The Foorce

As someone who is always searching (and often desperate) for social opportunities for James as he enters the dreaded pre-teen years, I am especially grateful to my friend Jaime for pointing this site out. It actually makes me look forward to the day when James turns 13… kind of.

Though Kids Cooperate (www.kidscooperate.com) is a social skills group located in CT, they are now offering eHangouts, accessible to anyone with a spectrum disorder, ADD/ADHD, or excessive shyness and a computer:

Kids Cooperate now offers eHangouts, an innovative use of technology to bring teens together in safe, facilitated friendship circles to socialize and support each other. Using Google’s secure video conferencing technology, groups of 9 peers and a facilitator meet for 30 minute sessions to check in, play games, and hangout in a way that builds confidence, develops social skills, and scaffolds the development of real friendship.

Video chat is uniquely suited to scaffold successful social interaction for people on the autism spectrum because of the direct focus on other participants faces, and the natural built in visual supports like screen share, social gaming, and a tool that allows moderated discussions.

To see a demo video and for more details I strongly encourage you to visit http://kidscooperate.com/ehangouts/. There are groups available for ages 13+ and members are placed by their developmental needs and interests.