Social Communication Group Therapy Services
Teaching social communication/play skills to children in a fun, structured environment
SBC teaches social communication/play skills to children in a fun, structured environment. The unique structure of our program also develops speech, language, fine motor, gross motor, and social/play skills. We have been providing services to the Hampton Roads area since 2004.
Children with social communication disorders/delayed social skills are a diverse population. Some may have speech-language delays, gross-fine motor delays, cognitive delays, ADHD/ADD, autism spectrum disorders (ASD), or delayed development in the area of play skills resulting from limited opportunities to interact with other children.
We use therapeutic methods combined with a specialized curriculum in our social groups. Our lead therapists are certified Speech-Language Pathologists or Occupational Therapists who have been trained in the Social Butterflies Club program along with other therapy methods such as sensory integration. All of our assistants are also trained in the program for continuity of services provided to the children. Learn more about our program and the enrollment process below.
Is your child a SBC candidate?
Answer these questions below to find out if the Social Butterflies Club® group is right for your child.
- Does your child have difficulty asking and/or answering questions? (How do you make a sandwich? What did you do in school today?)
- Does your child have difficulty making friends because he/she prefers to play alone or does not like to share with others?
- Does your child “get stuck” on one topic or type of toy? (Cars, trains, specific movies)
- Does your child have difficulty taking turns with others? (In activities or in conversation)
- Does your child walk around the perimeter of the playground or prefer to play in the sandbox?
- Does your child have difficulty in the classroom setting and following the rules of the class? (Participating in activities, sitting in circle time, standing in line)
- Does your child have difficulty in the classroom setting because he/she pushes other children when standing in line or on the playground?
- Does your child have difficulty in the classroom setting because he/she cannot follow directions?
If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions, your child may benefit from SBC.
PLEASE NOTE that we are NOT able to accommodate the following behaviors if they are not being addressed by a behavioral professional: elopement, hitting, kicking, biting, spitting, destruction of property, or harmful behaviors to self or others. We understand that these behaviors do impact social interactions, however before we can work on social communication the behaviors will need to be addressed BEFORE the child begins our program. We are happy to refer to a local behavioral specialist if the behaviors are not being currently addressed.
Frequently Asked Questions
We have found in treating many children with Anxiety, ASD, ADD/ADHD and speech/language disorders that social communication skills are greatly delayed. Social communication skills are the foundation to language skills. These skills are developed early on starting from infancy. However, just as some children require expressive language therapy some children need to be taught social communication skills. We have found great success in group therapy as it facilitates a naturalistic environment to learn how to interact and respond to children. We also incorporate therapy in actual social situations too, since these are the settings that children will require their social knowledge.
The groups are developed for any child at risk for a social communication skills delay: mild to severe and/or any child who has difficulty interacting with peers, responding to social cues, or using language to navigate through their environment effectively.
Group objectives incorporate social communication skills which include but are not limited to: visual referencing, turn-taking, requesting information/objects, answering/asking wh- questions, responding to greeting/salutations, following directions, recognizing verbal and nonverbal social cues, predicting social responses, problem-solving, predicting outcomes, maintaining a topic, executive function skills and emotional understanding/expression .
The process for enrollment starts with an initial assessment of the referred child in order to accurately determine the child’s social communication abilities (ie strengths and weaknesses). This assessment may include formal and informal testing instruments. Upon completion of the assessment, we place the child within the appropriate group. This placement will be based on social communication skills. Please keep in mind that this level may be different from the child’s age level.
There are now several categories and levels of social groups:
- BLUE BUTTERFLIES – basic skills
- RED BUTTERFLIES- intermediate skills
- GREEN BUTTERFLIES – advanced skills
- Specialty groups – MONARCH CLUB for adolescents-teens, LITTLE LADIES for girls, SELF REGULATION group, and SENSORY MOTOR SOCIAL GROUP
These groups are arranged according to the general level of ability rather than a chronological age. Groups will not be any larger than 10 children or smaller than 3 children. Each session includes activities which were designed according to a theme or unit. These activities are constructed using: social lessons, board games, role-playing, manipulatives, reinforcers, and community outings (which may incur a small fee).
The groups meet once a week for an hour. Our year is divided into 4 semesters. Each semester is typically 11-13 weeks. At the end of each semester, a progress note is provided for each client based on their target goals developed during the initial assessment.
The cost varies per semester depending on how many weeks are in a semester ($65.00 per week).
Summer Camps are $400.00 per week (4 consecutive days for 2 hours per day).
There is a one-time fee of $95.00 for the initial social communication assessment.
We offer a sliding scale for those families that qualify. We offer a Military Discount for active duty military families. Please contact our office manager, Barbara, at bdeldonna@socialbutterfliesclub.com for the sliding scale application.
Due to our limited number of spaces, we ask that tuition be paid in advance .
For your convenience we accept monthly tuition installments due the 1st day of the month (no discount).
We can not pro-rate or credit tuition for missed classes.
Although some insurance policies cover speech-language therapy, it is on an individual basis for a medical necessity only. Our social communication group services are deemed “developmental” in nature by insurance companies and are typically not covered by plans.
We have kept the cost of each session to around the same price as a co-payment. (In fact, our hourly session are often LESS than many insurance specialist co-pays.)
However, we are happy to provide you with any information needed to use your health flex spending/health savings accounts for payment of groups.