PEERS® for teens ages 13 - 17
PEERS® for young adults 18 - 35
Evidence based social skills course for Teenagers & Young Adults
About PEERS®
PEERS® stands for Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills. The program is an internationally acclaimed, evidence-based social skills group program for adolescents and young adults with social challenges.
The program runs for 16 weeks, consisting of 90 minute weekly sessions. The program assists motivated teens and young adults with social challenges who are interested in learning ways to help them make and keep friends allowing the formation of more positive relationships.
Evidence-Based Success
Peers® for Teens is recognised world-wide as one of the most successful evidence-based programs of its kind in the world and has helped thousands of children over the last 10 years.
Originally developed by Dr Elizabeth Laugeson at the University of California (UCLA) PEERS®, the program 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.
Participant Sessions
16 sessions
90 minutes per session
Small groups consisting of 10-12 students with one leader
Parent/Mentor Sessions
16 sessions
90 minutes per session
Small groups consisting of 10-12 parents/mentors with one leader
Peers® Course Content & Curriculum
- How to start conversations that feels natural and how to exchange information in social settings.
- Ways to keep conversations flowing more easily and balanced ways of exchanging information.
- Finding reliable sources of quality friends
- Electronic communication – Do’s and don’ts
- Appropriate use of humour – Depending on content, timing, & strength of relationships.
- Entering group conversations and playing your role within the group.
- Exiting conversations – When, how and why to leave conversations gracefully.
- Get-Togethers – How to plan for social events & steps for enjoying social times.
- Guys & Girls -Pre-dating etiquette – How to talk & interact confidently with both guys & girls
- Simple Pre-dating etiquette basics – Basic dating do’s and don’ts (even if you don’t plan to date yet).
- Handling disagreements
- Handling direct bullying
- Handling indirect bullying
- How to be confident in the real world – Skills for thriving in life – friendships, workplaces, families etc.
- Use appropriate conversational skills
- Use humour appropriately/effectively
- Use electronic communication
- Enter and exit conversations appropriately
- Be a good host during get togethers
- Show good ‘sportsmanship’
- Handle arguments and disagreements
- Change a bad reputation
- Understand the basics of dating etiquette
- Handle rumours and gossip
- Handle rejection, teasing & bullying
Your Social Coach
- Certified PEERS Young Adults Social Skills Course Provider
- Bachelor of Communications
- Certificate in Autism (UOW)
- Founder and Head Educator of Love2Learn
- 6 Years experience working with individuals on the Autism Spectrum
Eligibility Criteria
Teens/Young Adults must meet the following full criteria;
- be between 13-17 (Teens) or 18-35 (Young Adults) or 16-30 (Dating Skills) (for the duration of the course)
- have social challenges
- be interested in attending the program
- agree to participate in the program voluntarily
- consistently attend the program
- 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.