Tri-State Webinar: Getting Started with PEERS for Adolescents: Social Skills Training for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Adolescents on the autism spectrum require specialized instruction to develop friendships and
social networks. In this webinar, participants will learn to teach adolescents with ASD how to:

• develop and maintain friendships,
• handle peer conflict and rejection,
• teach ecologically valid social skills used by socially successful teens,
• Help teens find sources of friendship with assistance from social coaches,

Participants will also learn ways to train social coaches to support individuals with ASD using strategies that ultimately foster dependence in social relationships.

After attending this webinar participants will be able to:

• Identify social skills deficits among adolescents.
• Recognize the importance of improving friendships.
• Explore the limitations of existing social skills interventions and research findings related to social skills instruction.
• Learn how to implement the PEERS curriculum for teens.

Presenter Information: 

Mary Schlieder has been a special education teacher and educational consultant for over 20 years. Her areas of expertise include trauma-informed classroom instruction, social-emotional learning, autism, collaborative problem solving, and peer-mediated intervention. She also has extensive experience as a higher education instructor for several universities, specializing in courses that help teachers, administrators, and school counselors better serve students with mental health and behavioral challenges.