Autism Spectrum Friendships, Relationships and Resilience

Eight session virtual series Presented by Foothill Autism Alliance (FAA) starting Saturday, February 27.

Friendships are the foundation of relationships. Close personal friends will stick up for each other in front of others, answer questions honestly (in a kind way), help each other when there is a need, and enjoy spending time together. Friends are an outlet that can prevent feeling lonely and depressed.This workshop series will focus on skills and strategies to forming friendships and developing relationships. Following each session for our adults on the spectrum is a session for their parents and caregivers, who will learn how to practice and support the process of building friendships and romantic relationships.

Guest Speaker/Facilitator:
Andrew Jung, M.A., is an Associate Family and Marriage Therapist with a Masters in Counseling from the University of San Francisco. He is the Director of Programs for BLAST an organization providing Social Skills Training, Individual and Family Therapy. Andrew is a behavioral specialist working with individuals on the autism spectrum and their families for over 10 years. He conducts psycho-educational training for parents and social skills groups for children, teens and young adults on the spectrum. Andrew has also consulted with Foothill Autism Alliance and Spectrum League Social Club for adults. 

An Eight Session Workshop Series, Four Sessions for Adult Clients and Four Separate Sessions for Parents/Caregivers of Workshop Participants:

Session #1- Meeting People
Saturday, February 27, 2021 - 2-3:30 p.m.
Participants will gain an understanding of how to start and continue a conversation using socially appropriate strategies. They will learn what a successful conversation looks like by participating in quick role play activities, which requires active participation in discussions by coming up with answers to scenarios that occurred during the session. Participants will also create a list of critiques of themselves on what they are successful at and what they struggle with when engaging in conversations.

Parent (and Caregivers) Session #1
Saturday, March 6, 2021 - 2-3:30  p.m.
Parents (and caregivers) of young adults on the spectrum will gain an understanding of things they can do to facilitate practice conversations, different techniques they can use to discuss successes and difficulties pertaining to conversations, and ways they can conduct role plays with their son/daughter at home. Parents (and caregivers) should be able to participate in an active role play and use reflective questioning with their son/daughter.

Session #2 - Giving and Receiving Feedback
Saturday, March 13, 2021 - 2-3:30 p.m.
Participants will gain an understanding of the importance of positive and negative feedback within a group of friends and effective ways to give and receive feedback from their peers. Active participation in role plays that will allow participants to practice the skills they have learned. Ultimately, leaving with an understanding of multiple ways to give feedback to peers in socially appropriate ways.

Parent (and Caregivers) Session #2
Saturday, March 20, 2021 - 2-3:30 p.m.
Parents (and caregivers) of young adults on the spectrum will gain an understanding of techniques that will allow their son/daughter to feel more comfortable when talking with them, techniques that will help them foster confidence and resiliency, especially when working with an overly sensitive or defensive son/daughter. Parents and caregivers will practice using specific language when discussing topics and picking up on moments that can be used to facilitate growth in their son/daughter.

Session #3- Developing a Relationship
Saturday, March 27, 2021 - 2-3:30 p.m.
Participants will understand basic concepts relating to the maintenance of platonic and romantic relationships. They will also engage in a Q&A session where they will be able to go over and ask questions on anything relating to this speaker series. Participants will continue to practice conversational skills and feedback skills in social settings; prompting participants to make attempts to find platonic or romantic relationships moving forward.

Parent and Caregivers Session #3
Saturday, April 10, 2021 - 2-3:30 p.m.
Parents (and caregivers) of young adults on the spectrum will gain a basic understanding on concepts relating to the maintenance of platonic and romantic relationships. They will engage in a Q&A session where they will be able to go over and ask questions on anything relating to this speaker series. Parents (and caregivers) will continue to practice using techniques and continue engaging in role plays learned from the speaker series with their sons/daughters.

Session #4: Keys to Being in a Romantic Relationship
Saturday, April 17, 2021- 2-3:30 p.m.
Once someone gets into a relationship, they come to a point where they must decide if this relationship will stay platonic or advance into a romantic one. Participants must understand the difference between platonic and romantic relationships. They must also understand what a romantic relationship looks like so that they can maintain it in an appropriate way.

Parent and Caregivers Session #4
Saturday, April 24, 2021 - 2-3:30 p.m.
Parents (and caregivers) are normally involved in their sons/daughters relationships. However, it is important to not be over-involved in these relationships so that they may allow their son/daughter to succeed on their own. In this session, the parents (and caregivers) will gain an understanding of what these relationships will look like and learn what the appropriate autonomy that they must give their son/daughter to foster the most success for them.

Cost:

• Flat Fee of $365.00 for the workshop series.
• The workshop series is vendored by Lanterman Regional Center. Talk to your Service Coordinator. It may be available to clients of other Regional Centers as well. Inquire with your Regional Center Service Coordinator.
• Vendor # PD3625 

Register:

• E-mail FAA at info@foothillautism.org
• Call/Text 818.662.8847

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