Social Skill Groups that Foster Skill Development Should Be Fun

Happy New Year to All!

Last year, I wrote an Aspire Wire piece on “Masking”.  In Psychology Today, masking was defined as: Masking is the act of suppressing or camouflaging neurodivergent traits, behaviors, or needs to fit into a neurotypical workplace culture. It often involves mimicking others’ social behaviors, suppressing natural expressions, and hiding sensory challenges. (July 20, 2025)

This quote refers to adults in the workforce but equally applies to children and teens and in more contexts than just work.  I wrote about the joy I felt in seeing Aspire participants letting go of some of their masks and feeling comfortable last summer.

As we embark on another year of programming, I want our Aspire Wire readers to take a deeper look at the various themes of groups that Aspire offers. These include Minecraft, Lego and Dungeons and Dragons. Our staff provide these groups not because our children and teens “like” these activities, although that is important. 

These groups are, to a neurotypical mind, kind of quirky.  But for a person in one of these groups, diving into passions with peers fosters a celebration of self with like-minded people who want to join in a group context. Navigating complex social interactions to attain success in any given activity can be challenging. Some of our participants, having experienced all too often the opposite of social success, are demotivated to take social risks. However, when the activities and goals of the group align, motivation returns.

Our staff can use the structure of each activity to maximize social learning and social success. In Minecraft, for example, participants are encouraged, and often prefer, to create in concert with each other rather than to create their own worlds. The Dungeon Master creates narratives that foster in game, as well as in person, the real benefits of cooperation between players.

A final quote by a wise analyst applies to the necessity of play and the development of one’s personality: It is in playing and only in playing that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self.  (DW Winnicott, Playing and Reality)

In our groups, we play, develop skills, and learn to identify and appreciate who we are.