Junior high and high school students often find themselves struggling to fit in socially. Adding a disability that affects social skills to the mix only makes things more difficult.
To help students who have developmental disabilities such as autism and Asperger’s syndrome adjust to social situations, licensed clinical social worker Maggie Bagley is offering two programs through the Washington Park District.
“It’s difficult for all teens to make friends and navigate the social world, but it’s even more difficult for kids who have autism spectrum disorders,” Bagley said. “It’s an important skill to have to be able to make friends and keep friends. I just want to provide an opportunity for teens with disabilities to be able to do that in a safe environment.”
PEERS, for students 11 to 14 and Teen time, for students ages 15 to 18, are relationship building groups that provide an opportunity for participants to learn and practice the skills needed to make and maintain friendships.
The programs begin Sept. 18. Each group will meet from 10 a.m. to noon every other Saturday through Nov. 20.
“We’re going to use a video modeling program because we’ve been finding that a lot of the kids with autism and Asperger’s really respond well to watching videos,” Bagley said. “It’s a big interest area for them. They’ll be watching videos on how to do certain things like start conversations, make friends, join teams, deal with bullying, talk to parents, just things that they typically struggle with.”
After the students watch the videos, they will have the chance to practice the skills with each other.
“We’ll have opportunities for them to make friends within our group,” Bagley said. “We’re going to try to do at least one social outing — just kind of giving them a chance to figure out how to make friends and navigate the social world because that’s very difficult for these kids.”
Bagley, who is a counselor at Illini Family Counseling, has offered these programs in the past through the park district. She did not offer PEERS or Teen time last year because she was on maternity leave, but said she is excited to have the chance to work with the students again this year.
“The first day the kids come in really apprehensive and not sure,” she said. “Usually a few weeks into it, they’re exchanging phone numbers and making connections with each other and scheduling times to get together outside of the group.”
Bagley added that the most rewarding part of these programs is watching her students make friends.
