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
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 4-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
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 PEERS® for Adolescents via Telehealth Delivery
Examination of a Parent-Assisted, Friendship-Building Program for Adolescents With ADHD
A Review of Social Skills Manuals for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder