Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) Group
What is PEERS®?
PEERS® is a 14-week evidence-based social skills intervention for motivated teens in middle and high school to help them make and keep friends. During each group session, teens are taught essential communication skills and are given the opportunity to practice with peers. In separate sessions at the same time, parents are taught how to assist their teens by helping to expand their teen’s social network and provide feedback through coaching during weekly socialization homework assignments.
We are currently offering an abridged 8-week version of the PEERS® social skills intervention for teens in middle and high school to help them make and keep friends. During each group session, teens are taught essential communication skills and are given the opportunity to practice with peers within the group. Weekly socialization homework assignments give the opportunity to generalize skills. The last 15 minutes of each session parents will meet with one of the providers to review socialization homework and learn ways to support their teen’s social interactions outside of the group.
>>>PEERS® Flyer Fall 2023<<<
Who is a good candidate for the PEERS® program?
The program is for teens in middle or high school who have:
Social/behavioral challenges
Autism Spectrum Disorder
ADHD
Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder
*Parent participation is required
What are the objectives of this group?
Learn to initiate and host get-togethers.
Learn to navigate and appropriately use electronic communication.
Learn to talk with peers on a variety of topics.
Learn to solve social conflict and resolve disagreements.
Where is the group held?
IN PERSON at our office located at:
9040 Town Center Parkway Lakewood Ranch, Florida 34202
When is the group going to be held?
Wednesdays 6:00-7:00pm
September 6th - October 25th, 2023
Who are the PEERS® group facilitators?
Desiree Mahiquez, Ed.S., BCBA, NCSP and Dr. Valerie Roth, Psy.D. are both licensed school psychologists and the facilitators of the group. Both attended the PEERS® training through UCLA in May 2022.