In short
Social skills are the skills children use to communicate, play and connect with other people. Children with autism may learn these skills differently, and a group gives them a supported place to practice with peers. AlphaBee runs three groups for children and teens ages 3 to 18, matched by age, skills and goals. You don’t need a diagnosis to join.
- Ages 3 to 18
- No diagnosis needed
- Three groups, matched by skills
- Etobicoke, Scarborough, Hamilton
What are social skills, and why can they be harder for children with autism?
Social skills are the skills we use when communicating and interacting with other people.
They can include greeting someone, taking turns, starting a conversation, listening, sharing interests, cooperating, and navigating friendships.
Children with autism may develop these skills differently or benefit from more explicit opportunities to learn and practice them. Social interaction often involves many skills at once. A child may need to notice what another person is doing, understand what they are communicating, decide how to respond, and communicate their own thoughts or needs.
Differences in communication, sensory processing, language, attention, or perspective-taking can affect how a child experiences social situations. This does not mean a child with autism does not want friends or social connection. Children may simply communicate, play, or connect with others in different ways.
Social skills groups provide structured opportunities for children to learn, practice, and use social skills while interacting with peers.
Does social skills training work?
It can, especially when it focuses on specific skills and gives children real chances to use them.
Social skills training can provide children with autism with opportunities to learn and practice specific communication and interaction skills. Progress looks different for every child and can depend on their goals, support needs, learning environment, and opportunities to use skills across settings.
Social skills are not one single skill. A child might feel comfortable greeting familiar adults but find it difficult to approach a peer. Another child might enjoy playing with others but need support with turn-taking, conversation, or navigating disagreements.
This is why social skills programming focuses on specific skills and provides opportunities to practice them in meaningful situations.
At AlphaBee, teaching may include modelling, guided practice, prompting, feedback, and opportunities to try a skill again through games, discussions, play, and peer interaction. The goal is to help children build skills they can use to communicate, participate, and connect with others.
What happens in a social skills group?
Social skills groups give children opportunities to learn and practice communication, cooperation, play, and friendship skills with peers.
At AlphaBee, groups follow a structured social skills curriculum and use activities that make social learning practical and engaging. Activities may include games, crafts, science experiments, guided discussions, problem-solving, and supported peer interaction.
AlphaBee’s social skills program includes three groups. Children are matched based on factors such as their age, current skills, social goals, and support needs.
Little Buddies
Little Buddies focuses on foundational social skills, including requesting, responding to peers’ requests, sharing, turn-taking, basic conversation skills, and rules of interaction.
The group also includes opportunities to practice play and positive peer interactions, as well as transitioning between classroom activities.
Fun With Friends
Fun With Friends focuses on fundamental conversation skills, including asking peers questions and responding to questions. Children also work on non-verbal aspects of conversation, such as using gestures, maintaining appropriate distance, and using an appropriate volume and tone of voice.
The group includes opportunities to practice play, cooperation, and conversation through interactive motor games and board games.
Operation Cooperation
Operation Cooperation focuses on more advanced conversation and social problem-solving skills, including reading facial expressions, detecting sarcasm, and understanding metaphors.
Children also practice cooperation, decision-making, and problem-solving through structured activities, interactive motor games, and board games.
Each group uses activities suited to the age and skill level of the children participating.
How is a group different from one-to-one therapy?
A group is built around practicing with other children, matched by age, skills and goals.
One-to-one therapy focuses on your child’s own goals with an Instructor Therapist, across areas like communication, self-help, academics and social skills. Where other children are available, we can also run small social groups during one-to-one sessions.
A social skills group directly targets social and group skills and adds opportunities to practice communication and interaction with other children.
For example, a child might learn how to ask a question during individualised teaching and then practice asking and answering questions with a peer.
Groups can provide opportunities to practice:
- Taking turns and cooperating
- Starting and responding to conversations
- Joining activities
- Participating in shared play
- Problem-solving with others
- Navigating different social situations
Both individual and group services can play a role depending on a child’s goals and support needs.
What age should my child start?
There is no single age when every child should start social skills programming.
Children can learn social communication skills early, with the focus changing as their communication, play, and social needs develop. AlphaBee offers social skills programming for children and teens ages 3 to 18, with group placement based on age, skills, social goals, and support needs.
For younger children, social learning may focus on play, communication, greetings, sharing, joint activities, and simple turn-taking.
As children get older, goals may include starting and maintaining conversations, joining peer activities, navigating friendship situations, solving problems together, communicating boundaries, and responding to different social situations.
Instead of waiting for a particular age, consider what your child is currently able to do, what they would like to do with other children, and what types of social learning opportunities would be useful for them.
Do we need a diagnosis to join a group?
No. A diagnosis is not required to participate in AlphaBee social skills programming.
Group placement and eligibility depend on the specific program, the child’s age, current skills, social goals, and support needs.
Families can complete a Social Skills Questionnaire with AlphaBee to provide information about their child’s communication, play, social skills, and current support needs. This helps the team determine which group may be an appropriate match.
If a group is not currently the right fit, another service may be recommended to support specific skills before revisiting group programming. Placement can also change as a child develops new skills and their social learning needs change.
The goal is to create a supportive environment where children can participate, communicate, practice meaningful skills, and connect with peers.
How do I practice social skills at home?
Everyday routines provide many opportunities to practice social skills without turning family time into a formal lesson.
Choose situations that naturally occur and focus on skills that are useful and meaningful for your child. Turn-taking, greetings, and conversations can be practiced during play, meals, errands, games, and family activities.
Turn-taking
Turn-taking can be practiced during board games, building activities, cooking, sports, or other activities your child enjoys.
Try simple phrases such as:
- “My turn.”
- “Your turn.”
- “Who goes next?”
- “I’ll wait while you have your turn.”
Start with activities that are motivating for your child and keep the number of turns manageable. Gradually increase the amount of waiting or the number of turns as your child becomes more comfortable.
Greetings
Practice greetings naturally when someone arrives, leaves, or joins an activity. You can model different ways of acknowledging someone, such as saying “Hi,” saying someone’s name, or waving.
The goal does not need to be one specific type of greeting. Different children may prefer different ways of communicating, and a supportive approach allows for those differences.
Starting and holding a conversation
Use your child’s interests as a starting point for conversation. You might ask about something they did that day or comment on an activity they are already enjoying.
You can practice:
- Asking a question
- Listening to the response
- Making a related comment
- Asking another question
- Changing topics when the conversation naturally comes to an end
For example:
Parent: “What did you do at school today?”
Child: “We played soccer.”
Parent: “You played soccer! What position did you play?”
Child: “Goalie.”
Parent: “That sounds fun. Did your team score?”
The focus is on building a back-and-forth interaction, with room for your child’s own words.
Are we teaching my child to mask?
No. Social skills teaching gives your child more ways to communicate and connect, without asking them to change who they are.
The goal is to support meaningful communication, connection, participation, and self-advocacy while respecting each child’s own communication style and individual differences.
Masking can involve hiding or suppressing natural ways of communicating or regulating to meet perceived social expectations. Social skills support can instead give children additional ways to communicate, participate, and navigate social situations.
For example, teaching a child how to communicate that they want to join a game can provide another way to connect with peers without requiring them to change who they are.
A supportive approach can also include respecting personal boundaries, recognising different communication styles, providing choices, and considering what makes social situations more accessible. Social learning should support connection and participation on your child’s terms.
Where does AlphaBee run social skills groups?
AlphaBee offers social skills groups in Etobicoke, Scarborough, and Hamilton for children and teens ages 3 to 18.
Groups run when enough children enrol, so which groups are running can vary by centre and term.
If you are considering social skills programming for your child, AlphaBee can help you determine which group may be an appropriate match.
When should I ask for help?
It’s worth reaching out if:
- Your child wants to play with other children but isn’t sure how to join in.
- Conversations with peers are hard to start or keep going.
- Busy social settings, like school or birthday parties, feel overwhelming for your child.
- You have questions about your child’s friendships and you’re not sure where to start.
At AlphaBee, our intake team gets to know your family first and sends you a short Social Skills Questionnaire. A Clinical Supervisor reviews it and recommends the group or service that fits best.