Skills for Success
Helping Neurodivergent Youth Build the Skills They Need to Thrive in Life
Willow Tree's signature clinical program designed to help children develop executive functioning, emotional wellness, confidence, and independence through engaging, evidence-informed experiences.
Ages 8–11 | September–June | 4:30-6:00 Tuesdays & Thursdays | Small Clinical Groups
Not every challenge children face is about intelligence.
Success at school, at home, in friendships, and throughout everyday life depends on a wide range of skills that are often overlooked and interconnected, some of these include:
The Skills Behind Everyday Success
For many neurodivergent children, these skills don't always develop naturally and like reading or math, they often benefit from being explicitly taught, practiced, and strengthened over time.
That's why we created Skills for Success!
What is Skills4Success?
Willow Tree's signature afterschool, clinical skill development program for neurodivergent children.
Designed for children with ADHD, autism, and related executive functioning or social-emotional challenges, Skills4Success helps children develop the practical skills they need to thrive at school, at home, with friends, and in everyday life. Developed by our senior clinical team with a strong evidence-based foundation in psychology and child development.
Through engaging, clinician-led experiences, children build confidence, strengthen relationships, develop executive functioning, and grow greater independence while working toward individualized clinical goals in a supportive small-group environment
More Than a Social Skills Group
While friendships and communication are an important part of the program, children don't experience life in separate categories - and neither do we.
Success depends on much more than social skills alone. Children also need to plan, regulate emotions, solve problems, communicate effectively, adapt to change, understand themselves, and become increasingly independent.
That's why Skills4Success was designed as a comprehensive clinical skill development program that integrates executive functioning, emotional wellness, social development, and everyday life skills into one connected learning experience.
Because real life doesn't happen in separate categories and neither should learning.
Built for Real Life
Skills develop through meaningful, hands on experiences, not simply by talking about them.
Children learn best when they have opportunities to explore new ideas, practise them in supportive environments, receive encouragement, reflect on their experiences, and apply what they've learned in real life.
Skills4Success combines engaging activities, collaborative projects, games, discussion, and clinician-guided coaching to help children build practical skills they can carry into everyday life.
Rather than teaching isolated lessons, the program follows a year-long developmental pathway that grows alongside each child, helping skills become increasingly meaningful, transferable, and independent over time.
Grounded in Evidence. Guided by Clinicians
Skills4Success was thoughtfully developed by Willow Tree's senior clinical team using current research in executive functioning, child development, social-emotional learning, neurodiversity-affirming practice, and evidence-informed therapeutic approaches.
Our program combines the best available evidence with meaningful relationships, individualized support, and engaging learning experiences—because research tells us that children learn best when they feel safe, understood, and actively involved in the process.
How Skills4Success Supports Growth
Every child begins with a clinical consultation to help us understand their unique strengths, support needs, interests, and goals.
Rather than following a one-size-fits-all curriculum, children work toward individualized clinical goals while participating in shared group experiences designed to encourage confidence, connection, and real-world skill development.
Skills may be targeted across the following areas:
Learning Through Meaningful Experiences
Children learn best when they're actively engaged, having fun, and participating in experiences that feel meaningful.
Rather than always relying on worksheets or lectures, Skills4Success combines evidence-informed teaching with engaging activities that naturally encourage children to practise new skills, build confidence, and connect with others.
Every activity has a purpose and every experience is thoughtfully designed to support meaningful growth.
Children may...
Learn new concepts through engaging discussion and interactive teaching.
Practise new skills through games, movement activities, collaborative challenges, and hands-on experiences.
Apply strategies through creative projects, problem-solving activities, role-play, and real-life scenarios.
Build confidence through supported opportunities to explore, make mistakes, reflect, and try again.
Strengthen friendships through cooperative games, team challenges, shared projects, and guided peer interactions.
Develop executive functioning through planning activities, organization systems, time challenges, and meaningful everyday tasks.
Explore emotional wellness through mindfulness, creative expression, self-reflection, and evidence-informed coping strategies.
Celebrate growth through reflection, goal setting, and recognizing personal successes.
Each Session our Team Follows the Below Structure:
Program Details & Registration
Two Complementary Learning Streams
Together, these two complementary streams provide one comprehensive developmental pathway.
Executive Functioning & School Success Stream
Tuesdays 4:30-6:00pm
Helping children strengthen the thinking, planning, organization, and learning skills that support success at school and in everyday life.
Social-Emotional Skills & Mental Wellness Stream
Thursdays 4:30-6:00pm
Helping children build confidence, emotional resilience, meaningful relationships, and lifelong wellbeing.
Designed to Grow With Your Child
Skills4Success is more than a one-time group. It is a year-long developmental pathway designed to build skills progressively as children grow in confidence, independence, and self-understanding.
Each term focuses on a different stage of development, while both weekly streams explore the same broader theme from complementary perspectives. This helps children connect what they are learning across executive functioning, emotional wellness, relationships, and everyday life.
Explore Additional Program Details Below:
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Program Schedule:
September 15–December 18 (14 weeks)
Tuesdays 4:30-6pm: Executive Functioning & School Success
Thursdays 4:30-6pm: Emotional Wellness & Connection
Term Theme: Understanding Myself & Building My ToolkitChildren begin by learning more about how they think, feel, learn, and respond to everyday demands. They develop personalized strategies for attention, planning, emotional regulation, flexibility, organization, and asking for support while building a strong foundation for the year ahead.
Where:
145 Main Street, Toronto
Willow Tree’s Upper Beaches Location
Program Investment
Families may enroll in one specialized stream or the comprehensive two-stream pathway.
Fee’s starting at $110 per session*
Based on annual enrollment in both streams.
Flexible term-based enrollment and one-stream options are also available.
Request our Program & Pricing Guide for details.
Funding & Insurance
The program may be eligible for insurance coverage if you plan includes social work.
The program is eligible to accept AccessOAP funding.
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Program Schedule
January 5–March 26(12 weeks)
Tuesdays 4:30-6pm: Executive Functioning & School Success
Thursdays 4:30-6pm: Emotional Wellness & Connection
Term Theme: Working With Others & Navigating ChallengesChildren build on their foundational skills through communication, collaboration, friendship development, problem-solving, boundaries, conflict resolution, and coping with mistakes or unexpected challenges—strengthening their confidence in everyday social situations.
Where:
145 Main Street, Toronto
Willow Tree’s Upper Beaches Location
Costs:
Commitment to attending the entire term is required (12 weeks)
$75 per session ($50/hr @ 90mins)
$900 for the full term (12 sessions)
Annual Enrollment Discounts
Insurance coverage for social work may apply.
OAP funding is accepted.
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Program Schedule
April 6–June 25 (12 weeks)
Tuesdays 4:30-6pm: Executive Functioning & School Success
Thursdays 4:30-6pm: Emotional Wellness & Connection
Term Theme: Growing Independence & Using My SkillsChildren begin applying their skills with greater independence across school, home, friendships, and everyday life. The focus shifts toward self-advocacy, responsibility, leadership, routines, transitions, and using their personalized strategies with increasing confidence.
Where:
85 Cedarvale Ave, 2nd floor
Willow Tree’s East York Location
Costs:
Commitment to attending the entire term is required (12 weeks)
$75 per session ($50/hr @ 90mins)
$900 for the full term (12 sessions)
Annual Enrollment Discounts
Insurance coverage for social work may apply.
OAP funding is accepted.
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Program Investment
Annual enrollment from $110 per session
Term-by-term enrollment and one- or two-stream options are also available.
Request our Program & Pricing Guide for details.
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Funding & Insurance
The program may be eligible for insurance coverage if your plan includes coverage for a Registered Social Worker.
The program is eligible to accept AccessOAP funding
Your Child's Journey Through Skills4Success
Designed by Experts. Delivered with Heart.
Skills4Success was thoughtfully developed by Willow Tree's senior clinical team and is delivered by experienced clinicians who believe meaningful growth begins with strong relationships.
Every child deserves to feel welcomed, understood, encouraged, and supported while developing the practical skills they need to thrive. That's why every Skills4Success group combines evidence-informed clinical practice with engaging, relationship-based learning experiences that foster confidence, connection, and real-world success.
Our collaborative team works together to ensure every child receives individualized support while benefiting from the motivation, encouragement, and shared experiences that naturally occur in a small group environment.
Every Skills4Success Group Includes
✓ A Registered Social Worker (RSW) Lead Facilitator providing clinical leadership, therapeutic guidance, and family collaboration.
✓ Experienced Child & Youth Therapists who provide individualized coaching, encouragement, and in-the-moment support throughout each session.
✓ Dedicated Clinical Supervision with every group overseen by an assigned Clinical Supervisor to ensure quality, consistency, individualized treatment planning, and ongoing program development.
✓ Small Group Ratios with approximately 1 clinician for every 4 children, allowing meaningful relationships and individualized support while maintaining the benefits of a group environment.
✓ Individualized Clinical Goals integrated into each child's group experience.
✓ Ongoing Progress Monitoring to support meaningful growth and guide future planning.
✓ Regular Family Communication & Progress Updates to celebrate successes, discuss goals, and support skill development beyond the clinic.
Why Families Appreciate Our Approach
Unlike traditional group programs where every child follows the same activities in the same way, Skills4Success combines the benefits of individualized clinical care with the motivation, belonging, and confidence that naturally develop through positive peer experiences.
Every child follows their own unique journey, while learning, growing, and celebrating success alongside others.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Does my child need an autism or ADHD diagnosis?
No. Skills4Success is designed for neurodivergent children, including those with ADHD, autism, and related executive functioning or social-emotional challenges. A formal diagnosis is not required if the program is clinically appropriate for your child.
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Every family begins with a clinical consultation where we learn about your child's strengths, goals, interests, and support needs. This helps us determine whether Skills4Success is the best fit and develop individualized treatment goals.
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Yes. Families may enroll in either the Tuesday Executive Functioning stream or the Thursday Social-Emotional Skills stream.
However, we recommend the comprehensive Tuesday + Thursday pathway whenever possible, as both streams are intentionally designed to complement one another.
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Every child has their own individualized treatment goals that are embedded within shared group experiences. While children participate together, our clinicians adapt supports, teaching strategies, and expectations to meet each child's unique needs.
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Our clinical team monitors each child's progress throughout the program, adjusts goals as needed, and provides regular updates to families. Progress is measured through daily observation, daily data collection, clinical judgement, and meaningful changes in everyday functioning not simply completing activities.
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Groups are facilitated by experienced clinicians, including Registered Social Workers (RSWs) and Clinical Child & Youth Therapists, with dedicated clinical supervision and individualized treatment planning supporting every group.
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Will my child make friends?
While every child's experience is unique, Skills4Success is intentionally designed to create opportunities for children to build meaningful peer relationships while developing confidence, communication, collaboration, and social understanding in a supportive environment.
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Many families are able to use extended health benefits depending on their insurance plan and the regulated clinician providing or supervising the service. We're happy to discuss your family's coverage during your consultation.
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Whenever possible, we welcome new participants throughout the year following a clinical consultation and group-fit assessment. Depending on availability and each child's goals, we will recommend the most appropriate starting point.
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Some children benefit from combining Skills4Success with individual therapy, parent coaching, or other Willow Tree services. During your consultation, we'll help you determine the most appropriate recommendations based on your child's needs.
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That's exactly what Skills4Success was designed for.
We celebrate different ways of thinking, learning, and communicating. Our goal isn't to make children fit into one mould—it's to help them understand themselves, build practical skills, and develop the confidence to succeed in their own unique way.