentary 15 minute consult:

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