Clinical Services

social skills group

program overview:

The social skills program is aimed at providing support to children and teens (ages 6-17) who may have trouble initiating and maintaining peer relationships, reading and interpreting social cues, and identifying, communicating, and regulating emotions while interacting with others.

The program is conducted by Kara Leslie (see below) and will provide individual and small group instruction and practice for participants, and feedback and recommendations for parents. Small groups are created based on age and skill level. This program is designed to help participants build and maintain healthy peer interactions and friendships and build confidence in their own social communication and social interaction skills.

Kara Leslie is a Licensed and Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who provides psychoeducational assessments to children and adolescents experiencing a variety of obstacles to learning, behavior, attention, and/or social-emotional development. She specializes in the assessment of autism spectrum disorders utilizing the ADOS-2 with the goal of differentiating between autism and other diagnoses. Kara enables parents to have a better understanding of their child’s strengths and needs, in addition to providing recommendations and strategies to improve behavior and learning.

Kara conducts behavioral assessments and develops intervention plans for children who are facing a range of behavioral challenges at home and at school. Having spent over a decade working in public schools, she is also able to assist families with functional behavior assessments and navigating the IEP and 504 processes. Kara has a special interest in working with young children with behavioral challenges. 

Read more about Kara »