Accepting new patients
Most major insurance — not Kaiser only
RCEB vendorized
Scholarship support available
Clinical services · Happy Talkers
Social skills program for young children
Some children understand language perfectly — but struggle to connect. Making friends, reading social cues, taking turns in conversation, or navigating group situations can feel impossible. Our social skills program provides structured, evidence-based group and individual sessions to help children ages 4 to 6 build the social competence they need to thrive.
Social skills at a glance
Group & individual formats
Turn-taking & conversation
Friendship & peer connection
Reading social cues
Emotional regulation in groups
Play skills & cooperation
🕐 Ages served: 4 – 6 years
✓ Most major insurance accepted
✓ RCEB vendorized (PB4768)
✓ Scholarship support available
✓ RCEB vendorized (PB4768)
✓ Scholarship support available
About this service
What the social skills program addresses
Social skills are not just about being friendly — they involve a complex set of learned behaviors: reading nonverbal cues, understanding perspective, initiating and maintaining conversation, managing emotions in group settings, and knowing unspoken rules that most children absorb naturally but others need explicit support to learn.
Our program uses evidence-based curricula delivered in small group settings where children practice skills with real peers — not just in role-play with adults. Groups are formed by age and developmental level, and each session is led by trained clinicians who facilitate, coach, and provide immediate feedback in the moment.
“Social skills learned in isolation don’t generalize. Our group format gives children what they actually need — real peers, real social situations, and clinician coaching in the moment.”
What we work on
Initiating conversation
Turn-taking & listening
Reading facial expressions
Perspective-taking
Joining & exiting play
Conflict resolution
Group cooperation
Handling winning & losing
Emotional regulation in groups
Friendship maintenance
Program groups
Age-matched groups for real peer practice
Groups are small and carefully matched by age and developmental level. This is what makes the learning real.
Ages 4 – 5
Early explorers
Foundational social skills for preschool-age children: parallel and cooperative play, sharing, taking turns, following group routines, and basic back-and-forth conversational exchanges. Play-based and highly structured with close clinician support.
Ages 5 – 6
Friendship builders
Moving into more complex peer interaction: joining groups already in play, initiating and sustaining conversation, understanding basic social rules, reading emotional cues in peers, and managing feelings when things don’t go as planned.
What to expect
How the program works
Sessions are structured, fun, and carefully facilitated. Here’s what participation looks like.
1
Intake & group placement
Before joining a group, your child meets with a clinician for a brief intake to assess social skills, communication level, and group readiness. We place children in the group that will give them the best peer match and developmental fit.
2
Small group sessions
Groups meet weekly for 45–60 minutes. Sessions include structured activities, games, and facilitated peer interaction designed to practice specific skills. Group sizes are kept small — typically 4–6 children — so every child gets real practice time.
3
Skill of the week
Each session targets a specific skill — like "how to join a group that’s already playing" or "what to do when you feel left out." Skills are taught explicitly, practiced with peers, and reinforced with immediate clinician feedback.
4
Parent debrief
After each session, parents receive a brief summary of what was practiced and specific suggestions for how to reinforce the skill at home, at school, and in community settings. Generalization is built in from the start.
5
Progress monitoring
Clinicians track each child’s progress across target skills throughout the program. We share updates regularly and adjust group composition or individual goals as needed.
✓
Coordinated with speech & ABA
Children in our social skills program often receive speech therapy or ABA as well. Our teams coordinate goals across services so communication and behavioral targets are reinforced in the group setting too.
Social skills work best alongside other services.
Many children in our social skills program also receive speech therapy or ABA. The group setting gives them a real environment to practice what they’re learning in individual sessions — and our teams coordinate goals so nothing is happening in isolation.
Speech therapy
Occupational therapy
Behavioral therapy (ABA)
Infant development
Social skills
Parent questions
Frequently asked questions
Signs that social skills support may help include: difficulty making or keeping friends, preferring to play alone even when they want connection, struggling to join a group that’s already playing, trouble reading when another child is frustrated or uninterested, difficulty with turn-taking or cooperative games, or frequently misunderstanding social situations in ways that lead to conflict. A diagnosis isn’t required — if your child is struggling socially and it’s causing distress or limiting their participation, reach out.
No. While many children in our social skills groups have autism spectrum disorder, the program is open to any child who would benefit from explicit social skills instruction. Children with ADHD, language delays, anxiety, or social difficulties without a formal diagnosis participate successfully in our groups.
Coverage for group social skills programs varies by insurance plan. We are vendorized through RCEB (PB4768) for eligible children. We accept most major commercial insurers and will verify your coverage before your child starts. Scholarship support is available for families who need it.
Programs are typically structured as 8–12 week cycles, after which children are reassessed and can continue in the same group, move to a more advanced group, or transition out of the program. Some children participate in multiple cycles over time as their social goals evolve.
Yes — and this combination is often the most effective approach. Individual speech therapy builds the underlying communication skills, ABA addresses behavioral targets, and the social skills group provides the real peer environment to practice it all. Our teams coordinate goals across services so everything reinforces each other.
Not at all — age 6 is squarely within our program range. Contact us and we’ll do a brief intake to match your child with the right group. If your child is approaching the upper end of our age range and has ongoing social needs, we can also discuss what continued support might look like as they grow.
For families
Ready to get started?
Tell us about your child and we’ll help find the right services, verify your insurance, and connect you with our intake team — before your first appointment.
Get started →
For providers
Referring a patient?
Submit a referral online, fax to (925) 236-9712, or call (925) 829-9555. We handle insurance verification and contact the family within 1 business day.
Submit referral →