PEERS: Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills.
PEERS is a comprehensive, rigorous, evidence-based social-skills curriculum created to build interpersonal skills and confidence among individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and related social disorders. PEERS was created by Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson, at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). This program has dozens of related research articles, validating its success by analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. PEERS advocates for longevity and retention of information and skills, providing high likelihood that these social skills will be used across a lifetime. PEERS was actually used on the hit Netflix series, Love on the Spectrum, specifically regarding their dating curriculum for young adults.
Why is PEERS needed? Why is it revolutionary?
Most individuals with Autism, related disorders, or otherwise social deficits have not been explicitly instructed on how to relate to others and communicate with others in an effective way. Most have never learned proper conflict resolution and how to overcome bullying, how to invite someone to an event, how to enter and leave a conversation, and other components of social interaction that may seem easy for others. Do you know someone with noticeable social deficits that hinder their ability to develop and maintain healthy friendships? We know that for some individuals, social skills are not natural for them. Methods of conversing, socializing, and resolving conflict may be innate skills for most of us, but for individuals with disorders characterized by social deficits, some or all of these “natural” skills are absent or significantly hindered. The individual may benefit from group social skills training, specific to their needs. PEERS is a comprehensive curriculum that includes tons of explicit instruction, scenarios, videos, games, and nuggets of memorable information that is likely to stick with the students long-term.
PEERS is a rigorous 16-week program that provides explicit instruction on various social topics, opportunities for practice, and relevant homework assignments. The following topics are discussed and practiced through behavioral and cognitive rehearsal:
- Two Way Conversations
- Electronic Communication
- Choosing Appropriate Friends
- Appropriate Use of Humor
- Starting/Joining Conversations
- Exiting Conversations
- Good Sportsmanship
- Get Togethers
- Handling Disagreements and Conflicts
- Changing Reputations
- Handling Teasing and Embarrassment
- Handling Physical Bullying
- Handling Cyber Bullying
- Minimizing Rumors and Gossip
One of our Certified School Psychologists, Morgan Bruce, Ed.S., NCSP recently went through the 3-day training to become a certified PEERS provider for teens. Stay tuned for the potential creation of PEERS teen groups through Herrera Psychology. In the meantime, check out their website for parent and provider resources. If you want to learn about and implement the PEERS skills yourself, buy their book on Amazon!
