1. How will I know if my child is eligible to participate?
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2. Is parent involvement required?
- Yes, parent participation is required in the modified PEERS® program. A large portion of the program is dependent upon the parents learning how to help facilitate the skills their child is learning. For EFFECT, parent participation is not required, but recommended. The activities and accountability of the student is contingent on how the parent is able to know what is being worked on and how to follow up.
3. When and where does PEERS® or EFFECT meet?
- During the academic year (e.g., fall or spring semester), the modified PEERS® program can be in-person or a hybrid model (contact the program coordinator to determine what model we are using). If it's conducted in an academic semester, our 16 lessons are implemented over 14 weeks with each parent/teen group run concurrently 90-minutes (virtual) and 2-hours (in person) long. So, some weeks may meet twice weekly (one in person and one virtual)
- During the summer session 1 (end of May to early July), the modified PEERS® program is a hybrid model and conducts 2 groups per week (one 60-minute virtual and one, 2-hour in person).
- The day (s) of the week the group is held depends on our mutually-agreed upon modified PEERS® coaches' and parents' schedule of availability.
- The EFFECT program is 12-weeks (spring college semester) and 6-weeks (summer session 1 college semester) and the days/times of the group and individual sessions are contingent on mutually-agreed upon times.
- If enrollment is low (fewer than 4 high school teens in any given semester), the EFFECT and modified PEERS programs may not run.
- All in person sessions occur in the Lefrak building at the University of Maryland Hearing and Speech Clinic in College Park, MD.
- Please email [email protected] for start/end dates.
4. Is PEERS® or EFFECT offered during the summer or on the weekends?
- Yes and no, the modified PEERS® and EFFECT programs currently are offered during UMD's summer session 1 (end of May - early July) and parent/teen groups are conducted twice weekly (one virtual and one in-person at UMD). None of our programs run in the weekend.
5. What will my teen learn from PEERS®?
- Conversational skills
- Strategies for handling peer pressure
- Appropriate use of humor
- Electronic communication
- How to handle teasing
- Peer entry and existing skills
- How to handle bullying
- Arguments and disagreements with peers
- Good sportsmanship
- Having appropriate get-togethers with friends
- Self-advocacy
- Conflict resolution
6. What will my teen learn from EFFECT?
- Baseline measures will be given to determine what executive functioning and meta-cognitive skills will be targeted
- These skills could include, but are not limited to: Time estimation, prioritization, planning/organizing, time management, task initiation/completion and problem solving
7. Are the modified PEERS® and EFFECT programs considered therapy?
- PEERS® is not a program that provides any form of direct speech-language therapy. It is an evidence-based curriculum where teens and parents are taught ecologically valid social skills (those behaviors exhibited by socially accepted peers). For therapy inquiries, please contact our Hearing and Speech Clinic at [email protected](information is presented on the next page). However, EFFECT does include individual and group work whereby, personalized goals and objectives will be targeted in therapy.
8. Are these programs willing to travel to schools?
- The UMD Teen PEERS® program classes are only held at the University of Maryland campus in College Park, Maryland.