Social
Skills Groups
Social skills do not come naturally
to many children. The reason may be as simple as a shy child or may
be more complex like a speech impairment, learning disability, ADHD,
developmental delay, or similar special needs. In such cases social
skills may need to be explicitly taught to the child. Modeling, opportunities
for practice, prompt feedback and incentives can help a child overcome
such social hurdles. In our programs we aim to help
children acquire proper social skills by methods of modeling, explicit
tutoring, feedback and reinforcements. Our groups have a maximum of 8 children
and we offer several program options to parents.
Penguins
Program (Ages 4 to 8 years)
10AM to 10:45 AM on Saturdays 
The Penguins program is for children whose verbal skills are developing or is limited. Children will learn
basic social skills like greeting peers, interactive playing, social
conversations, sharing, attention, eye contact with peers and basic
understanding of peer play. Parents are required to be involved in the
program to guide their kids through the sessions.
Dolphins
Program (ages 5 to 12 years)
11AM to 11:45 AM on Saturdays 
The Dolphins program is verbal based. This is for children who already have basic interaction skills with
peers. The group focuses on skills like introducing oneself, introducing others, following directions from peers,
joining an activity with a peer, conversations with peers, working in
small groups, and individual and group work. Direct instruction techniques
and peer modeling are used to encourage good social behavior. Self-management
strategies are taught to help the child adhere to social or classroom
rules.
Fee
Schedule
The program fees are $50 for 5 weeks for individuals who have a family membership at the Metuchen YMCA. For Youth members, the fees are $60 for 5 weeks. To become a Youth member, please contact the Metuchen
YMCA.
For questions about the program, contact Anu Prasad at 732-331-9262 or Email anu@smallstrides.com
