The ASERT team is pleased to offer intervention programs to youth and young adults on the autism spectrum and their families in the Calgary and surrounding area.  Please find information about our current offerings below.

The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Social Skills (PEERS) for Adolescents and PEERS for Young Adults (PEERS-YA)

PEERS and PEERS-YA are evidence-based and empirically-supported interventions designed to help motivated teens/adults learn how to make and keep friends. Teens/adults are taught and shown important social skills, and are given the opportunity to practice these skills during socialization activities. While teens/adults are in their own session, parents/caregivers have their own facilitated sessions where they learn how to assist their teen/adults by expanding their social network and providing feedback through coaching during weekly socialization homework assignments. 

The program is designed for adolescents ages 13-18 (PEERS) or adults ages 19-28 (PEERS-YA) with an autism spectrum disorder who are themselves motivated and interested to participate. Involvement includes parent/caregiver and teen/adult attendance at all sessions (14 for the adolescent group, 16 for the young adult group).  Each session is 1.5 hours and is held weekly at  the University of Calgary. 

The ASERT offers both PEERS and PEERS-YA programs on an ongoing basis. Currently, PEERS or PEERS-YA is $1000 for the entire program. Some people may be eligible for bursaries to offset the cost of PEERS-YA. Information about this can be provided to those who express an interest. 

For more information on the adolescent program as offered by its creators and primary researchers, please click here. Additional access to informative and demonstrative videos can be found here. 

To find out more information from the ASERT team, or to be added to the waitlist for pre-screening for PEERS or PEERS-YA, please email peers@ucalgary.ca

Calgary PEERS Media and Interviews

University of Calgary "Today" Magazine: ARTICLE LINK

P4P is designed for children between the ages of 4 to 6 with a diagnosis of autism and who speak in at least 5 word phrases who are interested and motivated in learning how to make and keep friends. Children will learn skills such as listening and following directions, meeting and greeting friends, sharing and giving turns, keeping cool, being a good sport, and much more! Lessons include direct teaching, role plays, behavioural rehearsals, and weekly socialization assignments and homework that must be completed. Parents are simultaneously taught how to support their child’s social development.

The program runs 16 weeks, consecutively, one evening per week. Sessions are 1.5 hours. The next session will begin in fall, 2020 at the University of Calgary. Families completing the intervention will be part of a research project and will be asked to provide information to the research team about the child’s social and related abilities. Intake procedures include completion of a questionnaire, and an interview with the child and parent(s) to determine fit of program to family

For more information, please contact us at p4p.intervention@ucalgary.ca.