Friendship Builders

Social Skills Groups & Speech Therapy in Newport Beach, CA

Children laughing during a social skills group section

Building social skills, confidence, and lasting friendships, while also offering expert speech and language therapy to support communication development.

Why Choose Friendship Builders?

Social Struggles are Common

Whether you are searching for social skills groups in Newport Beach or specialized speech therapy in Orange County, finding the right environment for your child or teen is the first step toward lasting confidence.

If your child or teen has difficulty making friends, joining conversations, or navigating peer dynamics, our expert speech therapists near Newport Beach are here to help. Many children and teens require extra support to master social nuances, and with the right guidance, these essential life skills can flourish.

At Friendship Builders, we provide supportive, structured therapy that helps children and teens develop the communication and social skills they need to succeed at school, at home, and in the community.

Who Can Benefit?

Children and teens who…

Struggle with back-and-forth conversation

Feel shy, anxious, or unsure socially

Have autism, ADHD, or language delays

Need support navigating relationships and reading the room

Have difficulty making or keeping friends

At Friendship Builders, we provide supportive, structured therapy designed to help children and adolescents thrive. We offer targeted programs across the region, including:

Social skills groups for children in Newport Beach focusing on foundational play and cooperation, and for teens, our groups are tailored to complex social problem-solving and self-advocacy.

Comprehensive telehealth or in-person speech therapy in Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna, and Costa Mesa.

Whether you are looking for a speech therapist for social skills in Newport Beach or a specialist for Dyslexia and articulation, Friendship Builders offers the professional expertise your child or teen needs to thrive at school and at home.

Owner of Friendship Builders graduating a student from social skills in Newport Beach

How Friendship Builders Helps

At Friendship Builders, we offer tailored programs designed to help children and teens navigate their world with confidence. Whether your child needs help building peer connections or requires specialized speech and language therapy, we provide expert care to ensure real-life success.

1. Social Skills Group Therapy

Our therapist-led social skills groups in Newport Beach provide a supportive "social laboratory" for real-time peer practice. These groups are essential for a child who struggles to make friends or a teen dealing with social dilemmas.

Evidence-Based Programs: We utilize proven frameworks such as Floortime (Greenspan) and the PEERS (UCLA) program to facilitate social awareness and emotional growth.

Targeted Skill Building: We help children and teens master emotional regulation, impulse control, frustration tolerance, and flexible thinking.

Comprehensive Peer Support: Our group therapy for kids' social skills addresses common hurdles like difficulty taking turns, policing peers, and navigating the "hidden rules" of social interaction through pragmatic language therapy.

Regional Reach: We offer social skills therapy for children and teens in Orange County, with groups conveniently serving Irvine, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, and Laguna Beach.

2. Individual Speech & Language Therapy

For children requiring focused, one-on-one intervention, Molly Stuckey provides specialized speech therapy either via telehealth or in person in Newport Beach. Her specialized therapy focuses on the clinical and functional aspects of communication and literacy.

  • Articulation & Phonology: Working with a pediatric speech therapist in Newport Beach to ensure your child can express themselves clearly.

  • Language Development: Targeted support for delayed language, including both receptive, expressive, and pragmatic language delays, helping children understand others and share their own thoughts and feelings.

  • Dyslexia Therapy: Evidence-based reading and literacy instruction (i.e., Lindamood Bell & Orton Gillingham) to improve encoding and decoding.

  • Myofunctional Therapy: Specialized therapy focusing on oral motor patterns to support proper speech, swallowing, and breathing.

  • Social Communication: Individualized pragmatic language therapy in Newport Beach to improve topic initiation, maintenance, commenting, and taking turns.

  • Diverse Needs: Expert care for fluency (stuttering), autism, and play-based speech therapy for our youngest learners.

Let’s Get Started

Social skills group for six-year old's having fun
Children blowing bubbles outside at Friendship Builders social skills group
Group of young people gathered outdoors, smiling and conversing with each other. There are power lines and a signboard in the background.
Children reading a book about impulse control and frustration tolerance