PEERS® – the social skills course our community’s been waiting for!

 

I’m Vivian, the Founder of ADHD Support Australia and over the years I’ve lost count of the number of parents who’ve asked me to recommend a social skills program. 

 

I never found a suitable program for my own daughter and up until 2019 I’ve been unable to offer you an answer.

 

I totally understand the heart-felt pain of watching your child struggle with friendships – feeling powerless to help.  It’s simply heart-breaking for all concerned.

 

When I heard about the PEERS® program I asked Beverley from Definition Diverse to present at the December 2018 speaker evening to explain how teens/young adults with social challenges could benefit from the program.

 

I was so impressed by what I heard that in January 2019 I completed the PEERS® Young Adult provider training with PEERS creator, Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson, and became a certified provider. 

 

In early 2020, I once again had the opportunity to train under Dr Laugeson, this time for the certified PEERS® Adolescent provider training.   

 

Inspired all over again, I created an online PEERS® social skills for teens and young adults program and am so excited to have brought this much-needed program to our community to support our teens/young adults socially!

 

Benefits of improving social skills

 

Our kids often don’t view the world quite the same as others do, and therefore often have difficulties navigating the social world, meaning social anxiety is commonplace.

 

Sometimes their social challenges are almost imperceptible and can appear mild, but that very mildness can make those difficulties with their peers all the more severe.   Appropriate social skills help us to connect with others and maintain relationships.

 

Struggling with social skills can put teens/young adults with social challenges at greater risk of …

 

* Peer rejection

* Feelings of loneliness, depression, anxiety & isolation

* Negative impacts on further study, dating and finding & maintaining employment

 

Making & keeping friends is crucial – having just one or two friends has been shown to …

 

* help create resilience to stressful life events

* predict better adjustment in later life

* increase self-esteem/confidence & support independence

* minimise the occurrence of bullying

* decrease the likelihood of depression and anxiety linked to loneliness

 

There’s no need to label your child as socially awkward.  Switch up your mindset to thinking my child just hasn’t learned those skills yet!

 

We take social skills for granted and expect our kids to learn by osmosis, but our kids often need a little extra explicit instruction.

 

PEERS® works by explicitly teaching the skills that come naturally to the more socially adept.

 

Social skills have rules which can be easily taught, followed and practised to great effect – just like anything else!

 

Register your interest in the PEERS social skills for teens/young adults online program
 

REGISTER NOW

What is PEERS®?

 

PEERS® stands for Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills.

 

The PEERS® program is an internationally acclaimed, evidence-based social skills group program for adolescents and young adults with social challenges.

 

Originally developed by Dr Elizabeth Laugeson at the University of California (UCLA) PEERS®, the programme has a strong evidence-base for use with adolescents and young adults with Aspergers/ASD, but is also highly appropriate for those with ADHD, anxiety, depression, learning difficulties, those who may be twice exceptional or gifted and talented or indeed anyone experiencing social challenges.

 

The program assists motivated teens and young adults with social challenges who are interested in learning ways to help them make and keep friends.

 

Explicitly teaching how to navigate common social challenges allows the formation of more positive relationships.

 

Teens/Young Adults learn how to …

  • Develop & maintain friendships
  • Improve conversational skills
  • Choose appropriate friends & find common interests
  • Appropriately use electronic forms of communication 
  • Appropriately use humour & assess humour feedback
  • Start, enter & exit conversations between peers
  • Organise successful get-togethers with friends
  • Be a good sport when playing games and/or sports with friends
  • Handle arguments & disagreements with friends
  • Handle rejection, teasing, bullying, rumours/gossip & cyber bullying
  • Change an unwanted reputation
  • Dating Skills (Young Adults Program only)
  • ADHD Support Australia is excited to be offering a stand alone 6-week Online Dating Skills Program (NSW time)

 

 Please add your name here to be sent further information.

 

I’m interested in the PEERS Progam

PEERS® for Teens/Young Adults Social Skills program details

 

PEERS® is a 14-week online program for teens aged 13-17 or young adults aged 18-30 who experience social challenges and are interested in learning new ways of making and keeping friends.

 

In weekly 90-minute online small group sessions, teens/young adults are taught important social skills and given the opportunity to practise these skills during socialisation activities in the session.

 

Parents/caregivers attend online 60-minute weekly small group sessions separately to their teens/young adults and are taught how to become a social coach for their teen/young adult to support them in practicing their new skills at home, coaching them during their weekly socialisation homework assignments and providing feedback.

 

Sessions are relaxed & fun whilst using evidence-based teaching methods … 

 

* Small group (6-12 participants)

* Safe environment where everyone finds success

* Didactic instruction (concrete easy to follow rules & steps)

* Socratic questioning method (a question/answer dialogue to draw out ideas) 

* Teaches ecologically valid skills (skills that socially successful people use)

* Correct/Incorrect role play examples

* Role-playing and modelling practice of correct skills (behaviourial rehearsal)

* Perspective-taking questions targeting social cognition

* Social coaching from both course facilitators & parent(s)/carer(s)

* Homework exercises (with parent/carer assistance)

* Each session builds upon the previous week

 

PEERS® Dating Skills 4-week online program

PEERS® Dating Skills is a 4-week online program for those aged 16+ who experience social challenges and are interested in learning improved conversational and dating skills.

 

It would be a great extra bonus to older teens who have already completed the PEERS for Teens Social Skills 14-week program or a stand alone course for those who wish to focus on the dating aspect of social skills.

 

Sessions are relaxed & fun whilst using evidence-based skill-teaching methods and will explicitly teach motivated young adults with social challenges, who are interested in learning ways to improve their conversational and dating skills, how to form more positive relationships.

 

We’ll cover how to:

* Improve your conversational skills
* Start a conversation
* Join & exit group conversations
* Let someone know you like them
* Ask someone on a date
* Have more successful dates
* Date safely
* Handle consent to physical contact
* Plus crucial Dating Do’s & Don’ts!

 

I’M INTERESTED IN THE PEERS DATING SKILLS PROGAM

Meet your social coach

Vivian Dunstan

 

  • Certified PEERS Adolescent & Young Adult Social Skills course provider
  • Masters of Teaching (Primary)
  • Facilitator of Parenting Children with ADHD 6-week course since 2015
  • ADDCA ADHD Coach
  • Certified Tech Addiction & Digital Health Educator (NIDHW)
  • Facilitator of 12-week online Digital Parenting Program
  • Certified NeuroACT program provider
  • Former RAISE mentor
  • Founder & Organiser of ADHD Support Australia
  • Advocating for & supporting the ADHD community since 2013
  • Organiser of 140+ expert ADHD talks
  • Author of ADHD Support Australia’s website
  • Experienced Mum who’s navigated 27 years with an ADHD child, teen and now young adult
  • Diagnosed with ADHD herself!

 

 

Is PEERS right for my teen/young adult?

 

Teens/Young Adults must …

 

  • be between 13-17 (Teens) or 18-30 (Young Adults)
  • have social challenges
  • be interested in attending the program
  • agree to participate in the program voluntarily
  • consistently attend the program; and
  • a parent/carer must be willing to participate as the teen’s social coach or for young adults they may nominate a friend/sibling/parent as social coach.

 

I want to help my teen/young adult improve socially – what now?

To help your teen/young adult improve their social confidence and go on to create and maintain more meaningful connections –

 

* Join our PEERS newsletter to receive more details on upcoming dates/times/price etc

 

* Visit the Events Page to know more about current PEERS Social Skills Program upcoming dates/times/price etc

 

* View my recent PEERS webinar here.

 

 

*wBook an informal, confidential 15-minute Zoom chat with me to ensure that prior to enrollment:

  • the PEERS program is a good fit for your teen/young adult;
  • that they will feel comfortable attending;
  • that they will have positive outcomes;
  • that I understand their needs and what your family are seeking to achieve 

 

BOOK HERE

 

 

Dr Laugeson videos

 

PEERS® Research Findings and Program Overview with Dr Laugeson video

Autism Live – Dr Laugeson describing PEERS

How to enter a conversation interview with Dr Laugeson


PEERS® Research

 

The PEERS® program has been shown to be effective through multiple randomised controlled trials and maintenance of gains 1-5 years after treatment has been evidenced.

 

Overall, the PEERS® program facilitates developmental, learning and social competencies for individuals with social challenges which may contribute to self-efficacy and well-being. Please find below links to some of the research.

 

The latest research has shown that the PEERS® program delivered as an online program produces results that are as effective as delivering the program in-person.  The first link below provides this evidence.

 

Not sure if learning social skills online will work as well as a face-to-face course?

Dr Laugeson, the creator of the PEERS program, has carried out research into the efficacy of the PEERS program delivered online versus face-to-face and found that an online delivery of the program is just as effective as the face-to-face program.

PEERS uses the socratic teaching method which involves asking questions to stimulate critical thinking and draw out ideas and encourages perspective taking. This results in high engagement between participants during each session and the necessary skills are learned in the ‘safe space’ of the sessions and then implemented in the ‘real world’ afterwards.

Remember – PEERS is not a social group for meeting others but a place to learn the skills to do that in the wider community moving forward

Other advantages include:

* join from anywhere
* join sessions while on holiday/away/when slightly unwell/when travelling/running late etc
* anxious participants able to comfortably practice in safe space to increase confidence before replicating in the ‘real world’
* young people feel comfortable in their own space, with their pets etc!
* more anonymity – participants are unlikely to encounter anyone they know in a group – feeling safer and less anxious/inhibited
* No traveling time involved meaning its easier to commit to the 2 x sessions/week over 14 weeks

 

 

Efficacy of Community-Delivered PEERS® for Adolescents: Increases in Social Skills and Decreases in Social Anxiety and Loneliness

Efficacy of PEERS® for Adolescents via Telehealth Delivery

Research Paper: Replication & Extension of the Research Findings for the PEERS® for Adolescents Program

Research Paper: Replication & Extension of the Research Findings for the PEERS® For Young Adults Program

Examination of a Parent-Assisted, Friendship-Building Program for Adolescents With ADHD

Changes in Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents With ASD Completing the PEERS ® Social Skills Intervention

Brief Report: Reductions in Parenting Stress in the Context of PEERS-A Social Skills Intervention for Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder

A Pilot Study Examining the Effectiveness of the PEERS Program on Social Skills and Anxiety in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Multicentre, randomised waitlist control trial investigating a parent-assisted social skills group programme for adolescents with brain injuries: protocol for the friends project

Parent and Family Outcomes of PEERS: A Social Skills Intervention for Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Parent-assisted Social Skills Training to Improve Friendships in Teens With Autism Spectrum Disorders

A Review of Social Skills Manuals for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Exploring the Effectiveness of a Peer-Mediated Model of the PEERS Curriculum: A Pilot Randomized Control Trial

Social skills groups for people aged 6 to 21 years with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) Cochrane Collaboration

Parents Perceive Improvements in Socio-emotional Functioning in Adolescents With ASD Following Social Skills Treatment

Measuring the Plasticity of Social Approach: A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of the PEERS Intervention on EEG Asymmetry in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Predicting treatment success in social skills training for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: The UCLA Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills

Long-Term Treatment Outcomes for Parent-Assisted Social Skills Training for Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders: The UCLA PEERS Program

A Randomized Controlled Trial to Improve Social Skills in Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: The UCLA PEERS(®) Program

Social Skills Training for Young Adults With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

Evidence-Based Social Skills Training for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The UCLA PEERS Program

Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills for adolescents with an acquired brain injury: A randomized controlled trial

PEERS parent

My teen enjoyed the weekly meetings and getting to know the other participants, even though sometimes she was a little shy. She enjoyed making the calls each week too, all of which was a surprise for us. My teen said she liked how nice everyone was and there was nothing she disliked about the course!

PEERS Parent

My teen enjoyed being with other teenagers who shared the same problems.

PEERS Participant

I enjoyed meeting new people and learning about different things and situations

PEERS Participant

The thing I found most helpful was learning how to talk on the phone.

PEERS Parent

Finding out about the social media do's and don'ts, like how many messages you should send. Also how to find common interests and ask questions so a conversation is two way was useful.

PEERS Participant

I enjoyed improving telephone conversation skills with easy to follow rules.

PEERS Parent

My son gained a lot of confidence in facing different social scenarios, it was easy for him to understand the rules and how to apply them in general situations. It was so nice to see him trying on the phone calls with his classmates. He was able to observe himself and make adjustments as necessary. The material can seem simple, but that is where the trick lays, so many times we don't teach those "simple" rules and they are absolutely vital.

PEERS Parent

My teen's social skills have improved enormously as a result of doing the course. For the first time since starting high school (currently in year 9), he has made strong connections with a couple of peers and has organised an outing with his group from school. None of this would have happened without completing the PEERS course. I love that we also have a reference manual for when challenging situations arise or we need guidance on how to handle a particular scenario.

PEERS Parent

The PEERS program has provided my daughter with explicit and detailed social skills that she can now practise and further develop going forward. Some children learn these skills as they go without intervention. However, my daughter needed extra help in this area. The topics covered were very relevant and were broken down into specific expectations or expected behaviour. Together with weekly skills practise and practical suggestions, she can now confidently begin to build and develop relationships with her peers. We have noticed an improvement in her social skills after completing PEERS especially in starting a conversation, asking questions and finding common interests. I would definitely recommend the PEERS program to any child who struggles socially.

PEERS Parent

My teen is currently attending school camp and his teacher reported that he is doing really well socially and that he was able to find common ground with some boys at school. It is really great to see him applying all the skills learnt from the PEERS course, and he is making great progress. Thank you so much for teaching him the skills.

PEERS Parent

My teen has certainly learnt more appropriate ways of approaching and interacting with peers and we have seen her behave more "sensibly" with family friends and relatives.

PEERS Parent

Getting to know the other teens on the course with similar social problems helped our child see she was not alone in her difficulties. As parents we found the content very useful and also found it very valuable to hear other parents' experiences with their similar children.

PEERS Parent

My teen learned how to start conversations and end them, especially on the telephone. He has knowledge that he can use when there are issues and has used some of these recently to have conversations with people he doesn't usually talk to and manage difficult situations with peers at school. It has also helped me have conversations with him about school life and he is now more open in talking about it.

PEERS Parent

This has been a great course for my son to attend. While he may not appreciate the cost, time and effort we have spent, he now has a lot more knowledge on how to manage real world situations including the aspects of making and keeping friends, dealing with all the different high school issues that arise and when to seek help from others. I have also been reminded of how to handle some of the situations my kids are experiencing and discuss options with them so that we work towards a good outcome.

PEERS Parent

My teen is definitely more willing to have a go at socialising, where previously he would avoid it at all costs!

PEERS Parent

After this course, my teen is much more willing to have a go at joining and even starting conversations, is less stressed in social situations, and has a more positive outlook on life.

PEERS Parent

My teen has actually had a good year. He started a new school this year and I can say with great relief, he was quite successful. He has a lovely group of friends and has grown his confidence. Thanks greatly to the social skills he learnt the year before. He went back over the PEERS papers many times and used many of the skills he learned and continues to use them.

PEERS Parent

Getting to know the other teens on the course with similar social problems helped our child see she was not alone in her difficulties. As parents we found the content very useful and also found it very valuable to hear other parents' experiences with their similar children. ​

PEERS Parent

The PEERS program made my young adult's life a bit more enjoyable

PEERS Parent

My YA has evolved from being isolated in their room to regularly interacting with others outside our family. ​

PEERS Parent

Vivian presents the PEERS program beautifully in a no-judgement environment. The content is invaluable for any parent with a child that has ADHD and provides the children with an opportunity to better their social lives and help them be happier and more secure in themselves. ​

PEERS Parent

This has been a great course for my son to attend. ​He now has alot more knowledge on how to manage real world situations including the aspects of making and keeping friends, dealing with all the different high school issues that arise and when to seek help from others. I have also been reminded of how to handle some of the situations my kids are experiencing and discuss options with them so that we work towards a good outcome.

PEERS Parent

After this course, my teen is much more willing to have a go at joining and even starting conversations, is less stressed in social situations, and has a more positive outlook on life.

 

 

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