About Us
I sat alone at lunch again today.
Tommy called me weird.
I’m the only one in my class who’s not invited to Dylan’s party.
For many parents, these statements, and others just like them, are all-too-familiar. They can move you to tears and leave you feeling at a loss.
We can help.
At Steps to Socialization, we offer a unique, practical and fun curriculum designed to help children with social thinking challenges. Heading our program are co-founders and lead instructors Lisa Rothman Freeman, MS, CCC- A/SLP, and Evelyn Kashinsky, Social Skills Therapist.
Lisa Rothman Freeman, MS CCC Speech Language Pathologist-Audiologist
Co-Founder
Lisa has over 25 years of experience working with children and adults with a variety of speech/language and hearing disorders. Her areas of specialization include motor speech disorders and language and auditory processing disorders. She is a Certified Prompt Therapist and Senior Prompt Instructor.
After attending a lecture on social thinking skills, given by Michelle Garcia Winner, Lisa was excited by how the ideas and techniques discussed could improve social pragmatic abilities. Always on the lookout for new ways of helping her clients become successful communicators, she applied and was accepted to the Mentorship Training Program at the Social Thinking Clinic run by Ms. Garcia Winner in San Jose. Incorporating these techniques into her practice has helped her clients become ‘social thinkers’.
Evelyn Kashinsky, Social Skills Therapist
Co-Founder
As a parent of children with special needs, Evelyn has been involved in the fields of special education and communication for many years. Her experiences led her to work towards a Masters Degree in Special Education. Her path took her to the Mentorship Training Program at Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking Clinic in San Jose, CA where she trained to bring these powerful techniques to her own children and to the professionals working with them. Their successes led to founding of Steps to Socialization.
“As a parent of children who have had difficulty fitting in and socializing with their peers I have searched for techniques to guide my children through the social maze. This journey has led me to establishing this program so that others may benefit by finding the path easier to navigate as they learn to be effective ‘socializers’ and enjoy interacting in the social world.”
Lisa and Evelyn are pleased and excited to be bringing their innovative approach to Long Island.
At s2s, you’ll find a supportive community of people who understand your child’s needs.
Steps to Socialization is more than just an after school program. We’re a social learning community where educators, children and parents/caregivers collaborate on building and strengthening social thinking and related social skills.
In the spirit of a true family community, we also work with adults and older children who have social thinking challenges. Please contact us for more information.
We’re located in the quaint waterside town of Port Washington, New York, right across from the train station and close to all major roadways. There’s ample parking and it’s just a block to the shops on Main Street.
You can learn more about us and the field of social thinking by reading our responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs) and visiting our resources room.