Facilitating Social Interaction
Our weekly small group social skills programs help children to build important skills and confidence to cope at school. The programs provide evidence-based support for children aged 4-12 years with social, emotional and communication challenges. Children learn to identify their emotion, regulate their behaviour, cope with stress and anxiety, and make friends. NDIS funding can be used to participate in the programs.
Program for 5-12 year olds with social difficulties
Brick-by-Brick™ is a small group social skills program, proven to help children with social difficulties, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)*, to improve and practice their social interaction and communication skills.
Using the principles of Play Therapy, the program helps children socialise with their peers and have fun in a supportive and understanding environment, while learning important skills like sharing, waiting, turn-taking, talking with others and making friends.
In the sessions, children agree upon a project that is achievable for everyone in the group, and are assigned roles:
- The Architect holds the building instructions, and is responsible for letting the others know which
bricks are required (Supplier) and how to put them together (Builder). - The Supplier holds the LEGO bricks necessary to assemble the LEGO model, and is
responsible for supplying the builder with the correct pieces and at the correct time. - The Builder is responsible for taking the individual pieces from the supplier, and putting the pieces
together, according to the instructions given by the architect, to create the model.
Roles are rotated throughout the sessions so children can learn different skills and responsibilities.
Details
Brick-by-Brick™ consists of an initial interview with the child and parent, followed by small-group child sessions with a maximum of 6 children per group.
Brilliant Life Services’ psychologists runs the program during school terms, with 12 sessions in total. Each session is 1.5 hours, with parents attending for the first and last 15 minutes of each session.
Playing and Learning to Socialise (PALS)
PALS is an evidence-based social skills program to help 4-6 year olds develop a range of social behaviours for the early years of school. Using puppets, stories, games and role play, children learn important skills like:
- greeting others
- talking and listening
- taking turns
- understanding feelings
- problem-solving in social situations.
The program is suitable for young children who may need extra support in social situations or in the lead up to preschool or kindergarten.
PALS aims to help children relate to others, teach constructive problem solving skills for social situations and promote the skills needed for the transition to school.
Details
Learning Links runs the program weekly during school terms, with 10 x 1-hour sessions in total.
Superflex® is a social skills program designed for 7-10 year olds, to help with social thinking, behaviour awareness and self-regulation skills. The programs focuses on managing social and communication difficulties, and is suitable for children who struggle to monitor and regulate their behaviour, including those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Level 1 or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)*.
Over the course of the program, children become superheroes and are taught to explore social thinking concepts, become aware of their own social behaviour and develop strategies to monitor and modify their own behaviour.
The sessions cover a range of topics, including:
• Becoming a flexible thinker
• Understanding social rules
• Understand a big problem vs a small problem
• Learning to change unhelpful behaviours
Details
The program consists of small-group child sessions, with engaging games and activities. Each child is provided with a Superflex cape to utilise within the program.
Brilliant Life Services runs the program weekly during school terms, with 10 x 1 hour sessions in total.
The Incredible Years® Dinosaur School is a comprehensive evidence-based early intervention program that is effective in improving children’s social emotional competence, communication, self-regulation, school readiness and positive behaviours.
Who will benefit from the program?
Brilliant Life Services is running the Dinosaur School early intervention program for children aged 4-8 years facing a range of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, including those with ADD/ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), conduct problems, developmental delays, speech disorders and undiagnosed communication delays.
To fully benefit from the program, children require verbal communication skills and the ability to participate in a small group, follow instructions, ask and answer basic questions appropriate for this age group.
Brilliant Life Services will also be running a similar parent support program, specifically for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and speech and language delays, in the coming months. Please get in touch with us to discuss which program would be most beneficial for your child and family.
What is included in the program?
The program consists of an initial interview with the parent, followed by small-group child sessions with a maximum of 6 children per group. The groups will be run by two psychologists.
Brilliant Life Services runs the program weekly during school terms over 10-15 weeks. Each session is 1-2 hours duration, and parents/carers are required to attend. Duration and session times differ depending on location.
Children participate in structured group activities and discussions, with a range of fun dinosaur themes, games and characters. Facilitators use puppets, videos and role plays to help children learn vital social, communication and emotional skills and build confidence. The dinosaur-themed content units include:
- Apatasaurus Unit: Making Friends and Learning School Rules
- Iguanodon Unit: Dina Teaches How to Do Your Best in School
- Triceratops Unit: Understanding and Detecting Feelings
- Stegosaurus Unit: Wally Teaches Problem Solving Steps
- Tyrannosaurus Rex Unit: Anger Management
- Allosaurus Unit: Molly Manners Teaches How to be Friendly
- Brachiosaurus Unit: Molly Explains How to Talk With Friends
Each session will be made up of circle time, small group practice and play activities.
How will the program support my child?
Dinosaur School aims to strengthen children’s social and emotional competencies and communication skills, helping them develop in a range of areas, including:
- understanding and communicating feelings
- listening, waiting and understanding rules
- identifying problems, finding solutions and thinking about consequences
- teamwork, sharing and helping
- self-regulation, managing anger and frustration
- making friends and having conversations
- developing positive behaviours
Program for 7-9 year olds with Autism Spectrum Disorder and mild intellectual disability
The Westmead Feelings Program is an evidence-based small group intervention program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and mild intellectual disability*, teaching them about emotional understanding and social awareness.
Based on theories of emotional intelligence and emotional competence, the program empowers children to interact and social with their peers in a fun, supportive and understanding environment.
Over the course of the program, children participate in activities that build foundations of emotional awareness, social skills and good mental health, including:
- Recognising and understanding their own and others’ emotions, eg. happy, sad, worried and angry
- Developing the skills to understand different perspectives and solve problems
- Managing their own feelings and behaviour in different settings
Details
The Westmead Feelings Program runs across three school terms and consists of an initial interview with the child and parent, followed by 15 small-group child sessions, 6 parent sessions and a booster session 6 months following program completion. Each session is 1.25 hours, with parents able to attend the last 15 minutes of each session if they wish.
Children and parents both receive a resource pack to support program participation.
The Zones of Regulation is designed for children 6-12 years (split into appropriate age groups) and aims to address challenges with emotional and sensory regulation, and social skills. Using visuals, play-based activities, role playing and video modelling, the program teaches self-regulation by helping children to categorise their emotions and develop strategies to control their impulses and cope when they feel overwhelmed. It is suitable for all children, including those with ASD, ADHD or mood disorders.
The program includes discussions, role plays, video modelling and variety of activities to teach students to:
- identify their feelings and level of alertness
- understand how their behaviour can impact others
- build strategies to manage their feelings appropriately
Details
Brilliant Life services currently runs this program in a small group over 3 half-days in the school holidays, however, it can also be tailored to meet the needs of families.
