SOCIAL SKILLS
A New and Improved
Approach to SOCIAL SKILLS
By Debra MOORE, PhD
Kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) usually struggle socially and often find the
teen years especially difficult. Anxiety and depression can emerge or worsen, along
with senses of helplessness, worthlessness, and loneliness.
M
ental health professionals often refer these
teens to social skills groups. These groups
teach lessons about how to “appropriately”
interact in a neurotypical (NT) world.
I’ve led these groups myself, and have found them
useful. But I also noticed the teens really just wanted
to talk to each other—to have a safe place where they
weren’t judged and where they could hear echoes of
their own experiences in others. They rarely showed
much enthusiasm for the actual “lessons”—and
hardly ever practiced them at home.
I recently met a woman who is experimenting with
a new model of social skill groups, and I’m excited
by her approach. Catherine Robertson is the mom of
two teens, a neurotypical daughter Sophie, and a son,
Walter, who is on the autism spectrum. She is not a
mental health professional. Her family lives in Wash-
ington, DC, and she calls her program “DC Peers.” We
chatted about what she calls her “experiment.”
Dr. Moore (DM): How did DC Peers get started?
Catherine Robinson (CR): The idea came from my
wish for a place my son could “hang out” with kids
his age—somewhere he was not only welcome but
where he was excited to go. Somewhere “cool.” I want-
ed a place that felt natural and part of the communi-
ty—not a doctor’s office or clinic. And I wanted him
to have someone his age who would be willing to be
honest with him, and kind of coach him socially.
My first idea was simple (I thought!): just have a men-
toring group. I’d find socially adept kids to mentor
kids like mine and teach them the ways of the world.
Because kids in high school no longer want advice
from their parents.
DM: I think all parents want this for their kids—a safe
place for them to be themselves and have fun. I love
your idea of getting peers involved.
I always thought this was the way to go. Mentoring
is vital but doesn’t require a professional. It just takes
someone who cares and has some knowledge of au-
tism. Sometimes we make it more complicated than
it has to be.
CR: Exactly. In fact, I tried twice before to get some-
thing going. I had neurotypical kids excited about
being peer mentors. But Walter’s school administra-
tion wouldn’t get on board because of liability con-
cerns. It was so frustrating!
Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 72 |
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