Social Skills Development,Charlotte, NC
Your child may want to play with other children but have a hard time figuring out how to join in. Taking turns, sharing an activity, responding when another child approaches, or simply keeping the interaction going may not come easily. Over time, those moments can leave you wondering how to help your child feel more comfortable participating with others.
Social skills development gives your child opportunities to work on those interactions instead of only talking about them. Through our child health care center in Charlotte, younger children receive one-on-one ABA in a structured, play-based setting where they can also practice around peers. They still have individual support while learning what to do when another child becomes part of the activity.
Social Goals Reflect Where Interaction Breaks Down
A child can be comfortable around other people and still struggle with one particular part of interacting with them. Your child might approach another child but not know how to join the activity. They might start playing successfully, then have difficulty when they need to wait, share something, or respond when the other child changes what they are doing.
That is why we do not treat “social skills” as one broad goal. Your child’s BCBA looks for the specific point where an interaction becomes difficult and considers what your child can already do independently. A concern such as “they don’t play with other children” can then become a more useful treatment goal, such as responding to another child, joining an activity, taking turns, or communicating during shared play.
What you see outside therapy matters too. If there is a particular interaction your child struggles with, bring it up during the assessment. The BCBA considers those situations alongside the assessment findings and determines which social goals are appropriate to include in your child’s ABA treatment plan.
Social Skills Are Learned Through Interaction
Some social skills only make sense when another person is involved. Taking turns requires someone else to take a turn. Joining play means noticing what another child is doing and finding a way into the activity. Even responding to a greeting depends on recognizing that someone is trying to interact with you.
ABA gives your child opportunities to practice these skills as interactions unfold. A behavior technician might support your child as they wait for a turn, respond to another person, exchange materials, or stay involved in a shared activity. The amount of help can be adjusted so your child is practicing the skill rather than simply being guided through the interaction.
These moments also give the treatment team useful information. Your child may know how to ask for a turn but struggle when they have to wait for it, or they may respond when someone approaches but rarely start an interaction themselves. Seeing what happens during the interaction helps the team identify which part still needs practice and where your child is becoming more capable.
The Treetop ABA
7903 Providence Rd Ste 150, Charlotte, NC 28277, United States
Mon: 8.00am – 6.00pm
Tues: 8.00am – 6.00pm
Wed: 8.00am – 6.00pm
Thurs: 8.00am – 6.00pm
Fri: 8.00am – 6.00pm
Sat: Closed
Sun: 8.00am – 6.00pm
Please call (704) 440-3580 to check for availability and schedule an appointment
Peer Practice Adds Something One-on-One Teaching Cannot
Practicing with an adult cannot reproduce everything that happens between children. Another child may reach for the same toy, take an unexpected turn, change the activity, or simply respond differently than your child anticipated. Your child has to notice what happened and figure out how to continue the interaction.
At our Charlotte center, your child still receives one-on-one ABA, but peer practice can be incorporated when it supports their treatment goals. Their behavior technician can provide help during the interaction without controlling how the other child responds. That creates opportunities to practice skills when the interaction is less predictable, which is an important difference from practicing only with an adult.
Peer practice is not the same as placing children together and expecting them to socialize. It is used purposefully when another child creates an opportunity to work on a specific goal. This allows your child to practice responding to another person while still receiving the individual support built into their ABA treatment.
Social Communication Can Be Part of the Goal
A child may have plenty to communicate and still find the back-and-forth of an interaction difficult. They might ask for a favorite toy but not respond when another child speaks to them, or they may answer someone without knowing how to continue the exchange. Social communication focuses on using communication as part of an interaction, not simply whether your child can speak or make requests.
Depending on your child’s needs, social communication goals may involve:
- Initiating an interaction with another child.
- Responding when another child approaches or communicates with them.
- Asking for help during a shared activity.
- Communicating a preference during play.
- Continuing an exchange rather than stopping after one response.
These goals are about helping your child use communication while interacting with other people. This is different from speech therapy, and our role is not to teach speech or language skills outside the scope of ABA. Social communication becomes part of treatment when your child’s BCBA determines that it is an appropriate ABA goal.
Social Skills Need to Work With Different People
A skill can look solid with a familiar behavior technician and become much harder when someone else is involved. Different people communicate, respond, and play differently. If your child relies on one person behaving in a familiar way, they may not yet be able to use that social skill as flexibly as it appears.
As your child becomes more comfortable with a skill, there can be opportunities to use it with different people. That might mean moving from practicing with their behavior technician to interacting with a peer or using the same skill with family members at home. A sibling can also be included when the interaction is relevant to a written treatment goal, allowing the skill to be addressed within the relationship where it matters.
The aim is not for every interaction to look exactly the same. Your child is learning to use a skill even when the person, response, or situation changes. That flexibility is what makes a social skill more useful beyond the person they first learned it with.
Social Independence Requires Less Support Over Time
A child can complete a social skill with help before they are ready to use it on their own. For example, your child might respond to another child after their behavior technician gives them a reminder but not yet notice the opportunity to respond without that support. Both are signs of learning, but they represent different levels of independence.
As a social skill becomes more established, the support around it can change. A direct prompt may become a smaller cue, and eventually your child may have the opportunity to recognize what is happening and respond independently. The goal is not simply to see your child complete the interaction more often. It is to see whether they can do more of it without someone else telling them what to do.
That distinction helps the treatment team see whether a skill is becoming genuinely useful. If your child can begin an interaction, respond, or stay involved with less help than before, the BCBA can track that change as part of their progress. Social independence grows when your child increasingly knows when and how to use the skill, not just how to perform it after being prompted.
Driving Directions to Our Charlotte ABA Therapy Center
The Treetop ABA Therapy Center is about 24 minutes from Uptown Charlotte. Families can access the center via Providence Road, with free parking and wheelchair accessibility.
Driving Directions from Uptown Charlotte:
- Head southeast on E 5th Street toward N College Street.
- Turn right onto N McDowell Street, then left onto Elizabeth Avenue.
- Turn right onto N Kings Drive, then left onto E 3rd Street.
- Continue onto Providence Road.
- Turn left to stay on Providence Road.
- Turn left onto Arboretum Shopping Center Drive.
- Turn left toward the center. The destination will be on your right.
Our center is also convenient for families traveling from SouthPark, Matthews, Ballantyne, and other South Charlotte communities.
What Families Often Ask About Social Skills Development inCharlotte, NC
Is social skills development one-on-one or a group program?
Social skills development is provided through one-on-one ABA, not as a separate social skills group. When clinically appropriate, your child’s BCBA can incorporate peer practice so they can work on specific interaction goals while still receiving individual support.
Does my child need an autism diagnosis for social skills development?
Yes, an autism diagnosis is generally required because social skills development is provided as part of ABA treatment. If your child still needs a diagnosis, we can refer your family to a diagnostic provider and keep your file open while you complete that process.
Can my child receive social skills support if they have limited speech?
Yes, limited speech does not prevent a child from working on social skills through ABA. The BCBA assesses how your child currently communicates and determines which interaction and communication goals are appropriate for their treatment plan.
What ages can receive social skills support at your Charlotte center?
Our Charlotte center provides center-based ABA for children ages 18 months through 6. In-home ABA is available for children and teens through 17, with older children considered based on medical necessity.
Does insurance cover social skills development through ABA?
Social skills may be covered when they are medically necessary goals within your child’s ABA treatment plan. We verify your benefits and authorization requirements, while the BCBA determines whether social skills are clinically appropriate treatment goals.