social skills programs

  • The Secret Agent Society is a 9-week espionage-themed social skills program, designed to capture the attention and interest of children and empower their resilience. The resources provide an evidence-based, comprehensive and captivating solution to structured social and emotional learning for children aged 8-12 years old. The program is recommended for those with ASD, ADHD, Anxiety, Emotional Dysregulation, or those with no formal diagnoses but who want to improve their social skills.

    WHEN:

    Every school Term - Wednesdays 4-6pm or Saturdays 9-11am

    TOPICS:

    Recognising simple and complex emotions

    Expressing feelings in appropriate ways

    Coping with feelings of anger and anxiety

    Communicating and playing with others

    Understanding levels of friendship

    Coping with team work, games and ‘losing’

    Coping with mistakes and transitions

    Building and maintaining friendships

    Solving social problems

    Detecting, preventing and managing bullying and teasing

    Acknowledging personal strengths and goals

  • PEERS is the leading evidence-based social skills intervention program for teenagers with social challenges such as high functioning autism spectrum disorder, as well as those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, depression and other socio-emotional problems.

    WHEN:

    Every school term

    Thursdays 5:30-7:00pm

    Saturdays 11:30am - 1:00pm

    TOPICS:

    Trading information and finding common interests

    Two-way conversations

    Electronic communication

    Choosing appropriate friends

    Appropriate use of humour

    Entering and exiting conversations

    Organising a get together

    Good sportsmanship

    Handling teasing and embarrassing feedback

    Dealing with bullying and bad reputations

    Handling disagreements, rumours and gossip

  • PEERS is the leading evidence-based social skills intervention program for young adults aged 18 and over with social challenges such as high functioning autism spectrum disorder, as well as those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, depression and other socio-emotional problems.

    WHEN:

    Saturdays 1:30 - 3:00pm

    TOPICS:

    Trading Information

    Starting and maintaining conversations

    Finding sources of friends

    Electronic communication

    Appropriate use of humour

    Entering and exiting group conversations

    Organising get togethers

    Dating Etiquette

    Dating do's and don'ts

    Handling disagreements

    Handling direct and indirect bullying

  • This program is designed for children aged 7-12 years. The Minecraft group aims to build confidence and foster friendships by developing a range of social and communication skills. Each participant will have a specific role, working together as a team to build a model. In the process, they will practice vital skills such as sharing, listening, joint attention, and problem-solving.

    Participants will have fun, explore their creativity, and interact with others in a supportive digital environment.

    WHEN: Tuesdays 4 - 5:30pm

    TOPICS:

    This program has been developed to build confidence in a range of social and communication skills. Each player has a specific role, and they work together as a team to build a model while practising other vital skills such as sharing, listening, joint attention, and problem-solving.

    They’ll have fun, explore their creativity and interact with others in a supported digital environment. Skills they will develop:

    Collaboration – by working as a group to achieve a common goal

    Joint problem-solving, sharing, and turn-taking – taking turns in different roles, working on the build together

    Maintaining attention – staying focused on the task to build the models

    Verbal and non-verbal communication – using language and text skills to express ideas and feelings

    Creativity – in building the models and free playtime

    Social growth – helping your child make friends, greet others, and develop sharing and turn-taking skills.

    Conflict resolution – working through differences for a shared aim

    Emotional development – learning to understand and talk about emotions (their own and other people’s), conflict resolution, and problem-solving skills.

    Communication and literacy skills – expanding vocabulary around social and emotional development, increasing literacy skills and language development through peer activities.

    Improved confidence - activities that help build a stronger sense of self.

  • PEERS for Pre-Schoolers is 12 week (90 mins per session) evidence based social skills program to teach children between the ages of 4 and 6 years how to make and keep friends.

    Participants are shown instructions through didactic lessons, puppet shows, and role-play demonstrations, and practice these skills during group socialisation activities and weekly practice assignments. Parent involvement required.

    WHEN: Coming Feb 2025 - Tuesdays 10:30am - 12:00pm (tentative)

    TOPICS:

    Listening and following directions

    Asking and using names

    Greeting friends

    Sharing and giving turns

    Asking friends to play

    Joining ongoing games

    Keeping cool during play

    Being a good sport

    Transitioning to new play activities

    Asking for and giving help

    Using good volume control

    Maintaining good body boundaries

  • LEGO-Based Therapy is a social development program for autistic children. It uses children’s love of Lego play, as well as their strengths and interests, to develop communication and social skills.

    Lego therapy is used to help children learn collaborative play skills including turn-taking, sharing, listening, conversation, teamwork, shared attention and problem-solving. The shared focus on building uses children’s strengths and helps them practise communication and social skills while having fun. DURATION: 9 weekly session (90 mins per session)

    WHEN: TBC

    TOPICS:

    In each session, children work together to build a model following instructions. Each child is assigned a role. There’s usually:

    • an engineer, who has the instructions

    • a supplier, who has the bricks

    • a builder, who builds the model

    • a foreman or director, who makes sure everyone works as a team.

    The children take turns playing the different roles, and together they build the model. Towards the end of the session the children have some time to build whatever they want.

  • A program for parents to help their child/teen develop emotional intelligence whilst fostering communication, connection and a positive relationship with your child/teen.

    AGE: A program for parents of children/teens (aged 10 years plus)

    WHEN:

    Tuesdays 6-8pm - online

    TOPICS:

    Communicating more effectively with your teen

    Understanding your teen better

    Helping your teen to manage those difficult emotions

    Helping to prevent behavioural issues in your teen

    Teaching your teen how to deal with conflict more effectively

EMOTION BASED PROGRAMS

  • Fun with Feelings is a ten-week program designed to assist parents of anxious autistic children aged 4-6 years old to understand and manage their anxiety. Fun with Feelings is based on a deep understanding of autistic individuals, successful clinical research trials of the program, and cognitive and behavioural principles.

    TOPICS:

    Developed by Clinical Psychologists at Minds and Hearts to increase capacity within the child on the autism spectrum, and the family, to manage anxiety.

    Understanding Anxiety in ASD

    The Environmental Toolbox

    The Parent Toolbox

    Small Steps to Conquer Big Fears

    Happiness

    Sadness and Happy Tools

    Worry and Thought Tools

    Relaxation

    Anger and Physical Tools

    Affection and Social Tools

  • The Secret Agent Society is a 9-week espionage-themed social skills program, designed to capture the attention and interest of children and empower their resilience. The resources provide an evidence-based, comprehensive and captivating solution to structured social and emotional learning for children aged 8-12 years old. The program is recommended for those with ASD, ADHD, Anxiety, Emotional Dysregulation, or those with no formal diagnoses but who want to improve their social skills.

    WHEN:

    Every school Term -

    Wednesdays 4-6pm or

    Saturdays 9-11am

    TOPICS:

    Recognising simple and complex emotions

    Expressing feelings in appropriate ways

    Coping with feelings of anger and anxiety

    Communicating and playing with others

    Understanding levels of friendship

    Coping with team work, games and ‘losing’

    Coping with mistakes and transitions

    Building and maintaining friendships

    Solving social problems

    Detecting, preventing and managing bullying and teasing

    Acknowledging personal strengths and goals

  • NEUROACT® is an innovative 12-session manual-based program designed specifically for individuals on the autism spectrum and other neurodivergent individuals, particularly adolescents and adults.

    This transformative method focuses on reducing stress and increasing quality of life. The program has been developed to meet challenges with stressful situations, such as sensory overload (e.g., sounds, smell, and tactile experiences), emotional and bodily unawareness and dysregulation, unfamiliar occasions and changes in the environment, and events that exceed the individual’s social capacity.

    WHEN: TBC

    AGE:

    13-17 YEARS

    18+ YEARS

    TOPICS:

    My stressful situations

    My avoidance

    Focus training

    Take perspective

    What’s important

    Do what’s important

    Handle emotions

    Handle your body

    Socialise with others

    My self care

    Life map

    Look forward