In 2003, researchers Frankel and Myatt developed a social skills intervention for children in grades 2 to 7. The PEERS intervention is an extension of this program.
-To keep the level of anxiety down among all participants, teens were told that they would not be required to share personal experiences or be forced to participate in role-playing or other activities with which they felt uncomfortable
-This was a huge relief to my son and to me since we were both worried about being put on the spot and having to share our feelings
-The groups were really solution based. Instead of having teens talk about ways they had been bullied in the past, the teens were given strategies to handle teasing or bullying to reduce the likelihood of repeated abuse. How proactive is that?!
My best friend's son struggles with the challenges of ASD and I have noticed his discomfort with sharing personal feelings. I will have to share this blog with her and see if she can encourage the school he attends to implement this program. I love that in the groups they were discussing solutions and not just rehashing past bad experiences with bullies. I hope more can be done for teens in the future. Thanks for the info!
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