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Social Pragmatic Support Services

A male student left and female student (right) seated in the dining hall. They are looking at each other making the same hand gesture with index and inky fingers raised upward with thumb pointed outward.
A group of students outside gathered around one of the therapy dogs and giving her attention.
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Our social pragmatic support is designed to help neurodivergent students transition to college. These students are frequently, but not always, on the autism spectrum. Every person has strengths, and college is an important time to explore them. At the same time, we recognize that some students may need additional support to make friends, manage transitions and find a supportive, accepting community. We work closely with residential life, student affairs and advisors to help students make these connections and honor the individual’s right to make these choices.

Successful programming requires skill instruction/acquisition, facilitated engagement, opportunity to practice and individualized support.

Landmark College has made it a priority to develop and refine social pragmatics services and programs for students that are integrated, progressive and student centered. These important services include:

  • PEERS®—An evidence-based, social skills intervention program for motivated students who are interested in learning skills to make and keep friends, as well as develop relationships. (See tab below for more information about individual PEERS programs.)
  • Early Orientation—Additional support prior to arrival with an emphasis on easing the transition to college. (See the Early Orientation tab below for more details.)
  • Parent Sessions—Running parallel to PEERS programs, these sessions offer the opportunity for families to learn how they can best support their students to achieve their goals. (See Programs for Parents tab.)
  • Activity Planning—The social pragmatics staff organizes a variety of activities that promote friendship and relationship-building in a safe environment. (See Other Support Opportunities tab.)
  • Workshops—College to Careers, Dating Bootcamp, Campus Survival Guide and more. (See Workshops tab.)

For more information, please contact:

Andy Donahue, MA, LCMHC, Director of Social Pragmatic Support
 

One of the many things that make Landmark College a better choice for students who learn differently is that we constantly strive to provide the right kind of support for the wide profile of learners that come to the College. In this spirit, we have developed an early orientation designed for students with a diagnosis of autism (including diagnoses formerly known as Asperger’s Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, or PDD-NOS).

Early Orientation

The schedule for enhanced orientation consists of the following:

  • Prearrival Interview—You and your family will have the opportunity to participate in comprehensive interviews about the important things Landmark College should know when working with you. These interviews will serve as the basis for how we work with you when you arrive. These interviews are scheduled at times convenient for families, starting May 16, 2022.
  • Specialized Roommate Selection—You will receive additional review to determine appropriate and effective housing and roommate assignments.
  • Educational Planning Process—You will participate in an online meeting, “Pathways,” with a member of the advising team, to discuss your educational and personal goals. This person-centered planning process will also help us know you better so we can better support you.
  • Peer Group Development (Students)—You will be invited to biweekly online social groups starting August 2, 2022. This will help in the development of a safe and comfortable peer group as you get ready for the full orientation program and the semester.
  • Parent Workshops—Parents are invited to attend evening online workshops. We will be reviewing social pragmatic programming, including but not limited to PEERS, workshops, activities, and social coaching. Each week will feature quests representing students, parents, alumni, faculty, or staff. Workshops are scheduled Tuesday evenings from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. The sessions will be recorded. Tentative dates: May 31, June 7, June 21, July 12, July 26, August 9, and August 23 .
  • Priority Application to PEERS®—Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) is a weekly evidence-based social skills intervention for motivated students, who are interested in learning skills to make and keep friends and develop romantic relationships. During each group session, students are taught important social skills and are given the opportunity to practice these skills.
  • Early Arrival, (Registration and Move-in)—Students arrive on campus Wednesday, August 24, 2022—one day prior to the arrival of the new student cohort. Students will complete the check-in process and have time to settle into their dorm. Social activities are scheduled for students. Parents are invited to participate in afternoon workshops. Students and families will have the opportunity to check in with social pragmatic staff throughout the day. On Thursday, students and parents will join new student orientation activities with the remainder of the incoming students and their families.

Parents of students participating in PEERS meeting, weekly, 60 minutes 16 weeks (online only)

This group is open for all parents, bur recommended for parents of students participating in a PEERS group.

  • TEAMS meeting, Tuesdays, 6 – 7 p.m.
  • During the first 30 minutes we will review what we cover in PEERS sessions. You will see the skills we are teaching as well as how we teach.
  • Parents will receive a handout with a summary of what we are covering, and language used.
  • Review of the structure and content of social coaching sessions.
  • Q&A period. Questions about the program, material, and strategies. Questions about specific student issues should be emailed directly to Andy Donahue.

Here’s a small sampling of other types of programming the social pragmatics staff helps organize and offers each semester. Contact Andy Donahue or more details.

  • Social table in Dining Hall
  • Therapy Dog program
  • Thursday evening off campus trips
  • Online game nights
  • Weekend field trips
  • Individual meetings with social coaches or social pragmatic staff

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What sets the PEERS program apart is its foundation in evidence-based practices. The concrete skills help you make and keep friends with people you actually want to be friends with, and/or date people you actually want to date. Learn more about it by clicking here.

  • Not necessarily. PEERS is not intended to be a friendship-matching group. Rather, it’s a program in which you will learn skills to help you make friends. However, some of the people in your group may actually become your friends as a result of the shared experience.

  • In order for the program to be effective, it’s important to work with people you are comfortable being around and who are comfortable being around you. We take that into account when we work to place students with accepting peers.

  • Many of our students feel like they already possess these skills. For you, the value of these discussion-based sessions will be in practicing these skills within different situations and with different people. Through that sharing of knowledge, you can teach other students something new and possible learn something that will help you feel even more confident.

  • No one is required to take part in a PEERS. It’s important that you are making the choice to participate in order for the program to work for you. If making friends or dating is important to you, however, and you have found those things challenging in the past, PEERS can probably help. Most students who try PEERS choose to stick with it.

  • Yes! Students can try PEERS for a few weeks before making a decision to stay in the program. Once you do decide to do PEERS, we do ask that you attend regularly.

  • PEERS is a semester-long program.

  • The recommended group size is between 10 – 12 students per group. Each semester we typically offer 4 – 5 PEERS sessions.

  • Our dating boot camp works with students on the following:

    • Letting someone know you like them
    • Asking someone on a date
    • Dating dos and don’ts
    • Going on dates
    • How to resolve conflicts

  • “Without PEERS, I don’t think Gavin’s transition would have been nearly so smooth or successful—so not fraught—nor would he have gotten a glimpse of how thrilling and enriching the college experience can be in nonpandemic times. I’m not sure how excited he would have been to continue if not for PEERS providing him that window into the great exploratory and experiential and relational adventure that is college life.”

    –father of Gavin W., Pennington, NJ

  • “PEERS has been a real life changer for me. Growing up, I was always struggling in trying make friends as well as when it came to socializing outside my family. But after joining PEERS I did not just only gain social skills, I finally started to gain friends that I could rely on!”

    –Carolina M., Plantation, FL

     

    “I think that PEERS has given me a lot of the language and conceptual ideas to label interactions that I have been actively experiencing, and allow me to reframe them in new ways that allow me to better navigate and understand the circumstances that I run into.”

    –Gabrian R., West Point, VA

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