Does the individual struggle with any of the following
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Rarely has get-togethers
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Engaging in small talk
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Has difficulty handling disagreements
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Struggles with choosing appropriate friends
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Meeting new people
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Difficultly attaining employment
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Struggling to make friends
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Feeling rejected from conversations
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Behaving appropriately on Zoom or Facetime
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Reading body language and non-verbal cues
AND they are interested in making & keeping friends?
​Crescent uses the renowned PEERS curriculum to address the growing difficulty for adolescents and young adults on the Autism Spectrum Disorder to make & KEEP friends.
Avoid isolation, peer rejection & additional mental health challenges by making significant lifelong impact for your teen or young adult.
We offer individual and group based social skills training for adolescents and young adults interested in enhancing their communication, confidence and connection with others.​
A few of the powerful benefits
Having 1 or 2 best friends can provide the buffer for the impact of stressful life events such as peer rejection
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Correlates positively with self-esteem & independence
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Taught ecologically valid practical social skills
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Parents are supported on how to become social coaches for their child
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By the end of the intervention, many teens will be having regular get-togethers with a small group of peers
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Social skills are extremely valuable for post-secondary education and future employment
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"My teen no longer stays in their room when company comes, but comes out to interact more"
Skills + Teen & Parent Coaching + Access to Peers = FRIENDSHIPS
Crescent Skills is Different
Other social skills programs offer convenience and affordability, but fall short of ensuring long lasting and ecologically valid results. Without parental involvement, caregivers have little to no idea of what their adolescents are learning. By following the PEERS curriculum, we prioritize teaching both the participant AND their caregiver the skills so that lifelong progress is made.
Why It Works
REPETITION
Teens are taught the skills in groups through didactic lessons and role-plays, and are held accountable (by parental support) to continue to practice the skills throughout the week.
CAREGIVER PARTICIPATION
Parents learn how to become their child's social coach to support them beyond the scope of the program.
SUPPORTIVE TEAM
Thorough screening ensures the compatibility and commitment of the group, creating a positive group dynamic.
Overview of Teen Sessions
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Homework Review - opportunity to troubleshoot problems, hear about successful skills practiced
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Didactic Lesson - teens are presented with a socratic method through role play and exercises to keep them involved and engaged in the material
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Behavioural rehearsal - where the teens can translate the material into their daily lives with performance feedback from group leader and coaches.
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Homework Assignment - such as in-group phone calls, planning a get together and bringing in a personal item.
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Teen Activity - A fun and engaging way for the participants to have fun amongst each other, while also affording additional opportunities to practice their newly learned skills
Overview of Caregiver Sessions
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Homework Review - the major focus of the session where parents/caregivers are encouraged to review the success of the homework from the previous week. Sufficient time is provided to troubleshoot homework problems for all caregivers.
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Homework Assignment - a parent handout is provided each week which reviews all of the lessons their teen is currently learning. It describes in detail the parent's part of the homework assignment & reviews the didactic lesson the teen is learning
With weekly sessions, each consisting of 90 minutes, we cover the following with both the teen and the caregiver:
Separately but simultaneously
How to choose appropriate friends
handling disagreements
having two-way conversations
Appropriate use of humour
good sportsmanship
Responding to peer rejection: teasing & bullying
Handling rumours & gossip
USING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
Entering & exiting conversations
hosting get-togethers
Case Examples
MEET TINA
(pseudonym)
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During the first couple sessions of PEERS, Tina was extremely quiet and did not participate voluntarily.
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Tina never approached conversations with the goal of finding common interests.
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Tina eventually shared that she loves anime and comic books and was encouraged to join the club at school.
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By the end of the program Tina was having regular get-togethers organized around attending comic book conventions and going to comic book stores.
MEET MARTIN
(pseudonym)
Martin expressed deep interest in making friends but did not think it was possible. He was often rejected and teased by peers, leading him to becoming agitated and angry, often retaliating by teasing them back.
After the lesson of trading information, Martin was shocked to learn that this was a skill required to make friends. He described it as a revelation and used this to find a potential group of friends.
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Martin joined the debate team at school, which was a great way to explore and discuss his political beliefs. He began to comprehend the importance of different viewpoints, and discovered methods for challenging opposing views in a mutually respectful and appropriate manner.
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Martin significantly improved his self-esteem, increased the frequency of hosted get-togethers, and was a guest on significantly more invited hangouts.
MEET DANIEL
(pseudonym)
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Upon starting PEERS, Daniel indicated that he was excited to begin the program to learn how to make friends. He mentioned feeling lonely and depressed saying "Other kids treat me differently. Some of them tease me, but most people ignore me."
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Through his time in PEERS, Daniel discovered the common interest he held amongst his peers with World of Warcraft. He decided to join a video game club at school to meet other teens with similar interests.
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At a 3 month follow-up after the program, Daniel reported that he was having regular get-togethers with 3 new friends he met from the club at school.
Preview of Weekly Lesson Curriculums
Lesson 1: Rules for Trading Information
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Ask the other person about themselves
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Answer your own question
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Find common interests
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Share the conversation
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Do not get too personal at first
Lesson 12: Handling Disagreements
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Keep your cool
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Listen to the other person first
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Repeat what the other person said
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Explain your side
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Say you're sorry
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Try to solve the problem
what people have said
I'd highly recommend the program. It's great that parents learn alongside their children so they can support them. I feel like I even learned a couple of things when we discussed slipping in and out of conversations.
It was great to have a parent room where we could learn from one another. I still remember a parent mentioning that they'd have their child talk to kids when they were on a vacation or out of town as they'd never see them again so if it didn't go well, that was ok. And practice makes perfect so eventually, it got easier.
The kids were in a room with great instructors to be taught some skills but also had some games and fun stuff planned. My son really liked going and would talk all the way home about funny things that happened or what they'd done in the group.