Baking Communication: A Social Skills Group based on baking

Most kids love baking because they get to eat the treats they create. Baking is also a fun way to learn how to follow directions, how to manage timed tasks, and how basic math and chemistry are useful in our daily lives, and learning the importance of communication. Baking can help kids build their self esteem and improve emotional well-being. Baking with others is a great way for kids to learn and practice their social skills. 

In our social skills baking program, we bring similar aged individuals who have difficulty with social skills together. We bake delicious treats while learning how to create meaningful connections, make and maintain friendships, and learn appropriate social language skills. Our evidence-based program is for children ages 4-6, 7-9, 9-13, 13-18, and 18+ with Autism and other social cognitive deficits. Each session is 90 minutes, once a week. Parent/caregiver training will be held for the last 10-20 minutes. During this time, parents will be instructed on how to carry over lessons and implement homework and activities throughout the week. We will adjust recipes for food allergies and sensitivities. 

This program is ideal for families who: 

-are interested in baking

-follow directions given minimal assistance

-are prepared to learn and improve their social interactions among peers and adults

Goals that we target include:

-Advocating for oneself

-initiating and maintaining friendships

-conversational skills

-practicing good sportsmanship 

-handling an argument

-using humor

-resisting and handling teasing

-dealing with bullying 

-and so much more!

Hava Young, M.S. CCC-SLP, is the creator of the social skills baking program:Baking Communication at DV Therapy. She has led and implemented social skills programs for many years. She is an avid baker. 

Alya Turcotte, OTD, OTR/L holds both a clinical doctorate and Master of Arts degree in occupational therapy from the University of Southern California. She has advanced training and certification in sensory integration, and has worked with kids with picky eating using sensory-based strategies to expand their diet and increase their comfort with new and non-preferred foods. She is passionate about the occupation of feeding and eating, and is currently pursuing additional training in relationship-based, multimodal approaches for the management of picky eating.

Any questions? Please contact us at info@dvtherapy.com or (323) 426-6402.  

Reviews of Hava

“We have had complete success with DV Therapy and my daughter’s therapist, Hava!  Our daughter has had the pleasure of working with Hava over the past few months.  She HAD a lisp and trouble pronouncing Rs and the progress she has made is tremendous!   Even with the virtual appointments, she has made such huge gains.  Hava keeps her engaged and is both patient and caring.  Hava is truly top notch and we are so thankful our daughter is able to work with her each week.” –Laura M. 

“Hava Young has been my son’s speech therapist for a while now. Both her speech therapy techniques and her interpersonal skills are impressive. When Covid quarantine began in March, we switched to teletherapy. My son looks forward to it each week, and Hava skillfully incorporates speech practice while engaging him in conversation about his week. I was concerned that teletherapy would cause a distance in their connection, But in fact the opposite occurred – their connection grew and he’s fine tuning the speech drills Hava gives him. We are very grateful to dv therapy and his therapist, Hava!” –B. Fischer

“My 3-year-old grandson had been attending speech therapy sessions at DV Therapy for several months before the coronavirus stay-at-home order. Since both of his parents work, I took him to the sessions and always stayed to observe. As a retired elementary special education teacher familiar with best practices for supporting speech and language development, I was continually impressed with Hava’s knowledge and skill during those weekly therapy sessions.

“When DV Therapy transitioned to teletherapy, we opted to take a break from the sessions. However, after a few months, we decided to give it another try, and I am so glad we did! My grandson loves the sessions. When the session is over, he always asks for a longer time with Hava. I am constantly impressed with Hava’s expertise in teaching and her ability to keep him engaged for a 50-minute session. I feel that he is improving as much or more than he did in his in-person sessions. And, I enjoy walking over to the computer instead of getting into the car and driving two miles!” –Marla R.