Making Friends

But what if they don’t like me…

As we get older, it seems like when we look back, we have made friends every step of the way. Whether it be in school, sports, camp, or other kids around the neighborhood, we as people tend to make connections even without realizing it, but for those with neurodivergent traits, making friends can be difficult. Between the anxiety of not knowing if they will like what you like and having to talk and open-up to a stranger, making friends can be difficult for many. Yet, if they don’t, their lives can be filled with isolation, anxiety, depression, and so much more. Without friends, children, teens, and young adults may find going to school, events, and even just daily life to be difficult to manage. Friends help us feel comfortable in situations we may not be used to, and they are there to talk to us and help us get through things, but if we cannot make, nurture and maintain these friendships, life can quickly become lonely.

Without the effective social skills, making friends can seem impossible. Knowing what they like and dislike, how to talk to certain people in specific situations, reading body language, emotional regulation, listening, and so much more are ways we make and keep friends. These skills help us understand what our friends are thinking so we can be there for them and vice versa, which can make school and general life a much better experience. Friends are there to experience life with us and to help us through tough times, which is why having them is so important, yet neurodivergent individuals may find it more difficult to know when to use these skills than their neurotypical peers, but the Support for Students Growth Center can give them the tools they need to do so.

At SSGC, we provide the social, behavioral, educational, emotional, and executive functioning skills children, teens, young adults, and their families need for a happy and successful life in and out of school settings. Our team of professionals offers individualized and family coaching/counseling and social skills groups to help teach skills such as how to make friends to ensure parents do not have to worry that their kids will be unable to make and maintain a functioning independent life on their own. So, if your child is struggling with skills like the ones listed above and much more, the SSGC is equipped with the tools to help.


Click here and call now to schedule your FREE 20-minute individualized screening- $150 value

Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist who specializes in Autism, ADHD and related disorders. Dr. Nach is the founder of the Support for Students Growth Center and College Life Skills Program where he and his team of professional’s help develop the Emotional Maturity, Executive Functioning, Life Skill and Social Abilities of children, teens, young adults and college students and those high school students preparing for college.

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The Importance of Executive Functioning Skills

I just don’t get it…

Executive functioning (EF) allows for children, teens, and young adults to properly manage time, plan and organize, initiate, inhibit, use working memory, shift, and so much more so they can be productive in their daily lives. Having and maintaining these skills allows for school, work, and chores to be made easier to complete, but executive functioning skills can also help them emotionally and socially as well. Being able to self-monitor their emotions as well as the emotions of others, adapt to a situation that may be stressful or difficult to handle, and self-soothe are all ways that EF can help them make and maintain relationships. Most kids do not want their friends to lash out or be angry on a whim or ignore how they are feeling in a situation, and EF skills help us avoid that. Yet, for neurodivergent individuals, these skills don’t come as easily to them.

As children get older, their executive functioning skills tend to strengthen subconsciously, but for those with executive dysfunction, they may not be able to do it without thinking. Understanding how to actively be doing something such as self-monitoring or inhibiting may be difficult for them to do on a daily basis. They may find planning out their days and keeping organized, initiating tasks, and much more to be harder for them than their peers, which can be discouraging and eventually affect their futures as they get older. They may not do well independently while away at college or be able to maintain a job all because they struggle with executive dysfunction. However, these skills can be learned to be implemented into their lives with the proper help.

At The Support for Students Growth Center, we provide the social, behavioral, emotional, and executive functioning skills children, teens, young adults, and their families need for a happy and successful life both in and out of school settings. Our team of professionals offers individualized and family coaching/counseling and social skills groups to help teach executive functioning skills to ensure parents do not have to worry that their kids will be unable to be the best they can be in and out of school setting on their own. So, if your child is struggling with skills like the ones listed above and much more, the SSGC is equipped with the tools to help.


Click here and call now to schedule your FREE 20-minute individualized screening- $150 value

Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist who specializes in Autism, ADHD and related disorders. Dr. Nach is the founder of the Support for Students Growth Center and College Life Skills Program where he and his team of professional’s help develop the Emotional Maturity, Executive Functioning, Life Skill and Social Abilities of children, teens, young adults and college students and those high school students preparing for college.

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Self-Awareness

Oh, I didn’t realize…

When it comes to self-awareness, neurodivergent individuals may find it hard to identify when they are and are not aware of themselves. Whether it be socially, internally, or just in daily life, they may find it hard to be proactively thinking about how their actions affect not only themselves, but others. As we get older, self-awareness allows us to know who we are as people. What we like and don’t like, what we are good and bad at, and so much more, but it also helps us reflect on our experiences and others around us. If we do something and a friend reacts in a certain way, we can reflect on that interaction and know if we should do it again in the future. We also do this with ourselves. Self-awareness helps us identify our own emotions and how those emotions can affect our daily lives. If neurodivergent individuals cannot do this, day to day life can be made more difficult since if they are feeling a negative emotion and cannot identify where it is coming from, then they cannot prevent it from happening again in the future.

Self-awareness is an important social skill for children, teens, and young adults to have. It helps them manage their emotions in daily life as well as make and nurture friendships since they will be aware of how their actions are affecting them as well. However, for neurodivergent individuals, this skill may not come as easily to them as their neurotypical peers, but The Support for Students Growth Center can help them learn how to use self-awareness.

At SSGC, we provide the social, behavioral, educational, emotional, and executive functioning skills children, teens, young adults, and their families need for a happy and successful life in and out of school settings. Our team of professionals offers individualized and family coaching/counseling and social skills groups to help teach skills such as self-awareness to ensure parents do not have to worry that their kids will be unable to make and maintain a functioning independent life on their own. So, if your child is struggling with skills like the ones listed above and much more, the SSGC is equipped with the tools to help.


Click here and call now to schedule your FREE 20-minute individualized screening- $150 value

Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist who specializes in Autism, ADHD and related disorders. Dr. Nach is the founder of the Support for Students Growth Center and College Life Skills Program where he and his team of professional’s help develop the Emotional Maturity, Executive Functioning, Life Skill and Social Abilities of children, teens, young adults and college students and those high school students preparing for college.

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