Feedback from a parent who joined in with Child Autism Foundation group

I would highly recommend Sacha's social skills programme. My daughter attended her class in term 3, 2013. She absolutely loved the sessions as Sacha was able to connect so well with the students and understood their age level and feelings at that level. My daughter felt secure and free to discuss any of her concerns and thoughts in a trusting, encouraging and confidential environment. She is now more aware of herself and others in a social setting and is more confident to just be 'herself' and speak the truth in a loving way and she has skills on how to manage conflicts with her peers. Big thanks to Sacha for communicating so well and passing on her tips and skills to my daughter. L

My husband and I would highly recommend the Social Skills sessions to one and all for the following reasons: Each session was 1.5 hours long and unlike other sessions where only the children are involved, here the parents could interact as well.

The parents and kids would have a 10 minute meeting at the start with an outline on what the session was going to be about - then the boys did their sessions under Sacha, a very experienced Family Counseller, while the parents could discuss the very same topic with Arletta. The last 10 minutes was again shared time with parents and children coming together to have a fun-social game.

Sacha was working on improving social skills with the boys covering important topics like bullying, peer pressure, how to be assertive etc.; the parents could discuss the same issues and share mutual experiences and problems. Sacha also gave us homework to take home with activities designed to help kids and the parents to tackle social and psychological issues and behaviours.

Arletta was a great convenor - helping parents to solve any problems and/or issues that we faced with our kids on the spectrum. When she did not have the answers, she gave us a host of websites where we could get information from.

The 9 weeks helped my son by leaps and bounds in his social interaction, self-management and time-management. Also, with Arletta's help, he is now part of Special Olympics Swimming training group. He plans to go for Special Olympics Athletics training as well. Thanks to Arletta's guidance, I was confident to approach the school and now my son is part of the running group at school and just finished his first cross country race proudly representing his school! C & R

We joined the Social skills program with some doubts whether it would really benefit our son who comes under ASD/Aspergers. We were unsure if it would benefit him in improving his social skills. However, after the Social skills sessions with Arletta and Sacha - we were very happy to be proved wrong!

I would highly recommend Sacha's social skills programme. My daughter attended her class in term 3, 2013. She absolutely loved the sessions as Sacha was able to connect so well with the students and understood their age level and feelings at that level. My daughter felt secure and free to discuss any of her concerns and thoughts in a trusting, encouraging and confidential environment. She is now more aware of herself and others in a social setting and is more confident to just be 'herself' and speak the truth in a loving way and she has skills on how to manage conflicts with her peers. Big thanks to Sacha for communicating so well and passing on her tips and skills to my daughter. L

Feedback from a teacher whose student I had in one of my groups: "T. is involved in the social skills program. Her social skills in regard to relating to others and managing conflict has had slight improvement. There is evidence in the peer mediator's folder that she regularly seeks them out to solve a conflict on her behalf. She is more likely to reflect on her own behaviour and interactions with children, as opposed to the beginning of the year. A BIG thank you to Sacha for doing such a great job."

Feedback from a social worker at school: "Sacha facilitated two groups of five children in 2011. The groups were very successful with good outcomes for the children. Sacha's style of working inspired the children and she managed to connect with them on their level. I highly recommend Sacha for work in this field."

"My sometimes shy nine year old has grown in personal confidence with attending the social skills course. He has broadened his ability to cope with new situations that he previously was not comfortable with or would not even approach. The group sessions have been invaluable in developing his problem solving skills and for him also to be aware of how other kids of a similar age are coping with new environments. I feel he now has the skills to see him through the next part of his social development and to have greater confidence in a variety of situations. Sacha provided a very caring and supportive environment where he felt confident in expressing himself and his thoughts."

"Thank you for your time, patience and expertise with both my son and I throughout the course. My son has gained confidence and knowledge in how to go ahead with his desire to make and keep friends and I have gained understanding in ways in which I can help him. You were open and approachable both during and after course hours and I am thankful to you. I look forward to continue to see my son enjoying his new found friends :)" VN

"The parent sessions have been exceptionally interesting. The insight in to the decision making as a parent has been intriguing. It was great to be part of a small group of parents who all had children of a similar age with similar issues. The information provided about the development of the children put many of their actions into perspective and provided tools to navigate through the path to a better outcome for all concerned." From P.B.

This short letter was given to me by one of the children in my group: "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to find friends with Asperger's. You've allowed me to add 5 people to my friendship list. I loved having you both as my teachers."

"Sacha is a very kind and caring social skills coach. She was very patient with and respectful of our son, and he really enjoyed going to her classes. We are happy that she was able to work with him and encourage him to get on with others more easily. The sessions for parents were also very helpful and friendly. We recommend her work warmly to other families." From R.H.