Social Skills Groups

The Junior Explorers group supports our youngest participants in developing the skills they need to be successful in friendship and play! Facilitators use an experiential learning approach with fun hands-on and movement activities to engage group members and coach them through challenges along the way. The group is tailored to the needs of participants and often targets social initiation, problem-solving, and perspective taking skills.

Our Explorers and Navigators build social confidence while engaging in exciting activities together! While the structure of the group usually includes a social check in, structured and unstructured experiences, and appreciations for group members, the specific activities are tailored to the interests of the group to maximize engagement. Facilitators use an experiential learning approach to coach participants through challenges. Group members are often working on skills such as conflict resolution, flexibility, and perspective taking. Common activities include building and inventing projects and movement games.

Girl’s Group Girls Get Together Groups are a safe space for girls to learn how to make connections and friendships with others through chats, arts and craft projects, games, and other activities. The facilitator will set a theme for each session (ex: emotions, friendship qualities) and create activities and discussion that are fun while also nurturing skills. Each session will begin with an emotions check-in followed by a question related to the topic of the week, transitioning into the activity of the day.

This group is a space for female and gender expansive identifying teens. Participants meet on the first week to brainstorm topics that they’d like to see covered that cycle. Popular subjects in the past have included: handling stress, navigating complex social situations, and balancing responsibilities and independence. Each week, group members will check in, engage in a discussion-based activity around the topic of the week, then transition to some fun hangout time. Teen Crew has a community feel and is a great place to be curious about ourselves and our connections with others.

Our all-gender Teen Crew group builds social confidence while engaging in exciting activities together! While the structure of the group usually includes a social check in, structured and unstructured experiences, and appreciations for group members, the specific activities are tailored to the interests of the group to maximize engagement. Facilitators use an experiential learning approach to coach participants through challenges. Group members are often working on skills such as conflict resolution, flexibility, and perspective taking.

Outdoor Club is a fun and effective social group for getting individuals active outside within the Pacific Northwest! Each week there will be excellent opportunities for participants to apply their curiosity and desires towards social activities that include hiking, scavenger hunts, outdoor survival workshops, life-size board games, obstacle courses and more.

Building and Inventing Group is inspired by our popular summer camp! We will be building awesome inventions such as catapults, boats, and zipline vehicles, as well as experimenting with coding Edison robots. On some weeks, we may take a field trip to a local park to test out our inventions in a natural environment. While some projects are done individually, we often incorporate team building challenges to work on communication and problem-solving skills. Building and inventing is a great group for participants looking to develop patience, resilience, and planning skills while engaging in creative projects.

Theatre is a space where everyone can become involved – actors, playwrights, scenic designers – in the act of telling a story. In this group, students will work together to devise, rehearse and perform a unique theatrical performance. In this process, students will have a space to exercise their wit, build self-confidence, explore community and collaboration, and practice communication and personal expression.

Creative Arts is a space for participants to get their creative juices flowing while building social connections. Each week, facilitators will prep hands-on projects with a variety of materials, from paint and clay to beads and cloth. Projects will be selected with each participant’s goals in mind and may include collaborative challenges, introspective themes, and structural building projects for those interested. Group will include a check-in, conversation support, and appreciations!

The Rock Climbing groups at Seattle Bouldering Project provide an opportunity to work on individual goals for focus and physical health while also practicing group-based social skills like decision-making, monitoring personal space, and participating in conversations. Facilitators tailor these all-ages groups to the needs of the students, and will sub-divide the group in order to best target developmental goals. The groups may include a range of large-group games, individual attention, and small-group breakouts to practice skills in different environments.

Social Swim is a group that uses pool games and activities to help build social skills. Participants do not need to be skilled swimmers; they simply need to enjoy hanging out at the pool. Through fun aquatic games and activities, group members work on conversation skills, frustration tolerance and flexible perspective taking. Some of the activities occur in the pool and some deck side. Group meets at Montlake Terrace pool.

Activity League is a fun, supportive place to try out different athletic activities while navigating the social dynamics of team sports. This outdoor group will explore different sports from basketball and soccer to relays and obstacle courses. The focus is on building confidence, body-space awareness, communication, and resilience as part of a team.

D&D begins with a check-in, and students then engage in Dungeons & Dragons—the antidote to video games. The game teaches patience, listening skills, teamwork and communication as players work through in-game challenges designed to address their goals. This group is a great option for children and teens that are looking to practice skills through creative game-play.

Roblox is an online social gaming platform that promotes interactions in an open world gaming format. The site is filled with different games that kids can play with others based on their interests. Many of our participants have had experience with Roblox but need guidance to navigate the complex social interactions that can happen online. This group aims to harness this popular platform to help participants work on communication, group decision-making, and good sportsmanship, all while forming meaningful connections.

We will be running this group much like a weekly Pokémon League at your local tabletop gaming store. Each session will begin with a group discussion about social skills and competitive behavior goals
for the week. We will then discuss strategies, tactics, and developments in the broader Pokémon TCG game including the rules of the game, deck-building, and other strategies and resources to help all trainers grow to be the best trainers they can be. A Pokémon TCG battle provides conflict, emotion, and drama, giving young people an authentic opportunity to interact socially with their peers in a low-risk environment but with real stakes on the line.

Tabletop games are an excellent tool for practicing connecting with others, winning/losing, conversation, and problem-solving! Our Tabletop groups start with a social check-in and proceed to guided gameplay. Our Tabletop Games groups incorporate a variety of games for different levels, including classics like Uno and Sorry as well as strategy games. Often, group members will have the chance to bring a game from home to teach to the group to work on leadership and perspective-taking skills.

Virtual games are an excellent tool for facilitating connection and conversation, learning game-playing dynamics like fairness and winning vs. losing, practicing digital citizenship, and problem-solving! Our Virtual Games groups start with a social check-in and proceeds to guided gameplay with the whole group and in smaller break-out groups, giving participants a chance to connect and converse more intimately. Group members will have the opportunity to make friends, connect over common interests, enhance their communication skills, and work on perspective-taking when engaging in online virtual gaming platforms. In this group we play a variety of games made accessible to all skill levels including Carcassone, Jeopardy, Gartic Phone, SushiGo, and other games that can be found on Board Game Arena. We value the feedback from the participants and adjust the games played based on their interests as one of the primary goals is to have fun!

Online Hangout and Games participants play a variety of online games each week while also discussing social learning topics such as starting conversations, maintaining friendships, and dealing with conflicts. This group is a great way to practice your social skills in a safe and supportive environment with the opportunity to make friends while having fun. We may use Jackbox Games which are designed to be simple, fun, and interactive, and can be played on a variety of devices including computers, tablets, and smartphones. We may use Board Game Arena to play a variety of online tabletop games which can be accessed on your computer browser.