Helping Neurodivergent Youth Transition Smoothly

Our Transitions Program is designed to facilitate smooth transitioning from a supported, clinical therapy setting to our less supported social gaming groups. It is a place to gain independence while still practicing social skills with similar peers. Participants range in age from 3rd-8th Grade and are grouped based off of skill level.

Participants in the Transitions Program MUST provide their own additional support person unless fading plans are approved by Game On Youth ahead of time.

The Transitions Program is a safe space for participants to:

• Build connections with other youth of similar skill sets
• Practice conversational skills
• Learn the ins and outs of good sportsmanship
• Gain increased social independence
• Have fun in a relaxed, casual setting

While we do not require a diagnosis to participate in this non-therapeutic group, most of our participants are neurodivergent and have diagnoses of Autism, ADHD, and/or social anxiety.

The Transitions Program will be most appropriate for kids who may be ready to transfer out of social skills therapy but aren't ready for full independence yet. They may also benefit from being around other socially supported neurodivergent youth, but don't have the opportunity in their current therapy setting. Participants should have basic conversational skills and should be able to follow most directions with some support and learn new games with demonstration, visuals, or verbal assistance.

We are happy to announce that Zulu's Board Game Cafe in Bothell will be allowing us to use their facilities this year! They are a great local company who wholeheartedly support our mission to help participants make meaningful social connections while building up a love of board gaming! They also have a great selection of food you can order on club day!

• Opening - participants gather and engage in casual conversations as everyone arrives
• Teaching - participants learn 1 new board game a week. These include both competitive and cooperative games such as 7 Wonders Architects, Exploding Kittens, Cascadia, Kingdomino, The Mind, Unstable Unicorns and SpaceTeam.
• Playing - participants play the board games they learned with support from an adult leader to clarify any game rules. Check out what we've played!
• Closing - participants provide feedback on what they liked or didn't like about the games they played. This feedback is taken into account when the following week's games are chosen. Time permitting, this is also a great time to continue casual conversations and other age appropriate activities (such as trading Pokemon cards and Minecraft/Roblox screen names!)

All of our groups are currently facilitated by Brandi, a former special education teacher, licensed behavior analyst (both at the national and state level), and tabletop game aficionado. You can read more about her on the About Us page.

Game On meets once a week for 1.5 - 2 hours each meeting. 

We run groups in 2 month cycles which allows for flexibility for families who may want to temporarily stop attending for school sports and activities then resume at a later date.

Prices are determined by the number of weeks in a 2 month session. Click the links below to see what the current cost is!

We do not bill insurance for this service as we serve as an activity facilitator. However, your therapist is welcome to collect data and run interventions in order to bill for their time supporting your child.