Are you looking for a summer social skills group to help your college-bound son or daughter successfully transition to college?
The transition to college can be an exciting time of life. However, it also includes changes in routine, less structure, greater stress, demands on self-advocacy skills, and potential disconnection from loved ones. As parents, you want to see your child successfully adapt to college.
However, you have concerns about your child’s ability to advocate for themselves and be independent. For instance, you hope they will build a supportive social network of trusted friends and college staff. But you remember the difficulty they had making friends in high school, and you don’t want them to have the same struggles in college. Or perhaps you’re concerned because they still rely on you to help them advocate & navigate difficult situations.
In high school, you attended IEP meetings or intervened with e-mails and calls to the schools sometimes. Basically, you were your child’s number one supporter. However, you know they’ll need to advocate for themselves in college. Our Summer Program is a way that you can help your child adapt to the changes that come with college. While there are a lot of things you can’t do for your child as they transition to college (attend classes with them, intervene with roommate problems, have regular chats with professors), encouraging them to attend our Summer Program is one thing you can offer as a parent. We help make the transition away from a parent playing that advocacy role to being able to advocate to themselves.
Give your young adult the skills to make friends, self advocate and be successful in college.
Does this describe your son or daughter?
I have a child 16-20 years old who:
- has difficulty reading social cues
- desires to make friends
- wants to successfully adapt to college
- needs to learn how to self-advocate
- wants to gain more independence
- has autism traits not always apparent to others
Then the “College Transition – Summer Social Skills Group” is the program for your child!
College Transition – Summer Social Skills Group
The “College Transition – Summer Social Skills Group” is a 5-week summer intensive group that meets twice weekly. This program is designed to support young adults (16-20 years old) preparing to apply for college, are transitioning to college, or have been at college for 1-2 years. Students who have difficulty with social interactions or may have autism traits that are not always apparent to others will thrive in this summer program!
What type of social skills are taught?
This social skills group focuses on the development of social communication skills and self-advocacy skills. Both sets of skills are essential for young people to successfully adjust to college. Our program provides helpful strategies to improve conversational and active listening skills. Furthermore, participants learn ways to find and maintain friends with shared interests and to manage social anxiety and stress. This program will help prepare your youth to communicate with professors and other college staff, to identify and advocate for their needs, and to increase independence throughout their college career.
Will Social Skills be practiced in the group?
Absolutely! This group gives your teenager or young adult the opportunity to practice the social skills they are learning every time we meet! In the group your child will get to know other college-bound students who are also working on increasing their independence and social skills. Group members will support and encourage your son or daughter. Over the course of 5 weeks students will get to know each other in a safe setting with the support of mental health professionals. Therefore, the group itself gives your child an opportunity to have a positive experience in a social setting!
We are excited to offer our group as a resource in the San Francisco Bay Area to young adults with autistic traits or social difficulties. We feel the summer is the perfect time to focus on learning the skills that will help them start next school year off on the right foot. Furthermore, these skills will help them maintain that success throughout their college career!
The group consists of up to 8 students, and meets twice weekly for 1.5 hours at our Palo Alto office.
Our Summer program will help your teen learn the social skills & self advocacy skills needed to be more independent. Your teen can be successful in college with the support of our group!
Details About Our 2019 Summer Program:
Duration:
5 weeks (June 18 to July 19, 2019)
2 sessions/week, each session is 2 hours long
Days/Times:
To be determined
Location:
Open Doors Therapy
260 Sheridan Ave Ste B10
Palo Alto CA 94306
Program Fee:
$250 Intake Evaluation
$2000 Program Fee* (fee for 5 weeks of group) – $1000 deposit required to reserve your spot. The remainder $1000 is due at start of program.
*Unfortunately, this college transition social skills training program is not covered by insurance.
Commit to Making the Most of Your Summer
Ready to make the most of the Summer and set your young adult up for success in college? Through our 2019 Summer Program, your teen will enhance their social skills, increase their confidence and enter next school year more prepared for college life.
The first step is to schedule a 1.5 hour diagnostic evaluation with Dr. Tasha Oswald. Through this evaluation, we will determine if this group is the right fit for your son or daughter. During the evaluation, Dr. Oswald will get to know your son or daughter, their strengths and be looking for specific social skill deficits that we know our program will help them learn to overcome. Basically, this is our opportunity to make sure your child would really benefit from our Summer Social Skills Program. Once we determine our program will help set your child up for a successful college career, we will officially accept them into the program. A $1000 deposit payment will then reserve your child’s spot in the group.
Let our autism experts help your loved one prepare for college success!
Contact Open Doors Therapy for a free consultation to learn more about group.
Other Resources for Neurodiverse Individuals & Families in the Bay Area
Our San Francisco Bay Area mental health clinic focuses on supporting individuals with autistic traits (Aspergers, high functioning autism, undiagnosed autism traits, etc) and their families. More specifically, our services include individual counseling, parent counseling and groups. Some of our support and educational groups include those for college students with autistic traits, neurodiverse adults, women who identify as neurodiverse, and neurodiverse youth & caregivers. If you would like more information about any of these services, please reach out today!