Social Skills & Interactions for Children with Special Needs

Behavior Story: Restaurant
Situation: 

My child has a very difficult time going to family-style restaurants. In particular, he has difficulty sitting and waiting quietly, eating neatly, and interacting with the waiter or waitress. How can I help my child learn to be more appropriate in this setting?

Seat Sheet and Collector Cards: Church
Situation: 

My son will not sit when we go to church. He continually tries to crawl under the pew, turns around, and slides up and down the pew. What can we do to make going to church easier…and less distracting for our family and those around us?

Classroom Quick & Easy Social Skills Instruction
Situation: 

I have a student with Asperger Syndrome in my regular education classroom. So many workshops indicate we should be teaching social skills in the environment. There is so little time during the day. What is a quick and doable way to provide social skills instruction in the crunched time we have?

Special Education Transition Using Pen Pal System
Situation: 

I’m a special education teacher and a few of my 5th grade students are getting nervous about moving to the Middle School in the fall.  We always visit the new school towards the end of the year, but I don’t think it’s enough to calm their anxiety.  Any ideas to help make the transition smoother?

School Store Social Skills
Situation: 

The students in my Life Skills class need more practice with social skills, but they always seem to clam up in those unstructured times like lunch and in between classes.  Is there something I can do to help them have more opportunities to interact?

Seat Sheet and Collector Cards: Restaurant
Situation: 

My son will not sit when we go out to a restaurant. He continually tries to crawl under the table or run away from the table. What can we do to make going out to eat easier?

School-Based Vocational Experiences
Situation: 

My older middle school Life Skills students need some community-based work experiences, but our school is located in a rural area without many opportunities nearby.  What can I do to help them learn some beneficial work skills?

Sharing Space Strategy
Situation: 

One of my students has great difficulty sharing playground equipment with his classmates. He tends to push them away when they try to climb up beside him or yell at them if they’re ahead of him in line for the slide. He’s not making any friends this way. How can I help him share his space?

Errorless Learning
Situation: 

My students often imitate and I want to avoid reinforcing “wrong” or poor skills and behaviors. How can I teach and reinforce positive skills and behaviors?