BUILDING SOCIAL SKILLS
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Speech therapy supported
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GROUP PROGRAMS
Social Skills Groups
Where kids find their tribe
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Our mission is to support kids, teens & young adults to form meaningful friendships, build self-confidence and understand others. Talk Together is a private speech & language therapy provider offering 1:1 services and social skills development groups for all ages in Christchurch and online to the wider New Zealand community.
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Our programs are for kids to...
Find their tribe
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Connect with others who think, feel, and experience similar things
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Have a safe space to feel like they 'fit in'
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Make and maintain friendships
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Understand others
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Understand different people's perspectives
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Understand how people's brains can work differently
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Navigate social conflicts
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Work as part of a team
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Identify social cues and messages from others
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Build their self-esteem
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Grow confidence and resilience
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Believe in their skills as a great communicator and friend
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Set their own goals and the next steps they would like to achieve
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Practice, breakdown and navigate social situations that occur and feel challenging. For example, competition, team sports, team work
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Our programs
Our programs support both neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals.
Parents and students have described Talk Together groups as neuroaffirming, and setting kids/teens up in safe ways for the world they are going to experience.
We couldn't put it better ourselves!
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The overarching themes below are focused on throughout all of our programs:
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Communication skills
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Forming and maintaining friendships
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Seeing things from other's perspectives
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Resilience & confidence development
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Emotional regulation (learning about, recognising and managing our emotions in healthy ways)
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Team work
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Conflict resolution skills
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Identifying other people's social cues
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Leadership skills
Each and every group is tailored to the individuals attending. Student participation, comfort and achievements are constantly observed and plans are altered throughout the term (even within sessions!) to cater for the specific individuals in front of us- their needs and their goals.
We do a range of activities in our groups. These are always changing and are based on the children's goals and interests. We also utilise LEGO Therapy in some sessions (usually two sessions per term, and we run specific LEGO Therapy groups in the school holidays) which is a really effective and supportive way to practice social skills.
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Locations
Our groups are held across 4 locations:
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Rolleston
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Christchurch​
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Online
Due to the specialist nature of our groups and our compact team, not all groups are run at all locations. Check out our current timetable to find the closest group to you! Feel as if our groups are too far away? Join us online! Our online groups are attended by children throughout New Zealand.
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Unable to book into the group you want?
A program may be full - please email us to be added to the waitlist.
Upcoming Groups
KEEP UP WITH LATEST UPDATES!
LEGO- April School Holidays
This is a 4 hour programme run across two consecutive days. Suitable for 5-12 year olds.
Students will work in small groups with similar aged peers supported by our facilitators.
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Using LEGO is an evidence-based and proven way to build strong social, emotional and team work skills while having fun! Kids work in small groups guided by one of our multidisciplinary facilitators to engage in LEGO build projects with others.
LEGO & creating is the vehicle used to achieve student goals as it taps into something kids already love (but often do solo) and layers in social communication and interaction with others. Areas such as emotional regulation and conflict resolution are also supported.
As always our Talk Together groups are tailored to the children attended and kids are supported to work towards their individual goals within a group setting.
Rolleston
9am-10.30am
23 & 24 April
Christchurch
Opawa
12.20pm-2pm
23 & 24 April
Term 2 2024
Enrolling now!
5-9 years Social Skills Groups
Setting social skills up for life is our aim here!
Children learn to recognise their role (and contributions) to group tasks, navigate friendship dynamics, see and understand things from others perspectives & develop skills to work effectively in a group. ​
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This is a 6 week programme
Online
5pm -5.45pm
Mondays
Start Mon 13 May
Rolleston
5- 6pm
Tuesdays
Start Tue 14 May
Christchurch
5pm - 6pm
Thursdays
Start Thur 16 May
10-13 years Social Skills Groups
This is the age where things get complicated!
There is often a need to 'read the social scene' in situations that in the past were very 'black & white'.
Our focus here is a smooth transition for kids through this phase and robust skills for making friends and 'keeping up' with the social challenges faced while building self confidence.
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This is a 6 week programme
Online
6pm -6.45pm
Mondays
Start Mon 13 May
Rolleston
6.15 - 7.15pm
Tuesdays
Start Tues 14 May
Christchurch
6.15-7.15pm
Thursdays
Start Thur 16 May
14+ years Social Skills Groups
This group has a big social focus with the students having lots of input into the groups direction & content.
Half of each session is a more structured facilitator led topic area and the other half focuses on friendship building,
maintaining & navigating different social contexts through a variety of activities.
For those in the middle & second part of high school.
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This is a 6 week programme
Online
7pm - 7.45pm
Mondays
Start Mon 13 May
Rolleston
7.39-8.39pm
Tuesdays
Start Tues 14 May
Rolleston & Christchurch
7.30 - 8.30 pm
Wednesday
Monthly
Talk Together Community- Young Adults & Teens Social Skills Group
This is a monthly catch up to make and maintain friendships. Think monthly book club or social catch up with a social, supportive vibe. This community offers a sense of belonging and builds confidence as well as friendships.
For older teens and young adults.
These monthly 1 hour sessions happen in the community and are facilitated by the Talk Together team. Locations alternate between Christchurch City & Rolleston and locations are near public transport routes.
Contact us for more information & membership pricing
Pathways & Pricing
All Talk Together groups are run at cost to be as accessible as possible to students and families.
New Students:
All NEW students enrolling at Talk Together have an initial new student session. New student sessions ensure kids get the absolute most out of their time with us and gives them a chance to start building a relationship with a facilitator, feel familiar with where the groups will be held and in some cases meet some of the other students in their upcoming group. All these factors make coming along on the first day a little easier!
This is a stand alone screening and support session in one.
In this session we:
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Understand student's current challenges and set some next step goals to smash
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Provide a next step or challenge to focus on at home.
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Assist with any other referrals the student may need
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Assess correct fit for one of our social skills groups (we know how hard it is to come along to a group for the first time and we want it to feel right). If a student is not a good fit for the program initially enrolled in we will tell you. We might suggest a move to one of our other groups or help you to find the supports you need elsewhere.
This session looks different depending on the child, teen or young adults age and the type of group they are joining. A Caregiver or support person is always required at this session. Check out the table on page 5 for details!
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Our programs are perfect for returning students!
While you are welcome to attend one program at Talk Together in isolation, many of our students are returning. We see the biggest successes and changes in our returning students.
Understanding others, building self belief and extending social skills takes practise and returning students are extended as their skills develop within our program. Our programs are perfect for returning students as overall themes stay the same but how we achieve these are always changing.
In fact- 1/2 to 3/4 of the students in any Talk Together group are returning students! We are so proud of our returning students who feel a real sense of belonging at Talk Together and are always so welcoming to new students!
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Term Time Group Programmes
New & Returning Students
What's included?
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6x 1 hour in-person OR 6x 45mins online group sessions
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Support for parents & school teams.
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Email summaries sent at the end of weeks 2, 4 & 6 outlining areas covered in the sessions and a 'challenge' to complete or a discussion point to support generalising the skills being learnt in the program. We encourage you to share this information with your child's school team to support generalisation of skills
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Facilitators available to chat through any questions or concerns. All facilitators can be reached at info@talktogether.co.nz
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Price
​Check out the table on page 5 for details.
Optional : Individual Student Summary
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An email report of all of the areas covered throughout the term.
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A summary of how your child/the student has progressed during the sessions as well as any ongoing next steps.
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2-4 practical next steps to support your child's/the students social skills development.
Price $25 + gst
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School Holiday Programmes
New & Returning Students
We run a range of different school holiday programs including outdoor adventure therapy programs & 2-4 day intensive programs on specific topics. Great for new and returning students. Make sure you are on our enrollment list to hear about our next group!
What's Included?
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School holiday program session/s (length of time and number of sessions determined by the type of program)
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Support for parents and school teams: An email summary sent at the end of the program outlining areas covered in the session/s and a 'challenge' to complete or a discussion point to support generalising the skills being learnt in the program. We encourage you to share this information with your child's school team to support generalisation of skills.
Price
School holiday programmes range from $85-$300 +gst, + an initial 1.1 session for new students.
