Monarch Club Social Skills Program

Since 2004, The Social Butterflies Club has helped children develop the social and pragmatic language skills they need to be successful in school and social settings. As these children grow older, however, they may need ongoing support accompanied by assistance with new challenges such as jobs, relationships, and learning to become independent and confident young adults.

The Monarch Club provides individuals with the next level of social skills in alignment with their unique challenges and developmental needs. Individual and group therapy will be combined to provide targeted support in a safe clinical and social environment. Each Monarch will need a screening prior to enrolling in the program. The screening will allow our providers to place him/her in the appropriate group and develop an individual plan of care.

Groups will meet weekly and will target topics such as relationships, job skills, social skills development, executive functioning, self-esteem, and much more! Group time will be supplemented with individual sessions as needed and designed to pinpoint areas of concern, discuss progress and challenges, and provide the one-on-one feedback necessary to maximize the group experience

The Monarch Club – Elementary (ages 8-11) focuses on using skills learned in our Social Butterflies Club groups in a fun, less structured environment with peers.  We will begin to explore the world of social cognition using skills such as perspective taking, making inferences, using and understanding emotions in ourselves and others, self-regulation skills, and executive functioning skills.

Activities include (but not limited to):

• Team building to develop problem solving and collaboration.
• Public speaking skills using high-interest props to develop eye contact, the tone of voice, body language, answering and asking questions, maintaining a topic, turn taking, etc.
• Sportsmanship skills using games and activities that engage executive functioning skills such as planning, organizing, and follow through.

The Monarch Club – Middle School (ages 12-16) is specifically designed for those “middle school challenges” that every child encounters. Middle School years are extremely emotional and vital as the teen begins to develop his true self. Lifelong friendships are often formed in middle school. However, many children become socially isolated in middle school as well. Our group provides individuals with the next level of social skills in alignment with their unique challenges and developmental needs. We focus heavily on learning to work together as part of a group, predicting outcomes, and thinking of others to build perspective taking and empathy.

Activities include (but not limited to):

• Team building to develop problem solving and collaboration.
• Public speaking skills using high-interest props to develop eye contact, the tone of voice, body language, answering and asking questions, maintaining a topic, turn taking, etc.
• Sportsmanship skills using games and activities that engage executive functioning skills such as planning, organizing, and follow through.

The Monarch Club – High School (ages 15-18) focus is on using social skills in life situations. High school tends to be the time most children “find themselves” and are aware of who they are and what they want. However, some children with social communication challenges can find high school extremely difficult to navigate. Social groups of “like” interests are evident and most children fit into one specific group. If a child does not feel like they “belong” to a group, they may become isolated. In addition, they may not know “how” to fit into a similar group of peers. Much of this group targets life skills and pre-vocational/vocation tasks. For example, personal relationships/dating, being part of a community and learning to collaborate with peers/coworkers on a project or in a vocational setting.

Activities include (but not limited to):

• Vocational tasks
• Team building to develop problem solving and collaboration.
• Public speaking skills using high-interest props to develop eye contact, the tone of voice, body language, answering and asking questions, maintaining a topic, turn taking, etc.
• Activities that engage executive functioning skills such as planning, organizing, and follow through.