Social Skills Australia
We help adolescents, young adults and adults with autism, ADHD and social challenges to make friends and succeed socially.
upcoming Programs
Our Programs
Adolescent Program
(13-17 yrs)
- Conversational skills.
- Make & keep friends.
- Handling rejection and disagreements.
- Handling teasing & bullying.
Young Adult Program
(18-30 yrs)
- Everything in the adolescent program.
- Letting someone know you like them & going on dates.
- Online dating & handling dating pressure.
[NEW]
Adult Program
30 yrs++
- Everything in the young adult program.
- Hosting successful get-togethers.
- Changing your reputation.
testimonials
What participants say.
Challenges
Does your family face these challenges?
Are you concerned your adolescent or young adult is having issues with:
- Making friends: Are you concerned your adolescent or young adult doesn't seem to have many friends and is missing out on invitations to parties?
- Bullying: Are you worried your adolescent or young adult is depressed or anxious or getting bullied at school?
- Changing schools Do you find yourself thinking about changing schools or homeschooling?
- Keeping friends: Has your teen or young adult stopped trying to make or keep friends because it doesn't seem to work and they don't know why?
- Too much gaming: Is your teen or young adult online or gaming too much?
- Attending school: Is your adolescent or young adult isolating and starting to refuse to go to school?
Extra Support
Autism, anxiety, and social challenges can make life hard for adolescents and young adults and often families need some extra support.
We are here to help!
Social Skills
Research shows improving social skills and having even just 1-2 close friendships can:
- Increase self-esteem, confidence and independence
- Decrease the likelihood of depression and anxiety linked to loneliness
- Minimise the occurrence of bullying.
The PEERS® Program is a proven, internationally-acclaimed, research-based social skills course designed SPECIFICALLY for adolescents, young adults and adults on the autism spectrum or with social challenges. It works!
about The Coach
Hi, I'm
Christine O'Leary,
and I'm a Social Coach
I’m a fellow parent of adolescents with social challenges myself - and I’m here to help!
I help adolescents and young adults with autism, ADHD and other social challenges to make and keep friends and learn important social skills through relaxed and fun small group sessions, both online and in person.
Certified
PEERS® Provider
- Completed the UCLA Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills in the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behaviour at UCLA.
- Certified PEERS® Provider.
Communication & Public Relations Specialist
- Specialised skills and advanced knowledge in the communications, media and creative industries.
- Bachelor of Business Administration, GradDip Communication, PR, Advertising, & Applied Communication.
Parenting Support & Consulting
- Specialising in supporting both individuals and organisations to communicate effectively with others.
- University-trained and post-graduate qualified communications professional passionate about helping people to communicate well.
Social Skills
We’re excited to work with you or your loved one to achieve your family goals!
Social SkillS
Why PEERS®
I first discovered PEERS® when my own son asked for help with learning social skills, and he and I completed the PEERS® course with me as his social skills coach.
The difference for my son has been profound, and since then, I’ve had many parents ask me about social skills training for adolescents. I know what it’s like to have a child who finds it hard to make and keep friends, feels socially awkward and is beginning to isolate, and is vulnerable to bullying, depression and anxiety. I know that, as a parent, it can be really worrying. And it can be hard to know what to do as there are very few support programs out there for teenagers.
Today, I'm so happy to say that my son is a happy, confident and articulate young man. He has a beautiful group of friends around him, he’s thriving at school, his wonderful sense of humour is shining through, he’s started playing team sports, and he has recently started a part-time job that fits around his studies. His teachers often tell me how wonderful he is doing at school and the positive changes they have seen in him.
I’ve seen for myself the difference this program can make, and my passion is to share everything I’ve learned with other families.
Having completed the PEERS® program with my son and the PEERS® Certified Provider training through the University of California, I KNOW that social skills can be explicitly taught - and learned. And having these skills in their toolkit makes all the difference for these teens.
I value the uniqueness of each individual and draw on a strengths-based and adolescent-centred approach in our small-group sessions, which are warm, respectful, relaxed and inclusive. I have more than 28 years of experience as a communications specialist, and I’ve spent much of my career in the not-for-profit, education and disability sectors - and I’m a mum of adolescents on the autism spectrum myself. I bring all that combined knowledge and experience to every session and every teen I have the honour to work with. And most of all - we have FUN! It’s true! Learning social skills is actually SO much fun.
I look forward to the opportunity to help your adolescents flourish as the beautiful individual they are so they can live their best life - with some extra social skills in their toolkit that they can use should they choose to.
Get in touch! I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
Christine O’Leary
Certified PEERS® Provider & Social Skills Coach
about Peers
Where does PEERS come from?
Dr Elizabeth Laugeson, developed PEERS®
An Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioural Sciences at UCLA (University of California) Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behaviour.
More than x30 peer-reviewed studies demonstrate the efficacy of this course - with adolescents consistently showing improvement on every measure of social skills and social engagement - as well as reduced problem behaviours, related social difficulties and social anxiety.
The gains are maintained well after the course has ended - a finding attributed to the involvement of a social coach, which can be a parent, another family member, a teacher or a support worker.
For more information on PEERS®, check out this video by the Founder and Director of the UCLA PEERS® Clinic and the developer of PEERS®, Dr Elizabeth Laugeson.
PEERS® & NDIS Participants.
The PEERS® Program suits most NDIS Plans.NDIS funding can be used if your family is self-managed or plan-managed.
NDIS Information:
*NOTE: It is important to check your own individual funding options.
The investment
NDIS and Costs.
Adolescent
Program
The investment to participate in the Adolescent Program is $165 per week
(including GST)
- Intake interviews
- 90 min adolescents skill development session per week
- 90 min parent/support worker coaching session per week
- PEERS® App
- Weekly handouts/practice at home materials
- Incentive prizes each week
- Support throughout the 16-week program
Total Investment:
$2,640
16-week program: $165 x 16 weeks
Total investment for the entire program (includes everything) = $2,640
A payment plan is available for non-NDIS participants.
Young Adult
Program
The investment to participate in the Young Adult Program is $165 per week (including GST)
- Intake interviews
- 90 min young adult skill development session per week
- 90 min parent/support worker coaching session per week
- PEERS® App
- Weekly handouts/practice at home materials
- Support throughout the 16-week program
Total Investment:
$2,640
16-week program: $165 x 16 weeks
Total investment for the entire program (includes everything) = $2,640
A payment plan is available for non-NDIS participants.
Adult 30+
Program
The investment to participate in the Adult Program is $154 per week (including GST)
- Intake interviews
- 60 min adult participant skill development session per week
- 60 min adult participant behaviour rehearsal and direct coaching session per week
- Weekly handouts / practice at home materials
- Support throughout the 10-week program.
Total Investment:
$1,540
10-week program: $154 x 10 weeks
Total investment for the entire program (includes everything) =$1,540 (incl GST)
A payment plan is available for non-NDIS participants.
we got answers
Frequently asked questions.
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The PEERS® for Adolescents Program is designed specifically for adolescents aged 13-17 years, the PEERS for Young Adults Program is designed for adults 18-30 years and the Adult Program is for adults aged 30+ years.
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Yes, PEERS® is usually covered by the NDIS. We can accept self-managed and plan-managed NDIS packages. We are not a registered NDIS provider, so we cannot accept NDIA-managed plans. For more, visit the NDIS and Costs page of our website.
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Yes, you can certainly pay privately for PEERS if you don't have NDIS funding.
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Absolutely. Many of our PEERS® participants also have anxiety, and we ensure we provide a safe, inclusive space so that everyone can participate as best they can on any given day. We have ample opportunities to make accommodations for everyone so they can participate at a comfortable level while still ensuring new skills are being learnt. We are very experienced and adept at working with adolescents with anxiety.
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No. Our research shows that the teens’ experience with the PEERS® program is greatly improved through parent participation. However, if you can’t make every parent coaching session - or another family member or support worker needs to fill in for you - we will also make that work.