Buddy Club is designed to create the opportunity for positive peer interactions and successful community integration experiences. Buddy Club may benefit children who have social skills challenges, including difficulty with everyday social interactions, developing and maintaining friendships, and other challenges that may interfere with appropriate social interactions with peers and others.
Program Details:
- Two-hour sessions once a week
- Small peer groups of four to seven children led by a pediatric occupational therapist and an assistant
- Children participate in fun-filled activities within a curriculum of specific social skills including greeting, sharing, body language, cooperative & interactive play, taking turns, sportsmanship, making friends, understanding & expressing emotions, participating in conversations, self-awareness, avoiding & resolving conflicts, being brave & facing fears, and bullying
- Activities alternate between being onsite at a Momentum location and going to other sites in the community, such as parks, libraries, bowling alleys, recreational centers, and more
- Parent collaboration or education is provided weekly through handouts, parent meetings, Social Stories, and viewing video clips from Buddy Club sessions
My Place provides an opportunity to foster independence and positively impact the way our adolescent clients transition into adulthood. Various social skills concepts are addressed through community social outings, informational workshops, vocational skills activities, volunteer opportunities, and special projects.
Program Details:
- Two-hour sessions once a week
- Teens participate in fun-filled activities that focus on: increasing awareness and knowledge of safety issues for independence; improving the ability to initiate, interpret and respond to the verbal and non-verbal social cues used in various settings in the community; improving knowledge about relationships, personal hygiene, and self-care skills; increasing community involvement through volunteer or vocational opportunities; increasing ability to identify and develop shared interests and hobbies; improving the ability to problem solve complex social situations impacting teens (e.g., prom, bullying, social media, etc.); improving self-awareness and the ability to advocate for themselves
- Activities alternate between being onsite at Momentum and community locations such as restaurants, movies, arcades, teen centers, and teen centers
- Parents are provided with educational opportunities that offer tools to prepare their teen for a more independent and rewarding life as an adult
- My Place is offered at Momentum in Torrance
Weekly 15-minute parent gatherings following the session and tri-annual parent meetings are held to support families.
