Social Skills Classes for Long Island Kids

9/24/14 - By Erica Jackson

For some children, making friends and speaking up for themselves doesn't come easy. Seeing a child struggle at making friends or a connection with others can be heartbreaking for parents, but there are several social skills programs and classes around Long Island that can help their children break out of the shells and master steps that will help them to become more self confident around their peers. Here is a list of some of the programs offered around LI--for children both on and off the spectrum. And for other enrichment programs, be sure to check out our Long Island Classes Guide.

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Long Island Center for Social Skills
259 Harbor View Drive, Port Washington
516-816-1285
The Long Island Center for Social Skills offers several social skills programs for both children and adolescents, focusing on communication, conversation and friendship skills, sharing and teamwork, as well as social problem solving and more. Before placing your child in any of these curriculums, a one-on-one consultation session will be held.

Hofstra REACH Program
250 Hofstra University, Hempstead
516-463-7400
Hofstra University's REACH program is for children ages 12-18 who have autism spectrum disorder. The program allows students to work on social and communicative skills through an interactive workshop and inclusion course. The program also provides for a personal instructor, who will work with your children on social skills.

Friend Zone Kids
445 Merrick Road, Lynbrook
516-569-2824
Friend Zone Kids has a mission to "assist children who may need extra help in developing social skills." To accomplish this, Friend Zone Kids offers group sessions where kids learn new social skills and then use those newly learned socialization skills to play games and interact with other children their own age.

Family Service League of Long Island
The Family Service League of Long Island, which has a number of locations, offers numerous programs for all members of your family, among those is a socialization class that caters to children with autism. The social skills program is available for children ages 6 to 15 and focuses on the development of skills needed to build friendships and interact with fellow students.

Kid Esteem
175 S. 11 Street, Lindenhurst
631-321-6675
Kid Esteem offers social skills programs for kids in kindergarten through 9th grade. The fun and creative classes provide your child with the pragmatic and expressive tools needed for building and managing more successful social relationships.

The Cody Center at StonyBrook
631-632-8868
This social skills training program is designed to include learners at all levels of development, particularly children between 8 and 19 years of age. Through an expanded array of options, educators will be able to promote social skills gains in children with a range of learning needs. For more information, call or email.

Steps to Socialization
13 South Bayles Avenue, Port Washington
516-767-0266
This unique program for children in elementary through high school with age-appropriate language skills features targeted group activities that make the hidden rules of daily social interaction simple and clear for those who find it hard to establish and maintain friendships, share space effectively, interpret social cues and work in groups.

Variety
47 Humphrey Drive, Syosset
516-921-7171
Variety offers a variety of social skills classes for kids in preschool through high school. Most classes run on Saturdays.

Photo Courtesy of Kid Esteem

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