WELCOME TO
PEERS® Dorset
An Evidenced-Based
Social Skills Program for Teens and Young Adults, based on Science
Now enrolling for Teen and Young Adult groups in Autumn 2023!
PEERS is a weekly course, following school Term Times, with a break for half term. The course will run between 12 - 14 weeks.
List of Program Content
What You Will Learn:
How to use appropriate conversational skills
How to use appropriate conversational skills
How to recognise and adhere to boundaries
How to find common interests by trading information
How to choose and make appropriate good quality friends
How to remove yourself from toxic friendships and relationships
How to accept who you are, help others to accept you and be at ease with who you are
How to be happy and positive
How to appropriately use humour
How to enter and exit conversations between peers
How to handle rejection, teasing, and bullying
How to handle rumours and gossip
How to be a good host during get togethers
How to make phone calls and navigating other electronic communication with friends
How to be a good sport
How to succeed in schools and the work environment
How to handle arguments and disagreements
How to change a bad reputation
How to plan and enjoy holidays, whether single or with family and friends
Dating etiquette and do's and don'ts (Young Adult Group curriculum)
Other issues that PEERS clients want to talk about, concerns they have and topics that come up during sessions.
PEERS® (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) was developed at the University of California, Los Angeles. The group was created to be a parent-assisted social skills training for youth and young adults on the Autistic Spectrum, those with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Social Communication Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, and the twice exceptional persons with social impairments.
The group is tailored for teens and young adults who are motivated to learn the ecologically valid skills (or what people who are socially accepted naturally do) that are proven to improve their abilities to make and keep friends.
Parental participation is a key component of our PEERS® program. Research shows that parental support, instruction, and supervision significantly benefit the development of friendships. Parent groups are run as well at designated times.
Among the few social skills programs that exist, the vast majority do not provide evidence to support their claims of improving social skills, nor do they provide parent assistance. To date, the only known research-supported social skills program available for teens and young adults with ASD and other social challenges is PEERS®.
“I used to think people didn’t like me. Nobody wanted to talk to me at my old school. I tried to make friends at first… but I didn’t know I was doing it wrong. I didn’t know what to say. I’d kind of stand there and they wouldn’t say anything, …and they’d look at me like I was weird. Then I just stopped trying. I used to cry about it, too. But now I know how to talk to people. I just find stuff that we like and talk about that. Like when they were talking about Twilight that day, I was like, ‘I can talk about that.’ So I did…and then they starting asking me questions. Now I know that’s how it works…that’s how you make friends.”
From the book The Science of Making Friends.
A socially anxious 14 year-old who completed a PEERS® course.
Testimonials
"D is doing really well. I think the PEERS work really did a lot for him. He is more confident and makes plans with others. He even went to Homecoming at another school with 4 friends this fall. He had a great time. It was so awesome because at a dance in 8th grade, he had a panic attack."
A parent of a teen who graduated from a PEERS® course.
"Also a big WIN for G, as yesterday he rode his bike for hours in the neighborhoods around where we are living in the USA. A boy said hi as he was riding by and.... drumroll.... G stopped and had a conversation with him! He told me the boys name was J, he’ll be going to G's school next year in the same grade and also likes Rubik's cubes. I asked him what he would have done last summer if a boy said hi as he was riding by and G said he would have kept looking straight ahead and rode faster to get away. This demonstrates how much he gained from PEERS! THANK YOU! I was thrilled when he told me, especially because it seemed normal to him now and wasn’t a big deal!"
A parent of a teen who graduated from a PEERS® course.
Now Enrolling for August / September Groups
PEERS® Dorset Pre- & Post-Testing show fantastic results!
Teen Groups are typically held on either Wednesdays or Thursdays from 6:00 to 7:30pm
Young Adult Groups are typically held on Tuesdays from 6:00 to 7:30pm