By Laura A. Doherty, MA, CCC-SLP

When addressing a child’s communication needs, it is important to utilize their strengths while providing supports for areas of need. While some children respond well to social stories, others respond well to role play. Some children learn to solve social problems through use of behavior maps, while others benefit more from structured reinforcements (i.e. – behavior charts, reward systems, etc.) Whatever the need, the Clubhouse therapists keep the child’s interests in mind when designing a dynamic course of treatment.

Individual vs. Group Therapy

While the goal of social language therapy is often to improve a child’s ability to create and maintain important social relationships across a range of settings, the steps that are needed to achieve this goal may be reached by exploring a hierarchy of supports.

While some children are ready to participate in group therapy sessions, others may need a little support to learn key communication skills and develop social awareness before they can really benefit from involvement in a group setting. Parents can contact the Clubhouse to schedule a social language screening to determine if a group is the right option (and which group) or if individual therapy would be warranted as a first step.

When children are ready to join a group, the Clubhouse looks to match children with peers who demonstrate similar social profiles in order to provide the closest possible match when learning and practicing social skills concepts. This also allows the children to receive the most benefits from their time in group. Now the real fun can begin!

Go to our GROUPS page for a description of our current social groups!