Who Else Wants Their Child to Grow Healthy Friendships? Try A Social Skills Group

Group Activity for Social Skills

Let me tell you a story about four wonderful teenagers. They started out as socially awkward strangers but ended up as unlikely friends. Now when I say unlikely, I do mean unlikely. This virtual social skills group hosted four very different students, ages 14 to 18.

One young man struggled with asking and responding to questions. He couldn’t figure out an appropriate time to share his thoughts. His method of connecting with people was blurting out phrases from Transformers. He often didn’t ask or answer questions because he was stuck on sharing his specific interests.  

One young lady had difficulty with emotional regulation, tone, and volume of voice. This outgoing gal was a key initiator in the social skills group.

“How was your week, guys? Mine was amazing. We went water skiing and took the dog for a walk around the park and…”

Because she was so excited to be around people, she struggled to allow others appropriate response time. 

One young man didn’t want to be there. The first session, he pulled a hood over his face to let us know what he thought of the group. He definitely understood the concept of nonverbal communication. But he needed to learn to use this social skill in his favor–to build connections, not scare others away. (READ MORE)