The Social Development Groups at the Yale Child Study Center are designed to optimize participants’ effectiveness in interacting with others, regardless of the underlying reason(s). They are the product of many years of clinical and research experience at the Yale Child Study Center.
Principle
Effectiveness in interpersonal interaction depends on knowledge, skill, and motivation. The first emphasizes “what to do” and the second emphasizes “how it’s done.” Motivation represents the will or desire to do something. Our social development groups place simultaneous emphasis on both acquisition of knowledge and skill, while enhancing motivation by fostering rewarding interpersonal experiences.
Practice
Diversity is our strength. We strive to bring together a diverse group of participants matched on overall maturity, communication ability, and motivation for self-improvement. All participants add value and this enables individuals to learn from one another. A broad range of teaching strategies and learning tools are implemented in both clinic and community settings. Although didactics are provided, greater emphasis is placed on practicing interaction for which a wide array of opportunities is provided. Moreover, we include peer mentors from Yale University. Multiple treatment options can also be integrated through the Yale Integrated Care Clinic for Autism (YICCA). Our lead clinicians (below) possess both breadth and depth of experience.
Roger Jou MD, MPH, PhD is a psychiatrist and researcher, serving as Instructor at the Yale Child Study Center. He specializes in ASD across the lifespan and has published over a dozen research articles on the topic, ranging from neuroimaging to the use of medications to ameliorate comorbid symptoms. Dr. Jou completed his clinical training at Yale in both adult and child/adolescent psychiatry. He has evaluated numerous individuals with autism at the Yale Child Study Center’s Developmental Disabilities Clinic in New Haven. Notably, Dr. Jou is also part of an exciting new initiative at Yale, sponsored by the Hilibrand Foundation, to promote research and treatment in adolescents and adults with ASD.
Kathy Koenig, MSN, APRN is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, Clinical Nurse Specialist in Psychiatry, and an Associate Research Scientist at the Yale Child Study Center. Kathy has extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and adults in both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings. She has special expertise completing clinical evaluations of children with developmental disabilities with a special focus on assessment and intervention for children with ASD. She has recently published a book Practical Social Skills for Autism Spectrum Disorders: Designing Child Specific Interventions, published by Norton. This book presents the state of the art research on what intervention methods are effective in helping children develop new social behaviors that will generalize to multiple settings. Most importantly, the book guides the professional in assessing the social strengths and weaknesses of the child so that intervention is customized to the individual child. Kathy has a special clinical interest in girls and young women with ASD and the special issues they encounter as they develop and grow into adulthood.
Categories
We are currently matching for the following groups:
- Young adults: ages 18-30 years
- Adolescent: ages 13-17 years
- Adults: over 30 years-old
- Child: ages 7-12 years
- Girls: less than 17 years-old
- Women: over 18 years-old
- High-ratio (intellectually disabled)
- Siblings only
- Parents only
Contact
Erin MacDonnell
Email: erin.macdonnell@yale.edu
Phone: (203) 737-3439