Program Model
The SuperKids therapeutic model uses group
therapy with groups of approximately six children
of similar age and social communication
ability. Each leadership team has at least one
therapist with a master's degree. Leaders are
selectively paired to offer diversity of expertise.
Professional backgrounds include art therapy,
drama therapy, school counseling, and special
education.The groups meet weekly during the
school year, from September to May.
Cognitive—behavioral strategies are used
throughout the group therapy session. An
example of this would be a therapist asking a
student, "When you're frustrated/happy, what
do you say to yourself? What's your self-talk?"
Artwork solicited by the therapist often shows a
deeper level of meaning than words can deliver
because these students have communication disorders.
Usually the group is led in a brainstorming
exercise to discover ways to change self-talk
to improve feelings or make better choices vith
difficult feelings.
The specific social skills addressed at SuperKids
include compromise, graciously winning
or losing a game, conversation skills, eye
contact, voice modulation, friendship skills,
understanding nonverbal cues, awareness of
the environment, learning to identify and
express feelings, awareness of others' feelings,
and modulating intense emotions. Social skills
are "taught" by therapists who carefully watch
how children approach or do not approach each
other, intervening in a helpful, nonthreatening,
concrete manner so that the children learn
how to structure their own play time in a social
context. Each group is assessed by its own
therapist team in weekly clinical supervision to
determine which skills intervention is needed.
As each group progresses, the individual teams
of therapists make decisions on how to best
use the group therapeutic experience for their
particular students.