Laurie Jacobs and Jennifer Jacobs
Speech Language Pathologists

Laurie Jacobs (shown at right), M.A. CCC-SLP and Jennifer Jacobs, M.S. CCC-SLP are co-founders of Social Skill Builder, a company launched in 1999 to provide computer-based tools for teaching social skills to children affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Laurie, along with her sister Jennifer, developed their software line when they recognized a deficit in quality products for children and adolescents with social competence issues.

Laurie is the owner of Community Speech Language Services, an independent speech pathology practice that treats pediatric and adolescent language disorders including autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and Down Syndrome.

Prior to opening her practice, Laurie serviced patients with adult and adolescent neurological disorders and facilitated social training groups at the Suburban Hospital Physical Rehabilitation Department in Bethesda, MD, the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Montrose, MD, and the Loudon Hospital Center Rehabilitation Department in Leesburg, VA.

At the beginning of her career, Laurie was a practitioner in Mercy Hospital Systems’ Head Start Program, where she treated pediatric communication difficulties including autism, articulation, language delays, and stuttering.

Laurie is a clinically-certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and has received the Council of Exceptional Children’s Practitioner Presentation Award. She received a BS from Kent State University in 1989 and a MA from the University of Akron in 1991.

Jennifer is responsible for guiding product development for Social Skill Builder. Now that research has demonstrated that teaching social skills is one of the most effective treatments for children with ASD, Jennifer ensures that the company effectively leverages technology to produce innovative learning solutions.

Prior to founding Social Skill Builder, Jennifer worked as a speech pathologist at Cook Children's Hospital in Denton, TX, Children's Hospital of Atlanta in Atlanta, GA, and Starbright Children's Rehabilitation Institute in Austin, TX. Specializing in the treatment of children with ASD, Jennifer coordinated and conducted social skill groups and counseled families and educational professionals on improving children’s pragmatic skills in various environments. She also worked closely with occupational therapists and psychologists as part of a team approach to social instruction.

Jennifer is a clinically-certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She received a BA from the University of Mississippi in 1996 and a MS in Communication Disorders from Baylor University in 1997.

Contact: Laurie@socialskillbuilder.com

Click on product graphic for more information:

Preschool Playtime CD Volume 1 teaches the young child basic manners and behaviors such as greetings, interrupting, listening, waiting and apologizing through real life social situations like a day at the park, in pre-school or going to a play date. Unlike passive videos, this software allows the user to visually see the social interactions re-enacted by children and then choose what should be said or done next. In this fun, familiar, but safe environment the user can become increasingly aware of social expectations and more successfully interact with their peers.

Preschool Playtime CD Volume 2 teaches the young child basic peer interactions and play skills such as taking turns, sharing, requesting, cooperating and shifting activities through real life social situations like a day at the park, in pre-school or going to a play date

My School Day CD has over 350 different scenarios for the elementary age child (cognitive age 6-12 years of age) that demonstrates appropriate interaction, social behaviors, social problem solving, and peer relationships within a school setting and allows them to interact! This program has unique features that allow the facilitator to tailor the video sequences to best fit each child’s individual skill level.

My Community CD teaches children and young people appropriate social behaviors, interactions, expectations and safety precautions with various peers and adults within their community. This CD incorporates over 350 video sequences of real people interacting in different community settings such as a restaurant, doctor’s office, friend’s house, grocery store, and the neighborhood and allows the user to predict what should be appropriately said or done next. This multi-level program targets individuals with a cognitive age of 5-15 years.

School Rules! CD Volume 1 emphasizes activities related to classroom, group work, and physical education along with unstructured times of hallway interaction, and lockers. This volume also targets the sensitive issues of the PE locker room and personal hygiene.

School Rules! CD Volume 2 teaches social interpretation skills during unstructured times where social rules are most challenging. This CD uses scenarios such as getting lunch, waiting in line, eating, talking to friends, or “just hanging out” to demonstrated social awareness. In addition this volume also addresses time management, organizational skills and the use of schedules at school.

All Social Skill Builder programs automatically track each student responses and provide a print out of their daily and long term results making social skills more objective.

All Social Skill Builder programs include an easy to use lesson plan to customize the video sequences shown for each student. These lesson plans also include pre-developed lesson plans that emphasize items like exclusively positive behaviors, peer-interaction scenes, problem solving scenes and more.