Behavioral Menu of Services

The following groups aim to support behavioral change and improve psychosocial functioning as part of wraparound services for consumers. These services are coordinate with the WWRC Rehabilitation Counselor and rehabilitation team.

Autism Support

The Autism Support Group is an open, process oriented, support group. It provides a safe place for students to discuss problems, issues, and unusual interests related to Autism. This fosters disability awareness, relationship building, and appropriate expression of emotion. The group also introduces students with Autism Spectrum Disorders to one another to decrease isolation and build a sense of community. New students may connect to more senior students for informal mentoring.

Communication Skills

This group focuses on social skills. Lesson topics include Body language, Parts of a Conversation and Appropriate/Inappropriate topics of conversation, Register Shifting (formal versus informal language), Giving and Receiving Constructive Criticism, Passive/Assertive/Aggressive, Frustration Tolerance (triggers and strategies), Self-Advocacy (deficits with comprehension, specific to disability, saying “no,” etc.), Gossip/Drama/Rumors and Bullying, Social Media and Successful Friendships, Role Play and Practice of Informal/Formal Conversation.

Controlling Anger and Behaviors (CAB)

Therapeutic group spanning 6 sessions over 6 weeks, discussing definition of anger; anger cycle; common causes of anger; cognitive, physical, and behavioral symptoms of anger; trigger identification; constructive versus destructive anger; interpersonal communication/social skills; coping mechanisms; and conflict resolution.

Healthy Relationships

This group serves as a psycho-educational group to provide information regarding healthy relationships. Lesson topics include: navigating relationships on campus, in an employment setting, bullying, and roommate concerns.

Breakfast Club

The focus of this group is to assist clients who may have reported issues with tardiness, hygiene, and/or social skills. Meeting prior to their training, clients are engaged in conversation regarding hygiene, timeliness, laundry, routines, and readiness for the work day. Group members also benefit from the opportunity to meet others, discuss their weekends, interests, and/or other topics; thus providing opportunity for socialization.

Social Literacy

The focus of this group is for students to increase their social awareness and gain a better understanding of the social world through working on communication skills, recognition of nonverbal communication, job interviewing skills and interpersonal skills (friendship, dating, and sexuality). This group is not intended to replace current programming in these areas but is designed for individuals with ASD and those that experience similar difficulties in comprehension and awareness and can reinforce other programs.

Socialization through Recreation

Therapeutic group spanning six sessions over a six week period of time. To increase awareness of social interactions through participation in recreational activities. To enable students to be able to start and hold a conversation. To learn the importance of social interaction and benefits of engaging in social activities.

Stress Management Support

After 6 weeks, participants will have gained an understanding of stress including its signs and symptoms. Through group discussions and exercises participants will be able to identify personal stressors and utilize appropriate strategies for effective management.

Cooking Group

The Cooking Group is offered for clients that need to build cooking skills and cooking experience for independent living. All participants will work together to prepare simple meals and clean up. The group will focus on basic cooking skills using the stove, oven, and microwave. Topics discussed will be healthy eating, meal planning, grocery shopping, food preparation, food storage, and clean up skills. A maximum of 6 people can be accommodated for in this group.

Volunteer Group

The purpose of this group is to give individuals the chance to impact their local communities in a positive way. This involves WWRC and the surrounding communities as a whole. We provide individuals opportunities to be a positive influence in their local area and we encourage them to take initiative when it comes to volunteer opportunities. We would like to see individuals who participate in this group have the drive and resolve to find volunteer opportunities that the group is passionate about and not just rely on the ones that the facilitators give to the group. Our overall goal is to get together and utilize aa group of individuals who have a passion for selfless service and want to be involved in making their communities a better place.

PEERS for Young Adults

PEERS for Young Adults is a higher level social skills program that teaches individuals how to make and keep friends, develop romantic relationships, and handle conflict and rejection in relationships. Participants are typically between 18 and 30, most often with a diagnosis of ASD, but includes those with diagnoses of ADHD, depression, anxiety, and other social behavioral difficulties. There is no cost to WWRC students who complete this course while they are attending a program at WWRC. PEERS typically runs for 12–14 weeks and covers the following topics: Trading information and starting and maintaining conversations, finding friends, electronic communication, appropriate use of humor, entering group conversations, exiting conversations, Get-togethers, Dating etiquette, handling disagreements, and handling direct and indirect bullying.

Leisure Skill Development Group

Leisure Skill Development Group is offered for clients that lack a variety of leisure activities that they engage in and tend to isolate themselves. This group will introduce clients to a variety of hobby/leisure activities including horticulture, cooking, outdoor activities and indoor activities. Staff will work with clients to develop more leisure skills they can engage in to increase socialization, decrease isolation, and add structure to their day.