Pyzza Speech Therapy

08/13/2026

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Arizona Pediatric Assessment Center to chat about social communication, speech therapy, and some of the questions I hear from parents all the time!

We talked about what social communication really is, signs your child may benefit from support, what to look for in a social skills group, speech sound concerns like R sounds and lisps, and more.

Watch the full conversation and find some helpful resources on the blog!

What Is Social Communication? Signs Your Child May Need Support + How Speech Therapy Can Help

So your child has a great vocabulary, tells you all about the things they love, and has no trouble communicating their wants and needs. But conversations with other kids? Making and keeping friends? Knowing what to say or how to join in? Those things may not come quite as easily. This is where

08/05/2026

Guess what’s back!! 👀 And just in time for the new school year here in AZ!

Even though everyone’s a little nervous for the first session (including me 😬), our first week went great!!

If you’re a parent of a tween or teen here in the East Valley and you want to stay in the loop about my next CONNECT social skills group cohort, comment WAITLIST and I’ll add you to my list for the next round!

07/13/2026

‼️ Last call! Looking for 1-2 teens ages 14-17yo to join my upcoming CONNECT social skills group program. We start the first week of August and meet in-person at my office in Ahwatukee.

If your teen struggles to connect with same-age peers, has a hard time making or keeping friends, struggles with back-and-forth conversations, or has dealt with teasing or bullying, this group was made for them.

With the new school year starting, this group will prepare your teen with social tools and strategies they can use for the new conversations, new faces, and new social moments that come with a fresh school year, so they can feel a little more prepared and a little less socially anxious.

Enrollment closes this Wednesday, July 15. After that, the next cohort won't open until Spring 2027.

You can learn more on my website: https://www.pyzzaspeechtherapy.com/connect-program, or send me a DM to get all the details.

07/01/2026

Before you sign your child up for a social skills group, ask this question: who is actually running it, and what is their training in social communication specifically?

Most parents don’t know that social communication is a specialized clinical skill area.

It is not the same thing as being naturally good with people or running a fun group activity. Teaching conversation skills, social problem solving, and friendship skills to neurodivergent kids and teens takes specific training in how communication develops and how to support it in a way that is actually affirming.

There is a real skill gap between "good with kids" and "trained to teach this."

A lot of groups out there are run by people without a background in speech-language pathology or communication development. Your child ends up doing activities that feel social but don’t actually build the specific skills they need.

I’m a licensed speech-language pathologist (MS, CCC-SLP), a UCLA PEERS® Certified Provider, and social communication is my clinical specialty. I have years of training and experience working specifically with social communication and pragmatic language with neurodivergent kids, teens, and young adults.

Before you commit your time and money to a social skills group, it's fair to ask any provider about their license, their training in social communication specifically, and their experience with neurodivergent kids.

The CONNECT Program, my social skills group for neurodivergent tweens, teens, and young adults working on conversation skills and making and keeping friends, is currently enrolling for the August 2026 cohort. Groups are age specific and spots are limited.

You can learn more about it here: https://www.pyzzaspeechtherapy.com/connect-program or DM me: JOINCONNECT and I'll send more information your way!

06/16/2026

Does your tween, teen, or young adult struggle with conversations, connecting with peers, or making and keeping friends?

My CONNECT Program is an 8-week in-person social skills group in Ahwatukee, AZ, and new groups are starting in August 2026!

I'm Gabriela Pyzza, a licensed speech-language pathologist, social skills specialist, and PEERS® certified provider. My program combines the research-based UCLA PEERS® curriculum with my own Social Skills Blueprint® conversation framework, adapted for neurodiversity-affirming learning.

Spots are limited to just 6 kids per group, and enrollment closes July 15.

Learn more and apply here: www.pyzzaspeechtherapy.com/connect-program

05/20/2026

50 hours to become a casual friend.
90 hours to call them a friend.
200+ hours to become a close friend.

That’s a lot of freaking hours.

And the study only focused on neurotypical adults.

For neurodivergent kids, teens, and young adults, peer contact hours don’t automatically translate into deeper friendships the way this research assumes.

The hidden rules of conversation, knowing how to start an interaction, sustain it, and navigate the moments when something feels off, those aren’t skills that develop the same way for everyone.

Which means the hours matter, and so does what happens during them.

If you’re an SLP or educator, the Social Skills Blueprint® Handbook for Providers gives you a framework for teaching the conversation skills your students need to actually use during those peer interaction hours.

Comment SSBHANDBOOK and I’ll send you the link!

If you’re a parent, the best thing you can do is make sure your child has the tools to make those hours count. The CONNECT Program is where I teach those tools directly. Enrollment isn’t open right now, but you can get on the waitlist so you’re first to know when it is.

Comment WAITLIST and I’ll send you the link.

05/11/2026

A child can have strong language skills and still struggle to make and keep friends. And it’s one of the most common things I see in my practice.

Kids and teens who fall through the cracks and don’t get the support they truly need because they have the language skills to communicate verbally.

But it’s the skills that happen throughout a conversation that are usually the missing piece to the puzzle:
- knowing how to include others
- picking up on social cues
- and keeping a conversational exchange going with ease

And it’s never too late to work on these skills, because they’ll use them for the rest of their life!

Not sure where to start?

Here’s a resource I’ve made for you depending on where you’re coming from:

Parents: Comment QUIZ and I’ll send you the Conversation Skills Quiz straight to your DMs.

Providers: Comment CHECKLIST and I’ll send you my free informal assessment checklist.

05/06/2026

Bring up any one of these in real life with me and I will not be brief. You’ve been warned.

Social communication is a language skill, and there is a real path forward for kids and teens who struggle with it.

It has nothing to do with personality, it goes deeper than anxiety, and it is absolutely something they can get real support for.

If you’re a parent wondering where to start, my CONNECT program is where kids and teens get real, structured support for exactly this.

Comment WAITLIST below and I’ll send you the details.

If you’re a provider looking for a framework you can actually use, the Social Skills Blueprint® Handbook for Providers was made for you.

Comment SSBHANDBOOK below and I’ll send it your way.

05/01/2026

A dating show just said everything I’ve been trying to say for years about social connection.

If you haven’t watched it, Love on the Spectrum is a dating show following autistic adults as they navigate relationships, dates, and the very human experience of wanting to find connection.

And that’s exactly what gets me every time.

Connection isn’t a neurotypical desire.

Autistic people want friendships, relationships, and meaningful conversation just as much as anyone else.

This show puts that on screen in a way that is honest and genuinely moving.

As an SLP who specializes in social communication, I watch it through a very specific lens.

Every conversation, every date, every moment of “how do I do this?” is a reminder of why conversation skills matter so much.

Feeling equipped in social situations opens doors to friendship, relationships, and a sense of belonging. And that matters for every person, regardless of how they communicate.

If you’re a parent watching your teen struggle to make or keep friends, or a provider supporting students with social communication goals, I really hope you watch this show. And then message me afterwards so we can talk about it 😆

If you’re a parent who wants to support your teen’s conversation skills at home, comment ATHOME and I’ll send you the link to my Conversation Skills for Better Friendships course right to your DMs.

If you’re a provider and you want a practical starting point for your students, comment SSBHANDBOOK and I’ll send you the link to my Social Skills Blueprint® Handbook for Providers.

04/29/2026

Social anxiety and conversation skills gaps can look almost identical from the outside.

Sometimes what looks like social anxiety is actually a conversation skills gap, and those two things need very different kinds of support.

When anxiety is the bigger driver, your child may have some conversation skills but struggle to use them. They’re likely held back by worry about saying the wrong thing, being judged, or not fitting in.

A conversation skills gap looks a little different. Your child may be unsure of how to start a conversation, what to say, or what to do when it’s their turn to talk. The anxiety builds over time, as a result of repeated attempts that don’t go the way they hoped.

What I notice in my practice is that many kids who are struggling socially have never been explicitly taught how conversation actually works. When they get that support, many of them start to feel more equipped, and more willing to try.

If you’ve been wondering which one you’re looking at with your child, my free Conversation Skills Quiz is a good place to start. It takes about 2 minutes and gives you a clearer picture of where your child is, plus tips you can actually use.

Comment QUIZ below and I’ll send you a DM.