Art of Friendship Social Skills Program

The Art of Friendship provided social skills groups and individual therapy for neurodiverse children with autism, ADHD, and learning differences since 2000. Regional leaders in treatment for neurodivergent individuals, we bring together small groups of children who meet weekly together to learn and practice critical social awareness and social skills. The ongoing format (not a 6-or 8-week seminar) facilitates ongoing gradual growth, which allows children to improve at their own pace, free from external pressure to ‘perform’.

Our philosophy is to match each child’s needs with an appropriate peer group, maximizing success. Social skills groups are based on chronological age and filtered by developmental level, self-regulation ability, degree of support required, gender, and social goals.

The Art of Friendship social skills therapists structure each group with a predictable beginning-middle-end sequence. This weekly familiar structure decreases anxiety and helps neurodivergent children relax and focus on social practice.

Children experience:

our original, proprietary, & FUN Art of Friendship Social-Coping Curriculum, created by founder Mike Fogel and famously used at Camp Pegasus.

reinforcement of positive/helpful social skills & behaviors

compassionate social coaching for miscues & big feelings

structured success-oriented social practice opportunities that are appropriate for each age and developmental level:

free play

group art-making or construction challenges

team building/ice breaker activities

game playing

Lego building

conversation & hanging-out practice

Successful social skills therapy always wraps around a child’s whole world: across the therapy office, home, school settings. Art of Friendship social skills therapists teach parents the weekly social skill lesson and caregivers leave each session with a photo of the poster as a reminder of the skill. We collaborate with teachers and school support staff to spread the social language across settings to ensure that your neurodiverse child can generalize the skill to their entire life.

Learning social skills to navigate the neurotypical world can be hard, and that’s why we make social skills FUN. Weekly, one-hour social skills groups are offered for young people, between the ages of 4 - 19 years, both with AND WITHOUT diagnoses such as Autism level 1, ADHD, learning differences, anxiety, & more.

We get the way your child thinks and feels. Every detail of our program supports the social skills & self-regulation needs of neurodiverse kids.

The Art of Friendship Features:

*Open-ended (not time-limited) groups foster long-term social practice, offering rolling admission & graduation

*Small group format

*Pre-admission assessment of the child’s needs, fostering placement in an appropriate peer group

*Mike Fogel’s visual & active, concrete & memorable “Art of Friendship Social-Coping Curriculum”

*The Art of Friendship’s copyrighted A.R.C.H. social-coping skills training method:

*Direct instruction in social-coping skills, Ultra-positive behavior reinforcement, Compassionate social coaching, Strategic use of rewards & consequences, as needed

*Age-appropriate curriculum & social practice activities for preschool, elementary, middle, & high school students

*Licensed professional counselors cross-trained to teach social skills AND treat emotional issues like anger management, anxiety, depression, & self-esteem

*Parent training & support

*Active collaboration with clients’ support professionals & educators

*Care and compassion for the child’s struggle & for parents’ worry

*School based social skills therapy groups in public or private schools

*Social Emotional Learning (S.E.L.) residencies can embed in your child’s entire grade to decrease conflict, bullying, & increase cooperation

Experienced with:

*Autism

*ADHD

*Learning Disabilities

*Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder

*Sensory Processing Disorder

*Expressive/Receptive Language Disorder

*Anxiety

*Depression

*Anger

*Disruptive Mood

*Dysregulation Disorder

*Trauma

*Bullying