Learn the art of drumming while working on technique, coordination and focusing.
"SOCIAL SKILLS THAT LAST A LIFETIME"
Testimonials
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Where do we begin?! To say our daughter, Sydni, has (overall) matured significantly, as well as shown amazing growth in her social interaction would not sufficiently convey gratitude and appreciation for Chris Caruso and all the folks at Kids Connect Today/Socialvise. Before participating in Socialvise and the “Club” experience, Sydni had maybe six foods that she would actually eat. Because of the encouragement the children receive to try new things, Sydni now has an ever-growing food palate. In fact, she now makes sure she has a little of everything on her plate that’s being served to the rest of the family. She also had developed very specific times she had to eat lunch and dinner, with zero flexibility. That dynamic no longer exists. It has been wonderful being able to go on vacation and not have to vet the desired vacation spot based on available restaurant/food choices. Sydni drinks water daily without being asked. In the past, she would only drink sweet tea or lemonade. And while this may sound trivial, most parents with neurodivergent children know the struggle with stomach issues if the kids don’t drink enough water and eat a proper diet. This struggle no longer exists in our home. Our daughter actually initiates conversations with us and other family members now. Very long conversations sometimes. It makes us smile to see her openly expressing herself to us and others. Before Socialvise and Kids Connect Today, we were pretty much relegated to single word responses and having a conversation about anything she was interested in was near impossible. Perhaps the most significant testimony we have regarding Ms. Chris and the Kids Connect Program is that it has helped Sydni immensely become more independent in her daily endeavors and activities. She is excited to do things for herself now, unlike in the past when she simply waited on someone to do everything for her or help her. – Robin Williams
After discussing some challenges we were seeing at home in regards to our son being able to manage his feelings of disappointment and frustration, especially in a competitive setting, with a friend, we were referred to Chris at Kids Connect Today. From the first conversation, I felt like I had an advocate for my child and most importantly a seasoned professional. Chris calls to check in to see how he is, she has done a school visit and partnered with teachers to ensure success at school, and is always open to listening and providing guidance for different situations. We have seen positive changes and such growth, and we feel really excited for what is to come.
– Dominique Landry
This program has been the best resource for our son!! He is 5 and struggles socially. With the help of the teachers and the wonderful director Mrs. Chris he has made significant improvement in a short period of time. Thank you so much for offering this tool for kids!!
– Tara Day
Anyone who has a child on the spectrum understands the trepidation associated with trying to find a place that not only provides a safe environment but also a nurturing and educational atmosphere so that their child can experience the outside world. Kids Connect Today does all of this and more. Chris and company have provided our son Jaydon with opportunities for building relationships with other children as well as real world experiences that are hard to come by elsewhere.
It's wonderful experience for us as parents to see how much Jaydon truly enjoys his time at the social classes and day camp that Kids Connect Today provides. We were lucky to find Chris and hope others have the opportunity to experience what we have!
– Ian Brooke
Conner has benefitted tremendously from participating in Kids Connect Today. In less than a year, the caring environment has allowed him to build new relationships and make new friends. The change in how he interacts with people is visible; by participating he is building life-long skills. This program has been a game changer for our family. Thanks Kids Connect Today for doing such a great job!
– Beth Putnam
Kids Connect Today and Chris Caruso were a weekly lifeline for our young adult autistic son for a year and a half after his college graduation while job-hunting and living with us in a restricted-age community. A non-driver, he would have been so isolated living in a new state were it not for Chris, her friendly staff and welcoming group. Resistant to going the first week, he grew quite attached to his friends who gave him a safe place to be himself while learning more effective ways to communicate, use social media and expand his small world to include others. His dad and I are so grateful for Chris, her program, professionalism, unflagging optimism and love for her all kids. Thank you, Chris!
– Peggy Monahan
"My son, Evan, loves Kids Connect Today! He is part of the Teen Club that meets every Friday night. He looks forward to going and especially enjoys the social outings that happen once a month. Chris and her staff are passionate about helping the kids develop their social skills. I am so happy to have found this wonderful program!"
– Nicole Shadden
"My son has ADHD. As a four year old, this creates some challenges with making friends and interacting appropriately in play settings. He has been attending social skills play group for almost a year and has made incredible improvements! He is now able to initiate play appropriately, interact with other children positively, play games, take turns, make eye contact, and his teacher has noticed that he has improved in his ability to participate in circle time at school. It is so encouraging and exciting when he tells me about the friends he has made! Chris is very easy to communicate with and has provided us with many useful tools related to attention, behavior, and food sensory challenges. I’m thankful we found Kids Connect Today and highly recommend it for any child with social challenges!"
– Mary Shull Harris
"My son, who is 8 years old and is on the Autism Spectrum Scale, has been attending the Saturday Social Skills Class for over a year. The efforts of Ms. Chris and her team have positively impacted my son for the better! My son has improved in interacting with peers, his confidence has skyrocketed, and he enjoys going to class each week. In our household, we call it “Saturday Fun”. In addition, Ms. Chris and her staff have played a pivotal role in helping my son transition from online and homeschooling back to the traditional classroom. Also, she takes time to communicate with the school and us to help ensure the success of Our son. Personally as a parent, and professionally as an educator, I appreciate the dedication of Ms. Chris and her team for helping all students excel. I highly recommend the Saturday Social Skills Class!"
– Dr. Farina
"My 14 year old with Autism LOVES Teen Club. The whole place is like a family unit. In just a few short weeks(3 hours each week on Fridays) my son has had progress in communication,conversation and socialization. He is making friends and remembers their names. He even asked for bow ties (which I promptly purchased) to wear when he goes there. I think he also enjoys the independence and self esteem he gains from being away from me and my husband. Having a non verbal older brother he gets little chance to learn proper skills from his brother muchless any peer socialization at home. At first I thought 3 hours was a long time but he could stay there all week.
He has already expressed interest in Camp in the Summer. Chris and Joe (the MAN, as our son calls him) really are a blessing to the community and they GET it. To know them is to love them and all the staff, volunteers, typical peers and special needs peers. I can't wait to see what the future holds for our boy. It is well worth the 45 minute (90 Roundtrip) drive to get there each week. THAT SMILE SAYS IT ALL.😍"
– Lorraine Inman
"Kids Connect Today has been amazing for our 4-year-old son who has autism! Ms. Chris and her staff are incredibly dedicated to each child in their care and are committed to helping them achieve their potential. Weekly Saturday Social Skills Class and Summer Camp this June have definitely helped our son improve conversationally and in social settings with his peers! We look forward to continuing our relationship with Kids Connect Today and are so grateful a friend suggested this resource to us!"
– Erica Connor
"This class has been a godsend for my 4 year old son and our family. We love Mrs. Chris and all of the amazing people that work with the kids. Our son has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and he has been going to this social skills group for a while now and we have seen such an improvement in his interactions with his peers and even adults. We are now able to go to birthday parties and play dates without having to hover over him or be nervous about his actions. We highly recommend Kids Connect Today!"
– Emily McDaniel Hall
"We have seen such a positive change in our son since he began with Kids Connect! Chris and Joe provide a safe,positive experience for children of all ages. The environment and skills acquired equip them with the social skills needed for a lifetime! Our favorite aspect is the interaction with neurotypical peers!"
– Ellen Frank Fondriest
"I can’t say enough about the Kids Connect Today programs. Mrs. Chris has developed excellent groups for all ages. My son, Christian, is 19 years old and finding programs for him at this age has been extremely difficult. Kids Connect Today has helped Christian grow so much with his social/communication skills! He attends the weekly Young Adult Cafe group and he loves it!"
– Melissa Howell Koster
"My two children attended Saturday social skills classes for about 7 months until we moved out of the area. Our experience with Kids Connect Today was wonderful. They provided a safe and nurturing environment for our kids to enjoy playing with their peers and learn valuable social skills. Our son can now sit down and play a board game, which he couldn't do before Kids Connect. Our daughter is better at expressing her feelings without getting upset. We really recommend Kids Connect Today to any parent who wants to see his/her children grow socially and emotionally."
– Mia Kang
"Our son Logan is now on his second session of social skills classes with Kids Connect Today. Each Friday he asks with excitement if he will get to go to Social Skills on Saturday morning to see his friends and play games. Logan has been in multiple therapies and groups for 10 years, and as his mom, his expressed joy about attending Kids Connect Today fills my heart with a much needed wave of relief-peace-happiness. I hope Logan finds his place of purpose in our world; finds friends; keeps friends; and gains better ability to appropriately express his thoughts to others while listening to theirs. I have found, in even just a short time, with Kids Connect Today that all these hopes I have for our son may be realized as he is guided and challenged with the program so beautifully designed by Chris Caruso and her team."
– Laura Merrill Godfrey
"My son has ADHD and has always had behavioral issues at school. We started him in the Saturday social skills class to help him practice functioning more positively in structured group settings. He loves his weekly “game club” and has made a lot of progress in the group. I've also been going to the Friday parent workshops, where Chris is able to help me problem solve challenges as they pop up at school. As an added benefit, she is able to take that information and identify what skill would be helpful to work on in my son's Saturday classes. Kids Connect Today has been an especially supportive environment as we continue to try to uncover the full picture of what is causing his challenges."
– Melissa Gopp
"Both of my children attend this social group, and I have seen a vast Improvement on not only their behavior at home but their social behavior. I'm getting compliments from teachers and other parents regarding my children's Behavior, and manners. I would recommend this group/program to any parent."
– Lauren Sanchez
"Our 5 year old grandson has been attending Saturday social skills classes for several months. It has really helped him learn positive ways to interact and deal with his feelings. The experience is very positive and the skill building is clear. He is aware of the things he is learning and can articulate how and why he is getting along better with classmates in the Saturday group and in school. Thank you to Miss Chris and the whole group!"
– Carolyn Woodhouse
"Kids Connect Today is a wonderful place for children to work on their social skills, whatever their needs, in a safe and loving environment. It’s about preparing your child for the real world, where as we know, social interaction can be complex and overwhelming. I love that Kids Connect is not just a weekly class, it’s a partnership between Chris and her staff, my husband and I, and our son. Chris is great about reaching out with progress reports and discussing individual needs. When you meet with Chris, you’ll quickly see her passion, her energy and that she “gets it.” She is 100% there for your child and your family. Thank you Chris for all you do, you are amazing. I love the progress I am seeing!!"
– Lori Dillon
"Kids Connect Today has been a really positive experience for my son. He has always struggled with interacting with kids his own age. Since working with KCT he is learning how to be a friend and what that looks like with kids his own age. And he has even made a new friend. I am really thankful he has found a safe place to develop his social skills and grow his confidence, and for the wonderful team! Thank you for all you do!"
– Carryn Iredale
"Our daughter has been in the young adult class for almost a year, and her social interest has escalated more and more, to the point where she can't wait for Friday nights, and is initiating lots of activities with her friends, from class and outside of it. We're amazed and delighted at her progress! It happened because of the very professional skills and experience of Chris Caruso, the director. We couldn't be more grateful for the help and stimulus she's given our daughter, to be more socially competent and motivated. This is the best social class we've ever seen!"
– Carol Lombardo
"The Saturday social skills classes have been extremely helpful and effective in helping my son to improve his ADHD-related behavior issues in school. He has been attending the classes for over a year and we've witnessed a tremendous growth in his ability to calm himself when he's upset and to use his words rather just react emotionally. The services Chris and her staff provide are invaluable and I'm very grateful that she has brought this to our community. Thank you!"
– Terra Freeman
"Our family experience with the services has been truly life changing. The level of expertise, the level of care and compassion has been exceptional. My son looks forward to each and every class. His growth in the area of social skills is evolving in the most exciting ways. We are thankful to have this type of quality training available in our area. Thank you Kids Connect!!"
– Regina Henderson
"I would like to express my appreciation of all that Joe and Chris Caruso have done with my daughters self esteem and social skills.. Joe's drumming class is building Claudia's span of focus and helping her to work both hands as she has the tendency to forget to use her right hand because of a stoke at a very young age...
I am so pleased to see my daughters growth in her speech and self expression during the social skills class. I feel so fortunate that Kids Connect is here in our community!!!!!"
– Roxanne Leonard
"Our son has been going to the social classes on Saturdays for over two months. He was enjoying and learning so many skills we decided to sign up for an additional session.
Chris has been very involved with our son's progress and has even helped implement a behavior plan for school and home that has helped tremendously with imrpoving behavior.
It's a huge relief to finally find a place that can help us as a family deal with aggressive behaviors with our son and be able to relate with what we are going through on a daily basis. The entire staff is friendly and patient and our son is always happy to attend the Saturday sessions.
The parents are really nice and we feel very comfortable sharing some of our experiences. I think Chris and her team are going to make an incredible, positive impact in many kids struggling with aggressive and social issues. Thank you..."
– Sarah Hickey
"My son has been going to the social skills classes on Saturday for 8 weeks and counting. It's been a wonderful experience. We were dealing with behavioral issues at circle time, outbursts, and sometimes aggressive behavior. Chris and the staff are genuinely invested in each and every child they work with. She would check in with us often, talk with his teachers, and come up with solutions for problems that would come up.
It was all very positive and just recently we were told by his teacher that "he's doing really, really good and most importantly learning!" It's so great to have a village when raising you children. It really helps to have people on your team who believe in holistic development and partner with you to effect change. We feel so blessed to have found this program and a staff who cares!"
– Melanie Lawson
Morning Show
Anchor/Reporter
WJXT Channel 4
"Great news! The VP called from school to report a kids was pushing and teasing Trevor during running club. Trevor did not react physically or emotionally, he only used his words to explain to an adult what happened.
We thank you so much for your hard work. It's paying off!"