Is a Board Game Social Skills Group Right for My Child? How It Helps With Turn-Taking and Friendship Skills

Our Board Game Social Skills Group is a small, therapist-led group where primary-school-aged children practise making friends, joining play, taking turns, and handling the ups and downs of a game — all through something kids already enjoy doing. If your child avoids group play, struggles to join in at recess, or finds losing a game genuinely distressing, this group is designed to give them real practice in exactly those moments, with support right there when they need it.

What actually happens in a board game social group?

Each session is built around structured board games chosen for the social demands they naturally create: waiting your turn, coping with not winning, negotiating rules, and reading how a peer is feeling. A speech pathologist or occupational therapist sits with the group throughout, prompting and modelling in the moment rather than lecturing about social skills beforehand. This matters because social skills are not something children learn well from being told the rules — they learn them from practising in real interactions with real peers, with an adult coaching alongside them.

This approach is backed by research on peer-mediated and peer-inclusive social skills interventions. A systematic review published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy found moderate evidence that social skills interventions incorporating peers improve social interaction outcomes for children, including those with ADHD (Effectiveness of Social Skills Interventions Incorporating Peer Interactions). Similarly, a randomised controlled trial on peer-mediated intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder found it increased social motivation and improved overall social communication (Zhang et al., Translational Pediatrics). The common thread across this research is that practising with peers — not just being told what to do — is what builds the skill.

Why does a board game group work better than a worksheet or a chat about social skills?

Board games create dozens of small, natural social decisions in a single session: who goes first, what to do when a peer cheats a little, how to react when you lose, how to ask to join. These are the exact moments children struggle with in the playground, at birthday parties, or during group work at school — except here, they happen in a small, safe group of three to six children with a trained therapist right there to support, pause, and coach through it in real time. Parents often tell us their child becomes more willing to join play at school or kinder after time in this group, because the skill has actually been practised, not just discussed.

Sessions run for 75 minutes at our Blackburn clinic and cost $185, with groups kept small — generally three to six children — so every child gets genuine support rather than getting lost in a crowd. Sessions can be run in English, Cantonese, or Mandarin.

Who is this group best suited to? This group tends to suit children who are shy or hesitant to join group play, children who struggle with turn-taking, sharing, or handling not winning, and children on the autism spectrum who benefit from explicit, supported practice of social skills in a small peer group. It also works well for children who already understand social “rules” in theory but freeze or struggle when it comes to actually using them with peers in the moment.

Before your child starts, we run a short intake call so they’re placed with children working on similar goals, which helps them feel comfortable and successful from their very first session.

Do I need to stop individual therapy to join a group? Not necessarily. Many children attend this group alongside individual speech pathology or occupational therapy sessions, using the group as the place to practise skills that were first introduced one-on-one. Others join the group as a standalone service because their main goal right now is social confidence with peers rather than a specific speech or motor skill target. During your intake call, the leading therapist will talk through what makes sense for your child based on what you’re already noticing at home, kinder, or school.

How do we get started in a board game social group?

If your child needs more practice making friends, taking turns, or coping with the small frustrations of group play, our Board Game Social Skills Group gives them a supportive place to build those skills with peers. You can explore all our current group therapy programs or speak with one of our occupational therapists about whether this group is the right fit.

To enquire about a spot, complete our service request form and our team will contact you to talk through the right group for your child, in English, Cantonese, or Mandarin.

This article is for general education only and is not a substitute for individualised clinical advice from a qualified therapist.

桌上遊戲社交技巧小組適合我的孩子嗎？如何幫助孩子學習輪流與交朋友的技巧

我們的「桌上遊戲社交技巧小組」是一個由治療師帶領的小組，讓小學階段的兒童透過遊戲練習交朋友、加入群體活動、輪流及應付遊戲中的高低起伏——全部透過孩子本身已經喜歡的活動進行。如果你的孩子逃避群體遊戲、在小息時難以加入同伴、或對輸掉遊戲感到極度困擾，這個小組正是為了讓孩子在這些情境中，於治療師即時支援下反覆練習而設。

桌上遊戲小組實際上會做甚麼？

每節課堂圍繞經過挑選、能自然帶來社交挑戰的桌上遊戲：輪候、應付輸波、協商規則、留意同伴的情緒。言語治療師或職業治療師會全程陪同小組，在過程中即時示範及提示，而非事先「講解」社交技巧的道理。這一點很重要，因為社交技巧並非單靠被告知規則便能學會——孩子需要在與真實同伴的真實互動中反覆練習，並由成人在旁指導。

這個做法有研究支持同伴介入及以同伴為本的社交技巧訓練。一篇刊於《美國職業治療期刊》的系統性回顧發現，融入同伴的社交技巧介入，對兒童（包括專注力不足／過度活躍症兒童）的社交互動有中等程度的實證支持（《融入同伴互動的社交技巧介入成效》）。同樣，一項針對自閉症譜系兒童的同伴介入隨機對照試驗發現，此方法能提升社交動機及整體社交溝通能力（Zhang等人，《Translational Pediatrics》）。這些研究的共通點是：與同伴一起練習——而非單純被告知該怎樣做——才是建立技巧的關鍵。

為何遊戲比工作紙或社交技巧講解更有效？

桌上遊戲在一節課堂中自然創造大量細小的社交決定：誰先開始、同伴稍為「作弊」時該怎麼辦、輸波時如何反應、如何要求加入。這些正正是孩子在操場、生日會或學校小組活動中會遇到的難題——分別在於，這裡的情境是在一個由三至六名兒童組成的細小、安全小組中發生，並有受過訓練的治療師在旁即時支援、暫停及指導。不少家長告訴我們，孩子在參加小組一段時間後，變得更願意在學校或幼兒園加入群體遊戲，因為這項技巧是實際練習過，而非單純討論過。

小組於本中心（Blackburn）進行，每節75分鐘，費用為$185，小組人數維持精簡（一般三至六人），確保每位孩子都得到真正的照顧，而不會在人群中被忽略。小組可以英語、廣東話或普通話進行。

這個小組最適合哪些孩子？ 這個小組較適合害羞或抗拒加入群體遊戲的孩子、在輪流、分享或應付輸波方面有困難的孩子，以及自閉症譜系、需要在細小同伴小組中明確、有支援地練習社交技巧的兒童。對於理論上明白社交「規則」，但在與同伴實際相處時卻卡住或有困難的孩子，這小組同樣有幫助。

孩子開始前，我們會先進行簡短的入組電話評估，確保與目標相近的同伴同組，讓孩子從第一節開始便感到自在及有成功感。

孩子需要停止個別治療才能參加小組嗎？ 不一定需要。不少孩子會同時參加這個小組及個別言語或職業治療，把小組作為練習於一對一時初步學習的技巧的場合。亦有孩子純粹以此小組作為獨立服務，因為他們目前的主要目標是建立與同伴相處的社交自信，而非某項具體的言語或動作技巧。在入組評估電話中，帶組治療師會根據你在家中、幼兒園或學校觀察到的情況，與你商討最適合孩子的安排。

如何開始？

如果你的孩子需要更多練習交朋友、輪流，或應付群體遊戲中的小小挫折，我們的「桌上遊戲社交技巧小組」正好提供一個有支援的環境，讓孩子與同伴一起建立這些技巧。你可以瀏覽我們目前所有的小組治療課程，或向我們的職業治療師查詢這個小組是否適合。

如欲查詢名額，請填寫我們的服務申請表格，我們的團隊將以英語、廣東話或普通話與你聯絡，商討最適合孩子的小組。

本文僅供一般教育參考之用，不能取代合資格治療師的個別臨床意見。