Conversation Club

members of Conversation Club enjoying themselves

Description

Conversation Club has been created to serve as a social group for neurodiverse youth on the Cal State East Bay campus. Conversation Club collaborates with the College Link Program (CLP) and the Creativity Lab (led by Dr. Eric Kupers in the Department of Theatre and Dance) in its mission to provide inclusive and safe spaces for all students. Each term, the format of Conversation Club is co-created by participants and graduate clinicians in speech pathology under the supervision of a certified speech language pathologist. Activities in Conversation Club are typically designed by participants to promote social interaction and connection. Ultimately, the goal of Conversation Club is to promote acceptance and self determination for all its participants. Interested persons can call the Norma S. and Ray R. Rees Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic at (510) 885- 3241, or email Dr. Shubha Kashinath directly at shubha.kashinath@csueastbay.edu.

Autism Awareness Video Project

 

Who can attend?

The group currently includes Cal State East Bay students who are enrolled in the College Link Program.

When and where will therapy take place?

The group consist of 4-5 members and is facilitated by graduate student clinicians under the supervision of a certified speech-language pathologist.  The group meets on the Cal State East Bay Hayward campus.

What can I expect?

Each quarter, the groups meet to identify individual social and pragmatic goals around a theme related to social communication.  Past themes have included: The art of conversation, Making Friends and Understanding Non-Verbal Communication.  Each session targets specific skills related to the theme.  Each session includes structured discussion and practice of target skills, role-playing and problem-solving and practice with peer volunteers.  The quarter ends with a community based outing decided by the participants (such as bowling, mini-golf etc). Common skills targeted include:

  • Interpreting non-verbal language
  • The art of small talk
  • Learning to take another person’s perspective
  • Hidden social rules in various settings (restaurants, dorms, library)
  • Including others in conversations
  • Learning to disagree
  • Use of appropriate tone and register of voice
  • Initiating and maintaining conversations
  • Interviewing skills.

Interested persons can call the Norma S. and Ray R. Rees Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic at (510) 885- 3241, or email Dr. Shubha Kashinath directly at shubha.kashinath@csueastbay.edu.

News and Events

Check out the following articles about the Conversation Club/CLP: