For the last three years, the Seaver Autism Center has offered clinical social skills groups at The Mount Sinai Hospital. These groups are free of charge to families, thanks to generous grant donations from RVC Blue Speaks.
The Seaver Center provides hundreds of free autism-focused diagnostic evaluations each year in the context of research studies. In many cases, Seaver Center clinicians recommend social skills interventions to families.
Jessica Zweifach, PhD
“We are proud to be able to offer this critical support within our own Center,” says Jessica Zweifach, PhD, the social skills group therapist.
“Social skills groups are a place for children on the spectrum to learn and practice social skills with peers.”
In a Q&A, Dr. Zweifach, licensed clinical psychologist, Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Assistant Clinical Professor, Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explains what a social skills curriculum offers and how these help families, including beyond the clinic setting.
“In addition to learning social communication skills, families involved in our group have told us that they have made lasting connections with the other participating families, which have continued outside of the group,” she says.
She adds, “We want all families of children on the spectrum to have access to excellent care, and we feel lucky to get to work with so many amazing families.”
What is the social skills curriculum?
Seaver clinicians host Seaver NETT (Nonverbal communication, Emotion recognition, and Theory of mind Training) social skills groups. Seaver NETT is a 12-week cognitive-behavioral intervention, which was developed by clinicians at the Seaver Autism Center. The program has evidence that shows improvement in the presenting challenges of those who participate in this manualized social skills protocol;: A randomized comparative trial showed participants who received the NETT intervention displayed significant improvements in social behavior outcomes, including nonverbal communication, empathic responding, and social relations. We also recently added an extension to the NETT group, so that families could continue learning together.
What happens in the Seaver NETT Social Skills Group?
The Seaver Autism Center recruits small groups of children and their parents to engage in the Seaver NETT social skills program annually. Children and parents meet in separate groups, with overlapping intervention goals. Topics include, conversational skills; how to pick up and read social cues; perspective-taking skills; ways to engage and develop friendships with peers; and other relevant skills to enhance social understanding and skills.
How have the Seaver NETT social skills groups helped families?
The Center has received very positive feedback from families who participated in the Seaver NETT groups. Many families expressed interest in continuing to come to the Seaver Center for social skills groups at the conclusion of the intervention.
To continue working with these families, past and current clinicians at the Seaver Center developed additional social skills lessons—guided directly by family feedback—and extended the program to meet the specific needs of these children and families who wanted to continue in the group. The families were thrilled for this opportunity. One mother said her child has been waiting to join the Social Skills group at the Seaver Center again. She said her child felt understood and validated and that the curriculum in the groups was comprehensive, organized, and allowed the child to learn regulation skills.
Review from participating parent: “The curriculum and practice exercises from this group should be implemented in schools because it helps our children regulate their emotions, understand themselves and others and find better ways of communicating”
Clinicians at the Seaver Center are very grateful to have funding for social skills groups, so they can provide interventions for autistic individuals in the community regardless of whether they are able to pay for services.
Being able to lead social skills groups that are free of charge to families has been incredibly meaningful to all of us at Seaver.