Lincoln Land Community College Community Education is offering a new course, the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Social Skills (PEERS©), on Tuesdays, Aug. 20-Dec.10, 6-8 p.m. The program is designed for young adults, ages 18 to 30, with autism spectrum disorders and other social challenges.
A free information session about the program will be held on Tuesday, June 18 at 6 p.m. in the Trutter Center on the LLCC-Springfield campus, 5250 Shepherd Road. To register for the information session and view class details, visitwww.llcc.edu/peers-social-skills-program.
The cost of the program is $995 (includes student and social coach). Payment plans are available. Class size is limited. Registrations must be made in person. Call 217-786-2432 to schedule a registration appointment.
Topics of instruction include conversational skills, strategies for handling peer pressure, appropriate use of humor, electronic communication, group conversational skills, good sportsmanship, planning get-togethers with friends, dating etiquette and handling teasing, bullying, arguments and disagreements.
The PEERS® program emphasizes practice with close guidance and helps parents and other allies to provide effective support for developing social skills. To promote day-to-day application of the skills learned in this program, social coaches are required to participate in the program alongside each student. A social coach may be a family member, life coach, friend, partner, peer mentor, counselor or any other person involved in the student’s social life. Each week during the program, the young adults will meet both together and separately from the social coaches, each learning relevant skills to complement each other.
The program will be led by Jenn Frakes, M.A., Board Certified Behavior Analyst (B.C.B.A.), president-elect of the Illinois Association of Behavior Analysis, board member of The Adult Autism Group (TAAG) and sponsor of the Illinois Autism Insurance Coalition. Assisting Frakes will be Mary Pelich-Kelly, M.S., autism consultant and trainer.
