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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]How much do these help? The one I'm looking at is very expensive. $200 per session. Is being on sports teams and doing club/group activities just as good? My kid has mild ASD/ADHD inattentive but can participate easily in group activities without any accommodations. For example, he is on a rec team for basketball and while he's not a great player, he's not the worst and has no behavioral issues. The coach likes him. The other kids seem fine with him. The social skills classes were recommended by the psychologist who did his most recent neuropsych. He is 13yo and we just updated his neuropsych in preparation for applying to schools next year for high school. He goes to a mainstream K-8 where he has been since 2nd grade. He does not have any really good friends but is overall happy and engaged in some clubs/acrivities. He does have a couple of friends in the neighborhood he occasionally will see to shoot baskets when it's nice outside, etc.
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Why are you asking? Did someone suggest it? You said he joins groups easily, plays rec sports with NT kids, gets along well. You mentioned he doesn't have "good friends." Do you mean no best friend, but he does have friends? Is he happy with his social life?

I will say middle school (before lockdown) went well for my son who was like that, but high school was a major adjustment socially. I don't think most social skills groups would have been the answer and I do think the fact part of 7th and all of 8th was spent with remote learning contributed.[/quote]

My mistake, I see the psychologist suggested it. I wonder if it was a canned suggestion and not really thought through. You said he has friends in the neighborhood and is part of activities. What social skills group did the psychologist recommend. I suspect most will have kids who are more impaired and I say this as someone who's son did need them in the early years (early elementary).[/quote]

It was almost certainly a canned suggestion like many that come from these sorts of evaluations where the evaluator doesn’t actually know the child or understand the trajectory of high functioning autism. My kid is 13 and got dx’d at 6 and I can think of a bunch of concrete suggestions that could have been given at 6 but instead we were told “avoid team sports and do social skills groups.” Total bull. After paying $300 for the privilege of being rejected from a group by CAAT, we finally got a spot in one of those vaunted groups (thankfully it was offered by Children’s and covered by insurance) but it was a pretty big waste of time and effort.

Instead of paying for an undertrained social worker to deliver a manualized program   to a group of kids she doesn’t understand, I would advise parents to just seek out any an all opportunities for group based enrichment and stick with the ones that click and work for your family. Scouts, sports, church groups, clubs, etc. if no groups work then hire 1:1 coaches or tutors to learn skills and get your kid off the couch. Spend energy supporting any developing friendships by hosting play dates and don’t be above bribery (like be the house with the cool gaming area). At school, ask that your child be placed in any small groups available- even if you would prefer they get 1:1 support for an academic skill a group is better because it is baked in socializing.

At home, don’t get so focused on social skills or the way your kid is or is not socializing in a standard way that you forget other skills your kid needs to be in the world. I read some research that indicated that as kids with HFA get older, the way they diverge from NT kids is that they don’t develop daily living skills at the same pace, and that then hinders their ability to integrate into workplaces and schools and activities as an adult. So focus on making sure your child knows how to cook and clean, take care of basic hygiene, can take public transportation, buy groceries and make purchases, and has all the practical skills needed to independently pursue their leisure interests. A lot of these items have baked in social skills - like you will take your kid to the store repeatedly and coach them on how to use their body language and words to communicate effectively. Also as the kid gets older you will have to address any stims that could become a problem in public (eg my kid likes to pace in circles which is not safe in some settings like a metro platform and can look alarming in other settings like a store).

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