Welcome to Linwood
Social Skills & Counseling Services

Social Skills

The focus of this program is to provide a strong foundation of concepts that are required for social success. Skills are taught through both direct teaching of concepts and real-time practice in activities planned in the group.

Our social skills programs offers kids an opportunity to learn and practice social interactions within a group of peers. With group offerings spanning from Pre-School to High School. The skills targeted vary from basic greetings and responses, unspoken rules, behavioral self-regulation, to independently navigating social situations. A variety of teaching strategies are used including direct teaching and practicing a specific skill to natural environment teaching addressing deficits as they occur.

Counseling

Cognitive and behavioral counseling services are offered at Interactive Kids. Eligible clients include children and young adults with emotional and behavioral difficulties associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Depression/Mood Disorders, and Anxiety Disorders. Services offered may include individual, family, and/or group therapy. Treatment will focus on the individual needs of each client. Common areas of focus in treatment include, but are not limited to treatment planning, social skills, parent training, cognitive behavior therapy, emotion regulation, development of positive coping skills, executive functioning skills, and sibling support.

Family involvement is often critical to achieve maximum success. Parents may be asked to check in at the beginning or end of a session, or make other arrangements to share information. Family or joint sessions may be periodically held based on your child’s needs and treatment plan. When appropriate, parents may schedule an appointment time without their child present in order to discuss their child’s needs and treatment more thoroughly.

Early Learners

Interactive Kids curriculum and therapy strategies are individually developed and applied. A primary goal is to prepare clients to live up to their highest potential and become independent. The family, school personnel, related service providers, consultants, and ABA therapists work cooperatively in order to develop programming, evaluate progress, and problem-solve as necessary to achieve the best outcome for the client.

Early and intensive treatment for children with developmental disabilities using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is proven to yield significant gains. Growth in cognitive, communication, and social skills are crucial for life long success. The Early Learners Program provides preschool aged children with the educational supports necessary to maximize growth and development. Preparing them to enter school with the skills needed to succeed. The individual needs of each child will be met through interventions that include discrete trial instruction, intensive teaching, verbal behavior programming, and natural environment teaching. The development and generalization of social skills, speech and language, gross and fine motor, cognition, daily living skills, and school readiness skills are embedded into the program. Staff who support the program include ABA therapists, certified Special Education teachers, and Behavior Analysts (BCBA and BCaBA).

Speech

Comprehensive speech and language evaluations are conducted using a combination of formal assessments, behavioral observations, parental report, and review of records in order to determine if a speech and/or language problem is present.

Speech and language therapy is performed to help your child improve their skills to an age-appropriate level. Therapy is based on the information obtained from a speech and language evaluation. Goals are selected to help achieve success through a carefully designed sequence of activities.

Parental involvement in the therapy is highly encouraged.  The speech language pathologist consults with parents/caregivers on an on-going basis in regards to their child’s progress.  Parental training of techniques used in therapy can improve a child’s overall success and allow the child to continue practice of skills learned in therapy outside the treatment sessions.

Adult Services

The Project VOICE program gives teens and young adults, aged 14 and over, a meeting place to improve life skills, build interests, develop talents and discover strengths. The program welcomes those with Spectrum Disorders, other Social Learning and Social Communication challenges.

You’ll meet with us weekly to take part in job- skills training designed to target and enhance your independent life skills. We will be sampling jobs between 7 job site locations. You will have the opportunity to get involved in a series of supported, therapeutic workshops, seminars, role plays, and community projects to help prepare you to enter the work force or live an independent life.

During our adult program we will be offering a therapeutic environment that will allow your child to practice life skills, job-skill training, Activities of Daily Living, social skills, and participation in caring for our garden and farm. We are going to have a fabulous summer and look forward to growing each individual into their most independent selves.

Things we offer:

• Job Supports
• Job Trainings
• Activities of Daily Living Instuctions
• Social Skills Training
• 2 group parent trainings a month
• Community Based Insturction
• Group Outings
• Group Hang-outs
• 1:1 Staffing
• Counseling Service
• Cooking Class
• Art Class