Presented by Melissa Dubie, M.S., or Betty Lou Rowe, M.Ed., Educational Consultants, Indiana Resource Center for Autism
Virtual Social Skills Summer Camp for Middle or High School Students Utilizing PEERS® School-Based Model
Overview
PEERS® is a world-renowned evidence-based social skills curriculum for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, depression, and other socio-emotional problems. It was first developed at UCLA by PEERS® Clinical director, Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson. Melissa and Betty Lou were trained by Dr. Laugeson and became PEERS® certified trainers in 2019. With the generous support of AWS Foundation in Fort Wayne, Indiana they piloted a project in which they taught groups of individuals from 7th-12th grade via Zoom. The curriculum focus is on creating and maintaining friendships. The topics may include two-way conversation skills, choosing appropriate friends, appropriate use of jokes, good sportsmanship, get-togethers, and handling disagreements.
Topics covered depend upon the number of weeks student chooses to attend. The training will include didactic instruction, PowerPoints, small group practice in breakout rooms, instruction for get-togethers outside of class, video role plays and a pre/post survey. In addition, there is a one hour a week meeting with caregivers to coach on assisting their teen on applying skills outside of the social skills group.
Who Should Attend
Middle school (grades 6-8 in fall, 2023) or high school (grades 9-12 in fall, 2023) students identified with an autism spectrum disorder, learning disability, or who have social skills challenges related to making and keeping friendships.
Summer Camp Dates
June 19-23, 2023, grades 6-8
- 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (EDT) Monday - Friday (Taught by Betty Lou Rowe)
- Topics: Through didactic lessons, modeling, videos, and practice, participants will engage in the steps for trading information and two-way conversation, including starting, maintaining, and ending individual conversations with middle school age students. We will also review electronic communication, such as texting, phone calls, and voicemail.
July 10-14, 2023, grades 6-8
- 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (EDT) Monday - Friday (Taught by Betty Lou Rowe)
- Topics: 2-Way Conversation in a Different Way – Strengthening conversation skills is key to developing peer relationships. In this session, we will use the framework of didactic lessons, modeling, videos, and practice to explore components of two-conversation including using humor, good sportsmanship, content of video games, ways to interact with peers using interests, and increasing flexibility to try something new. We will also include two-way conversations pertaining to school-focused interactions.
June 26-30, 2023, grades 9-12
- 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (EDT) Monday - Friday (Taught by Melissa Dubie)
- Topics: Through didactic lessons, modeling, viewing video examples and practice, participants will engage in the steps for trading information and two-way conversation, including starting, maintaining, and ending individual conversations when making friends. We will also learn the rules of texting, phone calls, and voicemail with classmates by arranging get-togethers on virtual platform.
July 17-21, 2023, grades 9-12
- 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (EDT) Monday - Friday (Taught by Melissa Dubie)
- Topics: During this camp, teens will learn to apply conversation skills related to trading information, asking open ended questions with follow up questions to find a common interest with conversation partner whether at school, work, or in the community. While navigating these social situations, there will be differing opinions on topics, miscommunication and perhaps arguments; by utilizing didactic lessons, visuals, videos, and practice steps (e.g., respecting self, listening, and learning to compromise) teens will learn ways to handle disagreements. Additionally, teens will learn the rules to safely communicate on social media platforms (e.g., understand public spaces, identify information share online, and ways to be cautious).
Summer Camp Requirements
- Each camp needs a minimum of 6 students and a maximum of 12.
- Online camp will be Monday-Friday for 5 days from 9:00-12:00 (ET)
- Students will be expected to meet each afternoon with a student(s) from camp to practice the skills learned in the morning. During the practice the pair will record the session and share with Betty Lou or Melissa to review.
- On Wednesdays, there will be a parent/guardian meeting in the afternoon. Time will be determined by availability.
- Student must be able to stay engaged throughout the camp by being able to have a two-way conversation, speak in complete sentences, and ask and answer questions on the virtual platform.
- Instructors will meet with parent/guardian and student prior to the first camp day to get to know the student’s social skills abilities and challenges.
- Must be able to download a virtual platform to socially get together away from the PEERS class (e.g., Zoom or House Party app)
Cost & Registration
Note each camp is one week. You can choose to sign up for one week or two weeks for middle school or high school age.
- 1 week is $250.00
- 2 weeks is $400.00
- All registrations are processed online by Indiana University (IU) Conferences. You may pay with a credit card, check, or purchase order. All registrations are final. No money will be refunded unless the camp is canceled due to not meeting participant minimum.
- To access the Zoom meetings, a link will be sent to the email you use to register.
- Please note – This is a virtual camp that uses the Zoom webinar platform so you will need a laptop, tablet, or smartphone to access it.
Additional Information
If you have questions about the workshop content, please contact Melissa Dubie at mdubie@indiana.edu or Betty Lou Rowe at bettrowe@iu.edu. Registration payment questions should be directed to IU Conferences at 800-833-9330 or to Melissa Kocias at iuconfs@indiana.edu.
For information on Consumer Education Funds for family members or individuals with disabilities in Indiana, see the Indiana Governor's Planning Council for Persons with Disabilities website: https://www.in.gov/gcpd/consumer-education-fund/ or call 317-232-7770.
The Indiana Institute on Disability and Community is committed to providing equal access to this event for all participants. Live transcript will be available during the training. If you have a request for alternative formats or other accommodations, please contact Claire Tafoya at ircaconf@indiana.edu with your request 3 weeks in advance.