PEERS® is an evidence-based social skills curriculum developed at UCLA. Community Autism Resources (CAR) runs it as a course, not a drop-in group, adapted for the people in the room. It covers starting and holding a conversation, finding people you have something in common with, handling disagreement, dating, and what to do when a situation goes sideways.

This page also covers Healthy Relationships, a separate course that starts at friendship and works outward. Both run eight weeks, one session a week.

PEERS® runs in two age groups, 13 to 17 and 18 and over. Teens usually come through a parent, and adults usually sign up themselves. You don't need to be connected to the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS), and there's no referral. If you have questions about DDS eligibility, our Family Support team can help.

Email Sarah Walkden at swalkden@communityautism.org or call her at 774-955-0595, and she'll book a short phone call, about ten or fifteen minutes. On the call she'll explain how the course runs, answer your questions, and ask the person who'd be attending whether it's something they want to do.

That last part matters. Seats are limited, and someone signed up by a parent without being asked tends to leave partway through. The answer only has to be yes from the person taking the course. If it's not, say so, and we'll talk through what might fit better.

Eight weeks, one session a week, for both age groups. Dates for the next course go to people on CAR's list first, then into CAR's newsletter and onto its Facebook page. To get on the list, email or call Sarah.

No. It's a course, not a drop-in group. There's a curriculum that runs in a set order, each week builds on the last, and it works like a class: material, discussion, role-play, and something to practice between sessions. People come to learn something specific and then go use it.

Yes. It's comprehensive sex education, and it's called Healthy Relationships because it starts with friendship, the base of every other kind of relationship. From there it covers what good and harmful relationships look like, including green flags, red flags and the characteristics of abuse. The physical side comes last, and it's covered properly.

It includes consent and LGBTQ identities. CAR doesn't teach abstinence-only, and people do ask: nobody can make an informed decision without complete information, and people who know more about sex tend to start later, not earlier.

Students in the Gottschall Access Program take this same course as one of their enrichments. It's one course, not two.

For PEERS®, yes. Every participant brings a social coach, usually a parent, a family member or someone who knows them well. The coach doesn't sit in the session. They meet separately with CAR staff at the same time, so they know what was covered and can help practice it during the week. That's a big part of why PEERS® sticks outside the room.

Healthy Relationships doesn't need a coach. You can bring a support person if you'd like, and plenty of people come on their own.

Healthy Relationships is taught by educators certified in sex education for adults with disabilities, a credential most people don't know exists, and one of them also holds a bachelor's degree in psychology with a focus in gender studies. PEERS® is taught by CAR staff with the official UCLA training. You can meet the team on the staff page.