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Social Adventures Group Program
Parent Orientation Packet
We would like to welcome you and your child to our Social Adventure Program. We have compiled
this orientation packet in an effort to provide helpful information regarding the initial trial
sessions, the roles of the leaders, group activity goals, communication with parents and
schools, documentation of progress, and management of challenging behavioral concerns.
The Social Adventure Group program is a unique group program designed to foster improved
social interaction skills in children. It is the philosophy of the group leaders that children learn
these skills best in a setting which is dynamic and responsive to the needs of each individual
group. As a result, although there are global goals which are common across the group program,
weekly activities are chosen and designed to provide the specific support needed to optimize the
interactions among members of each individual group. Each group, in essence, becomes a
community; a safe space for the individual members to “try-out” new skills. Adult support is
provided to each child at the level that they need to achieve success during each activity. As each
child comes to the group with individual strengths and challenges, each child is able to be a “peer
model” during some activities, while needing more support during others.
Through carefully chosen and designed activities, it is our mission to increase each child’s
awareness of the social world, to facilitate attention and interpretation of not only the verbal means
through which we communicate, but also the nonverbal. We strive to improve each child’s
awareness of the many levels of successful peer interaction which include initiation, maintenance
through reciprocity and termination of interactive moments.
Trial Process:
Optimal matching among group members is a priority to CTA. We believe that the most important
component to establishing a safe learning environment is to carefully place each new member with
a grouping of compatible peers. Therefore, for children who are new to the Social Adventures
program, the first 2-3 group sessions are considered a “trial” period.
At the end of the trial period, parents of children new to the group are welcome to request a
complimentary 15-30 minute meeting with the group leader/s. The purpose of this meeting is to
discuss the child’s response to the group program. If the group leaders feel the child is a good fit
for the group then the meeting is a chance for parents to discuss their goals for their child and/or to
ask any questions or share concerns that they may have about the group program at CTA with the
group leaders. If your child is not ready for group at this time, the group leaders will provide you
with suggestions for steps that will ensure your child’s readiness for group in the future.
Sometimes, the CTA Social Adventures program is not a good fit for certain children. If this is the
case for your child, your time at this meeting may be used to problem solve a more appropriate
program or better suited therapies in the community to meet your child’s needs.
Roles of Speech/Language and Occupational Therapists:
In order to meet the needs of the “whole child” within the context of a group the Social Adventure
groups at CTA are co-lead by speech language pathologists and occupational therapists. Each
discipline shares an important role in shaping the group activities and group dynamics to meet
language, motor and sensory processing needs as these concerns relate to social interactions. In
general the speech-language pathologist takes a leadership role in introducing and running
language-based activities that take place in the small, “learning room”.
During times when the speech-language pathologist is leading the group (as well as throughout the
entire group) the role of the occupational therapist is to monitor the children’s arousal level,
postural stability, and the environment, to facilitate optimal performance from each group member.
Typically the occupational therapist takes the lead during gym activities, particularly during those
activities that address self-regulation skills, body in space awareness, physical coordination for
social interactions, and higher level motor planning skills (e.g., obstacle courses, relay races,
“motor challenges”).
When one is observing a group session the roles of the leaders may not always be clear, which is
intentional on the part of the group leaders. Much time and effort goes into planning and organizing
each individual session. Therapists will often “take a backseat” and let the children take the lead
during activities. This affords the children the opportunity to practice social roles that they might not
have the opportunity to experience in other environments as well as giving them an opportunity to
practice previously taught social strategies.
Group Activity Goals:
During each weekly group your child will participate in activities that are selected by group leaders
to meet the unique needs of each group in regard to the following IMAGINE! Social Success goal
areas:
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Initiating Interactions
Maintaining Interactions
Advocating and Conflict Resolution
Getting Regulated
Interpreting Nonverbal Cues
Negotiating Space
Experiencing Humor and Idiomatic Language
Parents are welcome to observe children throughout the group. Although the leaders of the group
prepare activities in advance, it should be noted that due to the dynamic nature of the group
program at CTA, the pre-selected group activities generally serve as a guideline for goal areas to
be targeted during a specific group session, rather than a definitive plan. If for example, a clinically
appropriate spontaneous activity emerges of the children’s design, then the group leaders will veer
away from the planned activities to follow the children’s lead.
Communication with Parents and School Teams:
At CTA we value open communication with parents and school team members. We equally value
the privacy and confidentiality of information regarding the individuals. Within the context of a
group, the balance of providing parents with information about a given child’s progress while also
protecting privacy can be challenging. For this reason, we have determined that consultation at the
end of group meetings will be minimal. If the leaders feel that they need to convey general
information to all parents about a particular group meeting, then one leader will leave the group 5
minutes prior to dismissal to share with parents while the other leader runs a “wrap-up” activity. No
information specific to any one child will be shared at these times.
If you are interested in more information specific to your child, please know that you are welcome
to schedule one Parent Meeting with one or both of the leaders for 30 minutes at no additional
charge. With regard to ongoing consultation with parents, teachers, therapists, etc, you are
welcome to schedule a consultation via either phone or email. Time spent with the Group Leader
will be charged at the Consultation Rate of $100/hr. An invoice for these consultations will invoiced
at the end of each month and may be paid with the credit card number on file or by check. Please
email the leaders directly if this is something you would like to schedule. Their email addresses
can be found under the Our Team tab on our website.
Progress Notes:
Your child’s progress will be reported at the end of the entire group session via a report written
collaboratively by group leaders. You should expect to get your child’s progress report within three
weeks from the last group session.
The Social Adventures group program facilitates progress by providing your child with the “just
right” social challenge, whereby his/her skill level is pushed to expand on his/her current skill level
but not pushed so far that he/she becomes overwhelmed and cannot be successful. In order to
foster progress using the “just right challenge” philosophy group leaders utilize a system of graded
support depending on individual needs. Your child’s progress note reflects the level of support
(maximum, moderate, minimum, independent) he/she needed for progression toward goal and
objective areas.
When reviewing the progress note it is important to remember that the Social Adventures group is
highly contextualized. The level of support your child needs is relative to his/her areas of strengths
and challenges and his/her response to the unique dynamic that unfolds in individual groups. Since
social interactions and CTA group dynamics are fluid processes, your child’s progress may
fluctuate between group sessions depending on the dynamics of the children and the skill level at
which the group leaders are guiding the group process. The Social Adventures group program
strives to enable children to generalize skills learned in group to the larger community. The process
of generalization is gradual and requires collaboration on the part of group leaders, parents, care
givers, and educators.
Management of Challenging Behavioral Concerns:
Over the course of a group session, or series of sessions, we anticipate changes in a child’s
presentation within the group. On most occasions these changes are positive. It does happen,
however, that for some children, the challenges of the group activities and or the chemistry within a
group may exacerbate negative behaviors. Often the group leaders are able to manage minor
Management of Challenging Behavioral Concerns (con’t):
behavioral challenges, but on occasion, certain behaviors compromise the integrity of the
therapeutic process as well as the social-emotional health of the individual child.
In an effort to pro-actively manage concerns before they reach this level, the leaders of the group
may request a parent consultation meeting. It is through this venue that we hope to
collaboratively generate new strategies for managing the concerning behaviors. Following this
meeting, if the decision is to continue in the current group placement, a new trial period will begin in
an effort to determine one of the following:
Have the new intervention strategies been successful in returning the balance to the group
process?
● Is there another group within the CTA Social Adventure Program which might be more
appropriate for this child?
● Have the needs of the child exceeded the clinical scope of the Social Adventures
Program? Are there other group programs within the community that might be more
appropriate?
● Is there another model of intervention that might be more appropriate, such as individual
therapy, co-treatment or a dyad (therapy with just one other child), which might expedite
the child’s readiness for re-entry into the program?
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Throughout the trial period, we will also require that a parent remain on site so that they are
available should the behavioral concerns escalate. It is not possible for a group leader to leave the
group with an individual child for more than a couple of minutes to address behavioral concerns,
because the safety and therapeutic integrity of the rest of the group would be compromised.
Although we take every precaution to avoid asking a child to leave a particular group meeting, we
do reserve the right to do so if the safety of that child, another child or a group leader is in jeopardy.
Thank you for taking the time to review this packet. We look forward to working with you and your
child. If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of the above, please do not hesitate to
contact one of the leaders of your child’s group or Karen Head, group coordinator, at
(508) 650-0457.
No part of this document may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying,
without the express written consent of Children’s Therapy Associates, LLP.
Children’s Therapy Associates, L.L.P., is a multi-disciplinary private practice providing Speech-Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy,
Physical Therapy, Neuropsychology, and Literacy services to children with a variety of learning and developmental difficulties.
11 Huron Drive Natick MA
www.childrenstherapyassociates.com
508/650-0457