Group Therapy and Coaching in Northbrook, IL
At SociAbility, our licensed clinicians are dedicated to improving clients' lives with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and social anxiety. We teach essential social skills, such as full-body listening and entering group conversations, fundamental to building relationships and achieving independence. Our observation suggests that practicing skills in controlled group settings leads to higher learning success.
Our approach involves introducing concepts during group sessions, refining them through continued practice at home and in school, and finally integrating them into clients' daily routines. In addition, we limit the number of people in groups so that we can give personalized attention and use specific strategies for each child, teen, or adult.
We are committed to educating parents and maintaining family participation. We want parents and families to understand the goals, strategies, and lessons being learned all along the way. This means we actively communicate what we teach in our groups with family members to enhance our clients' lives.
Group Curriculum
At SociAbility, we take pride in our evidence-based approach to improving clients' lives with autism, ADHD, and social anxiety. In our group sessions, we combine curriculums, including Michelle Winner's Social Thinking, PEERS Curriculum, and video modeling. This allows us to create a customized curriculum for each client's unique needs and challenges.
Michelle Winner's Social Thinking Curriculum teaches clients to think critically about social situations and interactions. This includes understanding social behaviors, managing interactions, and responding appropriately in different situations.
The PEERS Curriculum was designed to help clients with autism and other social deficits develop social skills through social coaching. This comprehensive program teaches young adults how to make and keep friends and interact appropriately in social situations through role-play activities and real-life scenarios.
Video modeling is an evidence-based technique that shows individuals a video of someone performing a task or behavior they want to learn. Video modeling helps our clients understand and practice essential social skills such as initiating conversations, problem-solving, and conflict resolution. Our clinicians customize and design video models to meet the diverse needs of our clients.
Our clinicians use these evidence-based approaches to create a comprehensive and engaging curriculum that supports our clients with social deficits. Through this hybridized approach, clients acquire critical life skills, communicate effectively, build meaningful relationships, and enhance their ability to navigate interpersonal relationships.
All groups include:
Nonverbal Communication Awareness
Clients with autism, ADHD, and social anxiety tend to miss social cues that involve nonverbal communication. At SociAbility, our clinicians teach clients how to interpret and respond appropriately to nonverbal communication, such as tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions.
Perspective Taking
Learning to understand other people's points of view is a critical social skill. Clients with ASD, ADHD, and social anxiety often struggle with perspective-taking, making establishing and maintaining relationships challenging. Our clinicians help clients learn how to understand other people's thoughts, emotions, and intentions, allowing them to build healthy relationships.
Flexibility and Behavior Regulation
Flexibility and the ability to regulate behavior are essential social skills. Clients with autism, ADHD, and social anxiety often struggle with impulsivity and inflexibility. Our clinicians teach skills that allow clients to adapt to changing situations and control their behavior in socially acceptable ways, thus improving their social interactions.
Conversational Skills
Establishing communication with others is fundamental in building and maintaining social relationships. Clients with autism, ADHD, and social anxiety often require assistance acquiring conversational skills, such as initiating and maintaining a conversation and listening attentively. Our clinicians teach these skills and practice them during client sessions.
Contact us at 847-559-3240 to learn more about our group services today!
Social Problem Solving
Clients with autism, ADHD, and social anxiety may encounter challenges in their peer interactions. Our clinicians work with clients to identify specific social problems and find socially acceptable solutions.
Cooperative and Group Activities That Build on the Client's Strengths
Participating in cooperative and group activities is an excellent way to build social skills. Our clinicians use activities such as role-playing games, art projects, team-building exercises, and group outings as opportunities for clients to practice social skills and build healthy relationships.
Improving Social Skills
Clients with autism, ADHD, and social anxiety tend to have deficits in social interactions, which can impede their ability to develop healthy relationships and achieve individual goals. Our clinicians use various evidence-based techniques to teach positive communication skills tailored to each client's needs. We reinforce these skills through continuous practice and integration into their daily routines, leading to improved social skills and meaningful relationships.
At SociAbility, we understand how crucial it is to have an expert guiding you through improving your communication skills. That's why we have experienced facilitators who lead each group. Our facilitators provide feedback to families after each session and give specific suggestions for strategies clients can practice and reinforce at home.
An effective way to practice communication is to have a trained social skills actor who can simulate real-world situations and model appropriate social behavior. That is why we offer groups with trained social skills actors to demonstrate social skills in a visually appealing and interactive manner. This approach not only makes learning more engaging but also more effective.
Practicing our life-changing work at home is a valuable aspect of our program and essential to generalizing these skills for use in the real world. We work closely with parents and encourage them to reach out with questions and concerns. Phone calls to clinicians/therapists are always welcomed, but those calls exceeding 15 minutes will be prorated to the therapist's hourly rate.
Group Pricing
Please contact us for current group pricing. Payments are non-refundable. In the case of a cancellation due to inclement weather, SociAbility will reschedule the session.
Because one of our primary goals is to build relationships, we ask that clients commit to the entire program so that all participants can benefit from the unique contributions of their peers.
Our location in Northbrook, IL, makes serving Chicagoland and the North Shore areas convenient. Group therapy sessions are offered in three different trimesters throughout the year, with built-in breaks for the holidays, Spring Break, and Thanksgiving.
Please reach out to us for details today.
For more information regarding registration and general questions regarding group therapy services, please get in touch with staff@sociabilitychicago.org or call (847) 559-3240.