Social skills groups

[Sburns1972]

My 11 yo son is struggling socially. He has some asperger traits and sensory issues. He finds eye contact difficult and is not good when it comes to 'small talk'. He has some good friends from when he was very young but finds it very hard to form friendships with new children. He is beginning to feel left out and isolated.
Does anyone know of anyone or groups who can help with social skills. I have always tried to teach him but think he needs greater expertise. We live in north west London if anyone can point me in the right direction!

He doesn't have a diagnosis. I can ask the school about it but as far as they see he is pretty well integrated and doing really well at school. He is ok with adults so they find it hard to see that he struggles with his peers.

My DS got access to social skills groups in several ways:

• We was directed by the SALT to a NHS/LA social skills group run by a SALT and an OT for kids with ASC (and similar) diagnoses in mainstream schools.
• When he started secondary school the school pointed him at a weekly youth club for first year kids with various social difficulties, run by social services/LA. He enjoyed it and even supported some of the other kids.
• Probably less relevant to you - one summer he also went to a small summer playscheme run by the local children’s hospital for kids with challenging behaviour. The group was run by child mental health specialists and while each of the kids had different issues (not just ASCs or disabilities) they really worked on DS’s empathy. Your DS might not be challenging enough for this though!

Talking to the school is a good idea. And if your DS hasn't seen a SALT (or not recently) then asking your GP for a referral to a SALT might help because even if your DS doesn’t have an ASC they may be able to point you to other suitable groups in your area. There might also be private groups run by SALTs which might be easier to access without a diagnosis.

We was = He was

Yes school should be able to offer help but if they're unwilling contact your own local SALT within the NHS. good luck

Thank you. I will try talking to his school first and go from there