Getting Out of the Social Skills Bubble
Friday 7th August
12:00pm - 2:00pm (AWST)
What if the social skills approaches you were trained in are actually getting in the way of the very connection you're trying to support?
If you work with Autistic young people or adults and you've been quietly wondering whether the social skills approaches you were trained in are actually... helping, you're not alone. That discomfort you're feeling is worth paying attention to.
Maybe you've already made the shift in your values toward neurodiversity-affirming practice, but when it comes to social goals, you're still not quite sure how to translate that into what you actually do in the room. That gap between what we believe and what we do is real, and it's where so many of us get stuck.
This webinar is for you.
Liz Baird has designed this session for professionals who support the social engagement of Autistic young people and adults. It's practical, it's values-grounded, and it will genuinely shift the way you think about social goals, not just in theory but in your day-to-day practice.
What You'll Walk Away With
This session will help you move beyond the outdated frameworks and get clear on what it actually looks like to support authentic social connection. Here's what we'll cover:
Why many traditional social skills approaches can be counterproductive, and what to do instead.
How to recognise and support Autistic communication differences through a genuinely affirming lens.
The internal and external factors that shape social engagement, including sensory needs, energy levels, trauma, and the environments we create.
How to build in accommodations that reduce masking and make space for authentic self-expression.
Ways to promote autonomy, self-advocacy, and real wellbeing rather than teaching conformity to neurotypical expectations.
Practical strategies you can take straight into your therapy room, school, workplace, or community setting.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:
Understand the shift from traditional to neurodiversity-affirming approaches. You'll be able to name the limitations and potential harms of traditional social skills training, and articulate why supporting Autistic communication differences matters.
Identify what's really influencing social engagement. You'll understand how factors like energy, sensory needs, past trauma, societal expectations, and environmental barriers all play a role in how Autistic people experience social situations.
Implement strategies that actually support inclusion. You'll leave with practical, concrete ways to create accommodations, reduce masking, and foster authentic Autistic expression across different settings.
Prioritise wellbeing and self-advocacy. You'll have a clear framework for building approaches that put autonomy and individual wellbeing at the centre, not neurotypical conformity.
Who it’s for?
This one is for the broad crew of people who show up every day to support Autistic individuals: speech pathologists and allied health professionals, occupational therapists and psychologists, educators and school staff, disability support workers, support coordinators, case managers, employers working on workplace inclusion, and anyone else who's committed to doing this work well.
Please note: if you've previously attended Getting Out of the Social Skills Bubble through ND Therapy, please don't register again as the content is the same. We want to make sure your seat goes to someone who hasn't had the chance to experience it yet.
WHAT'S INCLUDED?
Live interactive webinar delivered by Liz Baird, with practical strategies grounded in lived experience and clinical expertise that you can apply straight away.
Professional learning grounded in neurodiversity-affirming practice, designed for speech pathologists, allied health professionals, educators, and anyone supporting the social engagement of Autistic teens and adults.
A genuine reframe of social goals, moving beyond traditional social skills training to understand why many conventional approaches can be counterproductive, and what to do instead.
Practical, evidence-informed strategies you can take into your therapy room, school, workplace, or community setting immediately.
Live Q&A of approximately 15 to 20 minutes, so you can bring your real questions and work through practical implementation with Liz directly.
Webinar recording access for up to two months, so you can revisit the content, reflect at your own pace, or share it with a colleague.
Cost: $150 (incl. GST)
About Liz Baird
Liz Baird is an Autistic speech pathologist and the founder of ND Therapy, a private practice supporting Autistic youth and young adults with authentic social communication.
She creates training and resources that help professionals move beyond traditional models and into genuinely affirming practice, and she brings something most of us can't: lived experience alongside clinical expertise. Liz bridges those two things in a way that is rare and genuinely valuable. She's an active member of both Autistic and professional therapy communities, and she advocates, always, for approaches that celebrate difference and prioritise authenticity over compliance.
You’ll feel at home here if:
You support Autistic young people or adults with social goals and you've been quietly questioning whether the approaches you were trained in are actually serving them well.
You understand the principles of neurodiversity-affirming practice but want clear, practical ways to apply them to social communication and connection.
You work with people who mask, withdraw, or struggle to engage socially, and you want to understand what's really driving that rather than trying to fix it.
You're looking for approaches that reduce the pressure to perform neurotypical social norms and make space for authentic expression instead.
You value practice that is grounded in both lived experience and clinical evidence, not just theory.
You want to leave with strategies you can actually use, not just a new way of thinking about the problem.
This space is for professionals who believe that Autistic people don't need to be taught to fit in. They need support systems that are built around who they actually are.
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