What is PEERS®?
PEERS® (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) was originally developed at UCLA by Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson, Founder and Director of the UCLA PEERS® Clinic, and Dr. Fred Frankel. Since its inception in 2005, PEERS® has expanded to locations across the U.S. and around the world.
PEERS® is a manualized, social skills training intervention for adolescents and young adults. It has a strong evidence-base for use with adolescents, and young adults with autism spectrum disorder, but is also appropriate for similar social and communication challenges such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, and other socio-emotional challenges. Research has demonstrated that gains made over the course of this program are maintained 3-5 years later (Laugeson et al., 2013).
At PEERS® Chicago, we have adapted the program to be neurodiversity-affirming and added a self-advocacy element to the program. We encourage you to have a look at the programs we offer for Young Adults & Teens and reach out to us with any enrollment questions.
How the Chicago PEERS® Program is different than other Social Skills Programs:
- Neurodiversity Affirming
- Teaches Self-Advocacy Skills
- Consent-based and Respectful
- Low participant-to-staff ratio
- Parents/Support person attends concurrent group, separately
- Structured like a class, not a therapy group
- Breaks down skills into understandable steps
- Builds in the generalization of skills to “real life” settings
- Teaches skills that transfer to school or the workplace
- Participants report enjoying the program and finding it empowering
What people are saying…
Professionals around the country report that the PEERS® program has made a tremendous difference for their clients. Almost all participants enter the PEERS® program having participated in other social skills groups. Many of them have found these past experiences disappointing. The PEERS® program is a unique and exciting opportunity for those ready and able to commit to the program.