Social language opportunities within a group setting allow kids ages 6-17 to focus on any functional needs, such as conversation skills, understanding and building relationships, self-advocacy, perspective-taking, and navigating social situations. 

Individualized instructional and practice opportunities are based on each person’s priorities and needs. Graduate student clinicians, supervised by licensed speech-language pathologists, plan and conduct the Social Climbers sessions.

Participants are grouped by age and current social communication skill level. Spots are limited, and children are chosen based on fit with other group participants. Groups are formed loosely along the following age guidelines: 6-9 years, 10-13 years, and 14-17 years.

Social Climbers is for children who:

• Have strong skills in spoken communication (e.g., speak in multiple sentences)
• Are able to attend to and participate in group activities for 90 minutes without 1:1 support
• Understand a variety of language concepts (e.g., follow multistep directions, answer questions)
• Are able to engage in instruction and discussion about social communication concepts
• Have primary challenges related to friendships and social interaction
• Wish to attend and participate, and will maintain consistent attendance

Social Climbers meet on Mondays and Wednesdays in June and July. Read more about our summer program, with instructions for registration.