Capabilities Statement

Experience. Proven Results. Empathy and Effectiveness.

The team at IRL Social Skills has the experience and passion needed to effectively improve the social lives—and thus mental health—of autistic, ADHD and other neurodivergent and special needs individuals. With over 40 years of combined experience, our team comprises expert mental health professionals, speech therapists, occupational therapists and special educators with lived experience as well as professional experience serving a neurodivergent population. Mara McLoughlin, MS, CCC-SLP, our founder and program director, also currently serves on the Oregon Commission for Autism.

Our core services focus on supporting neurodivergent teens, adults, and their parents or caregivers with the social skills required to have a rich, rewarding life. Quality, strengths-based and research-backed social supports are less common or accessible for this marginalized, intersectional group.

IRL Social Skills is unique, using the empirically-proven UCLA PEERS® program for teens and young adults, as well as our own curriculum for low support needs adults age 25 and older. We also add psychoeducation and interoception, somatic-based training using a trauma-informed lens to enhance co- and self-regulation skills.

 
 

OUR CAPABILITIES

IRL Social Skills, LLC
Portland, OR 97266
Mara McLoughlin, MS, CCC-SLP
Owner and Program Director

Key Employees: Mara McLoughlin and other contracted allied health professionals and special educators

Tel: 971-373-4836

GOVERNMENT TARGETED INFORMATION

UEI Number:  THM4AJ4AT1V8
CAGE number:  90YZ2
DUNS Number:  117931051
NAICS codes:
624110 - Child and Youth Services
611710 - Educational Support Services

CERTIFICATIONS

  • PEERS® Certified Provider, UCLA, July 2019

  • Certificate of Clinical Competence, American Speech and Hearing Association, August 2011

  • Mental Health First Aid 8-Hour Certification, Feb 2020 

RECOMMENDATIONS AND QUOTES FROM CLIENTS

“We will keep working on the skills because it simply works. Thank you IRL for opening this door for us!” —Jodie Majerus, parent participant

“We actually saw him applying the topics learned in real life. We couldn't believe it. I highly recommend this class to young adults and their parents.”
—Trevor Cable, parent participant

“I learned the steps to have more enjoyable social interactions and connections.” —Kevin V, teen participant

SUMMARY OF SERVICES

We teach UCLA’s Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills, or PEERS® — an evidence-based, manualized social skills curriculum for autistic and other socially struggling teens and adults and their families who want to learn inter- and intrapersonal skills imperative to having a well-rounded, successful personal and professional life. 

CORE COMPETENCIES

  • Empirically valid - no other program has the research to back its efficacy at this level

  • Recognized in the 2020 NCAEP report as the only evidence-based manualized program under Social Skills Training (SST)

  • Taught entirely via Zoom by licensed SLPs, OTs, special educators, direct support workers, and mental health providers

  • 40+ combined years of experience working with autistic and other neurodivergent people across the lifespan

  • Bilingual native Spanish-speaking team members

AREAS OF EXPERTISE 

  • Certified PEERS® provider since July 2019

  • Extensive experience working with autistic people and their families from birth to adult

  • Specialized in Alternative and Augmentative Communication for nonspeaking individuals

  • Trauma-informed care

PAST PERFORMANCE

2022 - Oregon Summer Grant Program $100,000 grant to provide scholarships for autistic teens, young adults, and their families

2024 - Smal Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant application submitted through the National Science Foundation

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND RECOGNITION

  • American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) members 

  • Oregon Speech and Hearing Association (OSHA) members

  • Washington Speech and Hearing Association (WSHA) members

  • California Speech and Hearing Association (CASHA) member

  • American Occupational Therapy Association members

  • State Boards of Behavioral Health members

For more information

please email mara@irlsocialskills.com or call (971) 373-4836.

You may also schedule a 15-minute call at your convenience with IRL Social Skills founder and program director, Mara McLoughlin, at the link below.