Therapeutic Social Groups

The Airplane Spoon offers a variety of small group therapy sessions that are designed to support children and parents through a shared community of trust, engagement, learning, and enjoyment.

Group therapy sessions are a great opportunity for your child to develop their skills through natural interactions with their peers. They also provide a space for parents to come together and learn strategies to support their children.

Communication Groups Offered

Foundational Language Social Play Group

Age: Approximately 2-3 years

Dates: 4/7-6/12 (10 week session)

Day/Time: Coming soon!

  • Targets children aged 2–3 years with language delays

  • Focuses on building social and peer interaction skills such as collaboration, communication, and following instructions

  • Utilizes music, art, books, and play to engage children

  • Suited for children who communicate at the single-word level and have had limited supported peer interactions

  • Offers parents strategies to create a supportive language-learning environment at home

Expanding Language Social Play Group

Age: All ages welcome!

Dates: 4/7-6/12 (10 week session)

Day/Time: Coming soon!

  • Targets children communicating at the phrase or sentence level who play near or around peers and show some interest in interacting with others

  • Engages children through music, art, books, games, and play

  • Promotes social and peer interaction skills such as sharing, initiation, and teamwork

  • Targets a range of social skills including turn taking, emotional regulation, commenting, cooperative play, following a leader, problem solving, sharing, and social awareness

  • Offers parents strategies to create a supportive language-learning environment at home

Feeding Groups Offered

Feeding Group

  • Designed for children with feeding challenges related to sensory systems, emotional regulation, and oral-motor skills

  • Utilizes pretend play, music, cooking recipes, and peer modeling to explore food

  • Aims to improve children’s relationship with food and eating

  • Targets feeding skills through food preparation, shared mealtimes, food play, following recipes, and more

Age: All ages welcome!

Dates: 4/7-6/12 (10 week session)

Day/Time: Coming soon!

Spring 2025 Social Groups

Our spring-fall groups will be posted in mid-January.

If you have any questions please email us at the info@theairplanespoon.com

  • " We started to work with the Airplane Spoon family when our son was diagnosed with ASD at the age of 2. Out of all the therapy services we interacted with, The Airplane Spoon has been the most helpful and it has been instrumental in our son's amazing progress in the past 2 years. Looking back, we are very happy that we had the opportunity to learn first-hand information and techniques during parent-involved groups when we were trying to figure things out. We also greatly appreciate the general approach adopted at the Airplane Spoon where it's always cue-based focusing on creating positive associations for children. Our son loves to meet and play with the therapists and friends there, which we believe helped build a great foundation for his social interaction skills because of the strong relationship between therapists and families. "

    M & D, Parents of 4-year-old boy

  • "My experience of parent-involved social groups is reassuring for my child’s growth. It is a good platform to see how your child interacts with her peers and what challenges she faces with social interaction. I would say it’s the best way to expose your child to the outer world.  It is also comforting for us as parents to realize that we are not alone by talking to other parents and getting their input, too."

    Laurie Payton-Rekha, mother of 6-year-old girl

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What ages are the groups for?

Our groups are specifically designed for young children (ages 2 - 6*). Some older children with more complex needs may be considered.

How big are the groups?

Groups are kept small, ranging from 3-5 children to allow for more practice and a more familiar relationship building setting.

How long do groups run for?

Our group Groups run for 60 minutes, once a week, for 10 weeks. The same set of 3-4 families are enrolled in the closed group for the full 10-week term to build on previously targeted skills from week to week and to build a community.

Where are the groups held?

All groups are held at our developmental center (697 Menlo Ave, Menlo Park, CA 94025). Winter groups are held inside and Spring/Summer/Fall groups are all held outside in our enclosed outdoor play space. We have our own private parking lot and bathroom for families’ access during group times.

How much do they cost? Are they reimbursable?

These 10-hour closed have a cost of $150/session ($1500 total for the camp week), which includes all of the activity materials as well as snacks. A detailed coded Superbill is provided for families who submit their paid invoices to their insurance companies for reimbursement purposes.