Description and Background
Our Social Skills' programs were developed to build peer awareness, facilitate social communication, work on pragmatics and develop the foundations for teamwork and collaboration. Sensory Kids & Social Minds, LLC offers a very unique approach to social skills' programs. As an RDI consultant in training, Sonia Zayas uses the concepts of broadband communication (body gestures, facial amplification, declarative and experience sharing language). Joyful play (for good episodic memory), joint attention, reciprocity, and repairing breaks in regulation (to build resilience and manage disagreements). We provide groups with planned sensory-rich activities involving movement/balance, tactile, proprioceptive, and auditory/music input. Our Sensory Gym and the small group format provides the framework for the development of individual competencies and the motivation to be around peers. The Theoretical approach from important components of child development (cognitive-emotional, sensory-processing and pragmatics in language) provides the children with targeted, needed intervention. We have been developing these programs for two years and now we are proud to have graduates who are functioning well in regular classrooms. We always have two adults leading the groups unless it is a dyad. Staffing is always an Occupational Therapist coupled with an assistant, Play/Art Therapist or Speech Therapist. (All depending on groups needs)
How does it work?
Sonia Zayas, OTR/L will have a one hour evaluation with your child, will develop a sensory profile and discuss with you your child's needs. We will find a group that best fits your child in terms of language, age social and sensory/regulation needs. The groups run for one hour and parents will receive notes for their children’s individualized programs' progress
What are the Groups Functional Levels?
The groups vary widely in functional levels but the children are kept within their cognitive-emotional and language range needs for better management/facilitation of their goals.
Functional Level is determined based on child's:
Language
Ability to be guided (to be able to follow)
Fine/Gross Motor Skills