CAAT PEERS®
The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) is a social skills training intervention developed at UCLA by Elizabeth Laugeson to support individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other social disorders who have difficulty with peer interactions and relationships.
PEERS® has a strong evidence base for use with adolescents and young adults with ASD but is also appropriate for preschoolers, adolescents and young adults with ADHD, anxiety, depression and other socioemotional challenges. Research has demonstrated that gains made over the course of the program are maintained 3-5 years later. For links to published findings of the efficacy of the program go to PEERS research.
As the first certified provider of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) curriculum in the Mid-Atlantic region, CAAT launched group sessions in 2012.
PEERS differs from other social skills programs because it:
- is evidence-based
- includes parents throughout treatment
- is structured like a class, not a therapy group
- breaks down social skills into understandable steps
- teaches ecologically valid social skills based on behavior of socially successful individuals
- generalizes social skills to “real life” settings and includes skills that transfer to the workplace
We offer three PEERS® programs:
click on box below for more info
Published Research about the PEERS® Program
Using a CBT Approach to Teach Social Skills to Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Social Challenges The PEERS® Method (Laugeson, et al., 2014)