Friendship Detectives
Helping children build meaningful friendships through curiosity, confidence, and connection.
Friendship Detectives is an occupational therapy group designed for children aged 6–12 years who would benefit from support developing friendships, understanding emotions, and navigating everyday social situations.
Using a fun detective theme, children become “Friendship Detectives” as they investigate the clues within themselves and others that help build positive relationships. Through games, movement, role play, collaborative challenges, and hands-on activities, children develop practical skills they can use at home, school, and in the community.
Unlike traditional social skills groups that focus on memorising social rules, Friendship Detectives encourages children to develop curiosity, self-awareness, flexible thinking, and confidence in their own unique way of connecting with others.
During the program, children will explore:
- Understanding body clues (interoception) and recognising emotions.
- Identifying how thoughts, feelings, and body signals influence behaviour.
- Building confidence and emotional regulation skills.
- Recognising facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, and other social cues.
- Perspective taking and flexible thinking.
- Developing communication skills, including giving and receiving feedback.
- Understanding healthy friendships, boundaries, consent, and self-advocacy.
- Problem-solving friendship challenges and repairing relationships.
- Teamwork, collaboration, and celebrating individual strengths.
Is Friendship Detectives right for my child?
This group may be suitable for children who:
- Find making or maintaining friendships challenging.
- Experience misunderstandings with peers.
- Have difficulty recognising or expressing emotions.
- Need support understanding social cues or different perspectives.
- Would benefit from developing confidence in social situations.
- Are learning to set healthy boundaries and advocate for themselves.
- Enjoy learning through movement, games, and interactive activities.
Our Approach
Friendship Detectives is facilitated by an Occupational Therapist using a neuroaffirming, strengths-based, and trauma-informed approach. Our focus is on helping children understand themselves first, develop curiosity about others, and build practical strategies that support meaningful participation in everyday life.
Children will leave the program with greater confidence, a deeper understanding of themselves and others, and a toolkit of strategies to help them navigate friendships with resilience, empathy, and self-awareness.
Additional Information
Friendship Detectives Group
Location: 71 Riverfig Ave, Kununurra WA 6743
Time: Wednesdays 2-3pm
Dates: 5th August - 9th September
Cost: $55 per session