Preschool | School Age Children | High School | How to Begin

Our social skills groups run throughout the school year. Each weekly session is one hour in length and has a maximum of six participants facilitated by two therapists.

The groups are designed to help children with social issues related to diagnosis such as, but not limited to, ADD/ADHD, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, Non-Verbal Learning Disability and Sensory Integration Disorder, gifted and talented children with a discrepancy between extremely high cognitive functioning and psycho/emotional immaturity. Many of the children mentioned above experience emotional stresses that affect their social functioning.

In our efforts to expand this understanding to everyone in the child’s world we offer parent coaching, along with support and psycho-educational assistance for siblings. As practitioners who see these children in a small, safe environment with their peers, we often have important information that we are pleased to share with other professionals and school personnel.

Communication with parents is a key component of our groups. We offer a parent support group to give feedback, answer questions, and link parents with each other. In addition we set up a one hour parent conference during the year to discuss progress, get feedback from parents, and solidify goals for each child.  

Download our brochure to read all about KidsLink, its programs and philosophy.

Workshops are also conducted for teachers in schools and institutions helping challenging children. Click the icons to download brochures for more information on the training workshops we run:

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The most important part of the preschool years is learning how to get along with others. Three-to-five year olds are constantly learning lessons about what is acceptable behaviour among peers. At KidsLink we help the children understand the positive and negative consequences of different actions or behaviours. Among other things the therapist provides feedback, interprets facial cues and body language, corrects misinterpretations and uses positive reinforcement for all socially appropriate behaviours. Using play and simple art activities, the focus of the group is to build communication, empathy, relationships, cooperation and respect for others.

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The groups are begun with children asking each other about “how their week was”. Then a group activity that promotes contact, positive interactions and working together takes place. These groups are generally broken into two segments. During the first half a structured activity is offered to address self-expression and group cooperation. The second half of the group is designed as “free play” time. This looser structure gives the therapists the opportunity to observe the children initiate play, resolve conflict, and transition away from play. During this time the therapists give feedback and step in when conflict occurs or if a child is isolating. When children engage in appropriate social behaviours, specific positive feedback and encouragement serve as reinforcement. The groups for elementary school children are facilitated in a more structured manner.
When children are in year 6 we focus on readiness for high school and developing greater flexibility to deal with the many changes that they will face socially upon starting high school.

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High School is a challenging time socially for teens. As they navigate through physical growth and emotional ups and downs they are faced with greater academic expectations and social demands. Peer groups become far more important in regards to social standing and identity. “Where do I belong?” and “Do I fit in here?” This is a far more complex and confusing time regarding self identity as an individual and as a group member.
At KidsLink the teens have a ready-made group of peers where they can feel safe to explore these issues. Bullying, popularity, sexuality, changing bodies and emotional mood swings are all addressed.

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We conduct a one hour interview to give your family an opportunity to meet us, see the physical space where the groups take place and address any concerns you have. It also gives us the opportunity to assess your child’s needs and determine which of our groups best “fit”. We can be reached by calling us on 0414 452 177.

Cost: The fee for the 9 week social skills groups is $700 and this includes a one hour meeting with each child's parents to discuss and evaluate the progress of their child. This will be held in the second part of the 9 weeks.