Social Skills & Interactions for Children with Special Needs

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

I have a student in my elementary school classroom who sometimes hits when he is on the playground. We are currently working on a Positive Behavior Support Plan. He has been suspended for this behavior before and I’m hoping we can come up with another alternative when the behavior does occur. I don’t think he should be suspended! What consequence might be appropriate and satisfy the team?

My son has autism and recently has be removed from his father’s house to go live with his grandmother. He may experience another change soon as I am hoping to get full custody of him.   In this case, he will move in with me. I realize this amount of change is difficult, and I would like some ideas to make his next move (hopefully with me) less stressful.   In addition, the move in with me would require a trip in a plane. How can I best prepare him for upcoming changes?

How can I stop one of my students from pushing to get in front of the line and running into students every day when the bell rings? When we hold him for safety he kicks and yells.