Social situations and making friends can be challenging for students with special needs such as autism spectrum disorder. Preparing students ahead of time for social interactions can ease their stress and make the process a bit easier for the student with special needs.
In today’s Teacher Tips newsletter, the Watson Institute shares strategies to prepare your students with special needs for social interactions and how to promote positive interaction skills.
- Use a behavior story or comic strip conversation that models the situation the student may experience to help them practice and set expectations for positive behaviors.
- Use video models to learn and practice the skills you observe in the examples, then utilize these skills in the classroom.
- Create opportunities for structured interactions such as group art activity with other classmates or making classroom jobs partner activities.
To learn more about teaching positive social interactions for children with autism spectrum disorder and other special needs, check out our YouTube video below. For more special education resources, visit Watson Life Resources.