What to Expect in the First 4 Weeks of a Social Skills Program
Deciding to start a social skills program is a big step — and it's completely natural to feel a little nervous about what you're committing to. Will your teen cope? What actually happens each week? How will you know if it's working?
I'm Chris, a certified PEERS® provider and the founder of Social Skills Australia, and a parent of teens on the spectrum myself. So let me take the mystery out of it and walk you through exactly what the first four weeks look like.
What a typical week looks like
The first thing to know is that it feels much more like a friendly class than therapy. Each weekly session follows the same comfortable rhythm: a short lesson on one specific skill, role-play videos showing the right and wrong way to use it, time for the teens to practise it together, and a small homework task to try out in real life before the next session.
And you're not on the sidelines. While the teens are in their group, parents attend a session of their own at the same time, learning how to coach that week's skill at home. Everyone comes back together at the end to plan the week ahead. It's a genuinely supportive setup — and because it's online, your teen takes part from the comfort of their own home.
The first four skills
The early weeks deliberately start with the foundation that every friendship is built on — conversation — before moving outward:
Week 1 — Trading information. The building blocks of conversation: how to swap information back and forth and find common ground with someone.
Week 2 — Two-way conversations. Turning that into a genuine back-and-forth — not interviewing the other person, and not dominating the chat.
Week 3 — Electronic communication. The unwritten rules of texting, social media and messaging — where so much teen friendship now happens.
Week 4 — Choosing appropriate friends. Where to find the right people, and how to recognise the difference between good and not-so-good friendship choices.
There's a reason it runs in this order: get conversation working first, and everything that follows has something to stand on.
What about the homework?
The homework is light and practical — small tasks like trying a skill in a real conversation, or making a quick practice phone call. It's designed to be manageable, not a burden. But it matters, because this is where the skills move out of the session and into your teen's actual life. Your gentle coaching as a parent is a big part of making that stick.
What early “success” really looks like
This is the part I most want parents to hear, because getting your expectations right is everything.
You will not see a best friend by week four. Please don't expect that — and please don't worry if it hasn't happened. That isn't how lasting social change works, and it isn't a sign the program isn't working.
What you should expect are small, real wins: your teen trying a skill they wouldn't have tried before, finishing their homework, speaking up in the group, or simply coming home a little more confident. The friendships themselves tend to come later — after the get-together weeks, and often around or after graduation. The first month is about laying a solid foundation, and that foundation is the win.
Ready to take the next step?
If gradual, structured, and genuinely supportive sounds like the right fit for your teen, here's where to start:
Download our free guide, 5 Steps to Making and Keeping Friends (socialskillsaustralia.com.au/free-ebook).
Book a free chat with me (socialskillsaustralia.com.au/register) to ask anything about how the program works.
Social Skills Australia delivers UCLA's evidence-based PEERS® program online for teens and young adults with autism and ADHD across Australia.