PEERS®

The UCLA Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relationship Skills (PEERS®) is a manualized, social skills training intervention for adolescents and young adults. This program has a strong evidence-base for use with teens and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) but may also be appropriate for teens and young adults with ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and other socio-emotional problems. It includes 14 consecutive weeks of training with both a teen/young adult and a parent component which occur simultaneously.

PEERS is designed for motivated teens in the 7th-12th grade who are interested in learning ways to help them make and keep friends. During each group session, teens are taught important social skills and are given the opportunity to practice these skills in session through role playing and during real play activities (e.g. playing sports, board games, etc.). Each week there is a "homework" component in which the teen is encouraged to practice their new skills.

Parents are taught how to assist their teens in making and keeping friends in their group session and are expected to provide feedback to their teen through coaching during weekly socialization homework assignments.

An initial screening assessment will be conducted to ensure appropriateness of program application.

Both PEERS and PEERS-YA programs are offered on an ongoing basis. Currently, PEERS or PEERS-YA cost $1000 for the entire program. Some people may be eligible for bursaries to offset the cost of PEERS-YA. Information about this can be provided to those who express an interest.

To find out more information about PEERS social skills training program, or to be added to the waitlist for pre-screening for PEERS or PEERS-YA, please email info@dorisbong.com