Need help with Socialising and Friendships?

We provide social skills therapy to children, teens and adults using a client-led approach to improve connection, confidence and communication skills.

 

Connection Comes First: Meaningful growth starts with feeling safe, seen, and understood. We provide neuro-affirming social skills assessment and therapy that honours your/your child’s authentic self, rather than trying to change how the brain works.
Our programming is guided by a client-led approach, prioritising genuine connection over rigid goals. Whether through individual sessions or small peer groups, we create a supportive environment where you can find your authentic voice and build confidence. Here, you are heard, you are valued, and your individual social needs are met with empathy and respect.
We are committed to a practice where every individual’s authentic neurotype is celebrated. Here is what that looks like in the clinic:
  • Authentic Communication: We value all forms of communication—whether it’s speaking, using AAC (speech devices), gesturing, or scripting. There is no “right” way to be heard.
  • Connection Over Compliance: We never use rewards or “training” to force a client to look or act neurotypical. Our goals and strategies are fostered through choice and trusting relationships. 
  • Child-Led Play: We enter your child’s world and follow their interests. This builds intrinsic motivation and ensures that therapy feels like a safe, joyful partnership rather than “work”.
  • Safety & Regulation First: We prioritise emotional and sensory safety. A person who feels regulated and safe is a person who is ready to connect and grow.
  • Strengths-Based Support: We focus on what you can do and what you love. We don’t look for “deficits” to fix; we look for strengths to amplify.
  • Self-Advocacy: We empower our clients to say “no,” set boundaries, and express their individual needs. Building the confidence to be your authentic self is the ultimate goal.
  • Sensory Respect: We recognise that every brain processes the world differently. We adapt our environment and activities to respect your unique sensory profile.

Here are some signs that you or your child may be having difficulties in social situations and may benefit from support:

  • Difficulty Initiating or Joining Play: Your child may watch others from the sidelines but feel unsure of how to physically or verbally enter the group.
  • Difficulty “Breaking the Ice”: Knowing you want to connect but feeling stuck on how to start a conversation, join a group chat, or move from an acquaintance to a friend.
  • Frequent Social Misunderstandings: Jokes, sarcasm or rigid mindset may lead to hurt feelings or confusion during peer conversations.
  • Persistent Masking: Feeling like you have to “perform” a version of yourself to be accepted, or mimicking the gestures and tone of others to “blend in.”
  • Uncertainty with “Hidden Rules”: Struggling with unwritten social expectations, such as knowing when a conversation is ending, or understanding the “vibe” of a room.
  • Preference for Deep over Surface: Finding small talk painfully difficult or “pointless,” while deep, authentic conversations about  interests or passions may be creating other social difficulties.
  • Anxiety Around Unstructured Time: Feeling comfortable in a structured setting (like a job or a specific class) but feeling lost during lunch breaks, parties, or “hanging out” without a clear activity.
  • Digital vs. In-Person Disconnect: Being able to communicate brilliantly online or via text, but finding the nature of face-to-face interaction overwhelming..

Speech Pathology Australia Communication Milestones Summary Handout

  • What's next?

    • Assessment
      • Social Interaction skills assessment based on self or communication partner feedback and observation
      • Receptive and Expressive Language checklist or assessment depending on needs
      • Executive functions exploration
      • Sensory integration and regulation profiling to support a whole body approach
    • Intervention
      • Individual or small group sessions
      • Therapy is targeted to meet the child’s/person’s individual needs.
      • Recommended intensity may be daily-weekly
      • Therapy may include Comprehension & Imagery goals based on assessment outcomes