PEERSⓇ Social Skills Groups

Social skills development 

is one of the greatest areas of need among neurodiverse teens 

and yet the most difficult to get right.

Most social skills therapy groups are run with good intentions 

but without empirically validated methods.

PEERSⓇ is different.

PEERSⓇ is a highly-structured social skills intervention designed for for middle and high school students. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated in dozens of studies around the globe, including randomized control trials, the gold standard of treatment research.

The 14-week program includes training components for the teen and their parents or caregivers. Each week, 2 sessions are run simultaneously. In one session, the teens work with our PEERSⓇ Certified Provider to learn new social skills through structured lessons and role play as well as real-world practice and experiences. In the other session, parents or caregivers participate in their own structured session in which they learn how to support their teen in applying the targeted skills in their daily life. The curriculum is focused on impactful, real-world skills such as:

Each week, the teens and their parents/caregivers go home with an assignment for putting the new skill into action. The program includes baseline and post-treatment measurements so individual outcomes can be identified and plans made for future steps.

Teens and Parents Love PEERSⓇ

We have had exceptionally positive feedback about this program from the teen participants and their parents. Our students may not always love the idea of an evening social skills class at the start, but once they settle in to their group and start seeing how the program actually helps them build real friendships, they start having a great time.

We’ve heard our teen participants say remarkable things about the curriculum, such as:

“I really wish someone had told me these things years ago,”

“So this is how I make friends,”

and, at the end, “I’m really going to miss this.”

The course is also a transformative experience for parents and caregivers. They come to the group knowing all the ways their teen struggles and having tried for years to be as helpful as possible, with little success. PEERSⓇ provides exactly what they’ve been wishing for- real, concrete guidance in how to support their teen in taking manageable, progressive steps toward connecting with others.

The truly amazing thing for our parent participants is seeing how progress monitoring works in PEERSⓇ. Certainly, our PEERSⓇ-certified clinician keeps tabs on each student’s progress in the group sessions, but the real measures of growth are reported weekly by the parents to the clinicians. By carrying out the weekly homework assignments and reflecting on them with their teens, parents directly observe new skills being put into action. They watch their teen expand their social network and enrich their interactions. Then these observations are shared and celebrated in the parent group sessions. Progress monitoring has never felt so good!

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Frequently Asked Questions: 

When are you running the program?

We are beginning to enroll for our Fall 2025 cohorts. Our next session dates are:

High School Group (Teens in Grades 9-12): Tuesdays, 6:00 – 7:30 pm

September 16, 2025 – December 16, 2025

Note: We must enroll a minimum of 4 students to run a group. Group sizes will be capped at 6 participants. 

How are groups formed?

We take great care when forming groups. PEERSⓇ is a course with a significant amount of content. Participants must have the cognitive and verbal skills to process the instruction. It is also important that the students are willing to engage with the program. All students must express an open mind to the experience and interest in growing their social connections. To ensure that we register students who are appropriate for the program, we carry out several steps before offering a student a spot in a cohort.

When you decide you’re interested in exploring the PEERSⓇ course for your child, complete the initial interest form by clicking the orange “Start Registration” button below. After receiving your form, our office will reach out to you to schedule an intake call with one of our clinicians. We will also ask that you share any useful records, such as your child’s IEP if they have one or any recent, pertinent evaluation reports. In the intake call, the clinician will ask you questions about your child and talk with you about the potential fit between their needs and the program. In some cases, if a child’s fit for the group is in question, we may ask that you schedule an in-person “meet and greet” session, in which your child will spend about 15 minutes with one of our program clinicians. After we’ve gathered all the information we need based on the intake call, record review, and/or meet-and-greet screening, if we determine that your teen is a good fit for our PEERSⓇ program, we will send you an email inviting you to formally register for the course by completing a contract and submitting the program fee.

In brief, the steps are:

1. Submit the interest form by clicking “Start Registration” below
2. Talk to a clinician about your child
3. Provide records and/or schedule an in-person screening
4. If offered a spot, complete a program contract and submit the program fee

How much does the program cost?

The fee for the program is $1900. This fee covers the 14 teen and parent therapy sessions as well as pre-program screening, baseline assessment, post- program assessment, and progress reporting.

Can this program be covered by insurance? 

PEERSⓇ is a social skills course with a predetermined curriculum, not therapy in a medically-defined capacity. As such, it is not a codable service for payment by medical insurance. In some cases, school districts pay for social training programs for students, particularly those that include a parent training component. Inquire with us if you’d like to learn more about seeking sources of funding for the program.

How long are the sessions?

The therapy sessions are 90 minutes each. The teen and parent/caregiver groups run simultaneously during this time. 

Will my child receive homework? 

Yes! Each week, the teens are assigned a specific activity designed to facilitate their generalization of the new skill. In the early stages of the program, teens are assigned a weekly phone/video call with another group member to practice the skills covered that week. Later in the program, the homework assignments focus on interactions with other teens outside the group.

What is my role as a parent/caregiver? 

Each week, caregivers attend a separate 90-minute session to learn the skills covered with their teen. As a caregiver, you will be responsible for coaching your child through the homework activities and integrating the language introduced that week into real-life practice opportunities. You will learn a lot in the program! There are print materials and an excellent app to help you along the way. 

Do we have to do the whole program?

PEERSⓇ is designed as a cohesive curriculum. Every participant must enroll in the entire 14 week session and plan to attend from start to finish. Naturally, unavoidable absences will sometimes occur. In that event, the provider will work to help the participants (teen and parent) catch up on the content that was missed.

I am really interested in PEERSⓇ but my child isn’t in grade 9-12. Do you offer groups for younger students?

For fall 2025, we are planning only to offer a high school cohort. We may offer a middle school session in the spring semester and/or summer 2026. Give us a call if you’d like to discuss your child’s situation. We maintain a database of interested families and this information helps us plan future programming. We will post updates on opportunities for younger students as they develop. 

Fall is a busy time for us. When will you next run PEERSⓇ ?

Our next (“spring”) cohort will run from January to May 2026. If you’re interested and would like to be added to our potential group member list, please reach out and we will get you started on the planning process.

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