Speech Sound Mastery
Help your child produce sounds clearly and confidently through play-based therapy techniques.
Learn MoreSocial Skills Groups for Kids in Westlake Village
Social Skills Groups for Kids in Westlake Village
It’s the birthday invitations that don’t come, or watching your child hover at the edge of the playground, wanting in, not sure how. If that ache is familiar, you are not alone, and your child is not broken. Social skills groups are small, coached sessions where children practice the real work of friendship, taking turns, reading faces and body language, starting and keeping a conversation, coping with losing a game, with peers and a therapist guiding gently along the way. Therapy Clubhouse supports social communication for Westlake Village children through in-home and telehealth work today, with group programming expanding as our Westlake Village clinic opens on November 1, 2026. It starts with a free 15-minute consultation, no obligation, just answers.
Would my child benefit from social skills support?
Consider it if your child struggles to make or keep friends, misreads how others are feeling, dominates or withdraws from conversations, has a hard time with turn-taking or losing, or comes home lonely. These are learnable skills, not fixed traits, with the right practice and a little coaching, most children grow more confident and connected.
Why is my child fine at home but struggles with friends at school?
Home is predictable and forgiving; a playground is fast, loud, and unwritten. Many children who are warm and chatty with family find the split-second social rules of peers genuinely hard, and that gap is exactly what social skills work targets. It doesn’t mean your child doesn’t want friends; it means the “how” hasn’t clicked yet.
What does social skills work actually focus on?
Real, specific skills, practiced until they feel natural: joining a game, reading tone and body language, taking turns in conversation, handling frustration and disappointment, and repairing a moment that goes sideways. We build these through play and coached practice, then help you carry them into playdates and recess, the places they actually matter.
Is this only for autistic children?
No. Social skills groups help autistic children and non-autistic children alike. Kids with ADHD, anxiety, language differences, or simply a slower on-ramp to friendship. Our approach is neurodiversity-affirming: we build on who your child is rather than trying to make them look like everyone else.
How is this different from one-on-one speech therapy?
Social communication is part of speech-language pathology, so a lot of this work is led by an SLP, with occupational therapy supporting the self-regulation underneath it. One-on-one sessions build the skills; a group is where children rehearse them with real peers in real time. Many children do best with both, and we’ll help you find the right mix.
Do you offer this in Westlake Village now, and groups later?
Yes. We support social communication in your home or by telehealth across Westlake Village today, and structured social skills groups expand as our Westlake Village clinic opens on November 1, 2026. On your free consultation, we’ll talk through what fits your child right now and what’s coming.
Is the consultation free, and what’s the difference from an evaluation?
Yes. The 15-minute consultation is genuinely free and comes with no obligation, a conversation with a licensed therapist to answer your questions and point you to a next step. It is not an evaluation. If therapy is a fit, the next step is a comprehensive evaluation (we are private pay and out of network, and we provide superbills you can submit for possible reimbursement) that maps your child’s social-communication strengths and needs.
Some children need to build the underlying skills before a group is the right fit. Our page on social communication and pragmatic language therapy explains that groundwork and how one to one work leads into a group.
Our Services
Therapy Clubhouse serves families in Westlake Village and nearby Southern California communities through pediatric speech therapy, occupational therapy, Early Intervention support, in-home therapy, telehealth, and clinic-based care.
Language Development
Build vocabulary, sentence structure, and comprehension skills through interactive learning.
Learn MoreSensory Integration
Help your child process sensory input so they can focus, self regulate, and take part in everyday activities.
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Social Communication
Develop conversation skills, turn-taking, and social play in a warm environment.
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Fine Motor and Handwriting
Build the hand strength, coordination, and control behind writing, buttoning, and self care.
Learn MoreDaily Living Skills
Support independence with routines, self-care, regulation, and age-appropriate participation goals.
Learn MoreWhen should I reach out?
If your child is coming home lonely, being left out, or dreading school, that’s reason enough. A free consultation either reassures you or gets support started, and helping a child feel they belong is rarely something families wish they had waited on.
Therapy Clubhouse was founded by two licensed pediatric clinicians and mothers, Nita Anavim, M.S., CCC-SLP, and Rachel Yashouafar, MA, OTR/L (USC-trained, certified in sensory integration).
Ready to take the next step? Call (805) 702-3427 or schedule a free 15-minute consultation with a licensed pediatric therapist.
Therapy Clubhouse provides in-home and telehealth services in Westlake Village today; our clinic opens here on November 1, 2026.
Explore more: Speech therapy in Westlake Village · Occupational therapy in Westlake Village · Early intervention
