Early Childhood Intervention
This website is a place for families who are facing
challenges pertaining to their child's development and
It is a place to find answers and practical
suggestions. That's what Early Intervention Support is all
Whether a family has a child with a challenging behavior,
a disability or developmental issue, childhood is short - it
should be savored and enjoyed.
Ask a Therapist
We understand developmental milestones and the challenges
of Special Needs children. We spend a great deal of time
with families understanding the inner workings of childhood
routines and interactions. Ask us about your child today!
Ask a Therapist
Promoting & Encouraging Friendship for Children with Special
Friendship plays an important role in everyone's life.
When one has no friends life spans are significantly reduced.
Experts agree that friendship is not a luxury, it is essential
to life. Despite this fact, the social networks of friends
and intimate relationships for children with disabilities are
often smaller than are the social networks of children without
disabilities. Children with disabilities may have unique
barriers that prevent them from developing and maintaining
friendships. These barriers, however, are not
insurmountable but should serve to challenge the creative parent
to incorporate strategies for promoting friendship.
Friendship is an art so there is no one way to approach its
development. However, you may want to consider some of the
following ideas and strategies to promote friendship
Make Friendship Development a Priority
Make friendship development a priority. This may sound
simple enough, but families have such busy lives it is easy to
put off scheduling play dates or other social activities.
Families who have children with special needs often have
additional demands to their schedules like doctor's appointments
and therapies. Look for an activity, club or group in your
community that you think your child would enjoy. Make time
to set up play dates with neighbors or classmates.
Capitalize on your child's strengths and interests.
Friendships often begin based on mutual interests. Maybe
your child loves basketball, is there a local team that he/she
could join? Even if a child's physical limitations may not
allow him/her to fully participate in playing basketball is
there a role he/she could fill on the team?
When your child participates in activities be sure to set him or
her up for success. Make sure the appropriate adaptations
are in place. Make sure his/her abilities are highlighted
within the activity. Observe the group and how the
children interact with one another. Could the group be
restructured to promote socialization? Can children be
regrouped to break up cliques? Are there opportunities to
pair kids up one-on-one? The group leader may be open to
some suggestions to create a sense of belonging for all children
within the group.
Teach Friendship Development
Practice being a friend with your child. Some children
with special needs may need help learning how to be a
friend. We often spend a lot of time teaching children
with special needs specific skills like walking or tying their
shoes but neglect teaching them skills for friendship
development. Think about ways in which you can help your
child be a friend, like rehearsing social situations or
preparing your child with social communication skills.
When developing an IEP at school think about friendship.
Can strategies be implemented that will help your child make
friends. For example if your child needs assistance in the
lunch line can peers take turns helping him or her? Maybe
your child and his/her friend would get to go to the cafeteria a
couple of minutes early and be first in line, now the children
will view getting to be your child's buddy as a privilege.br />
It is not possible for you to "mandate" friendship for your
child. However, it is possible to create opportunities for
your child to meet and spend time with other children in ways
that encourage friendship to take root and flourish. It is
essential that families think about the many ways to facilitate
"A true friend is the most precious of all possessions and the
one we take the least thought about acquiring" ~ La
By Kristen Burke, OTR/L
More Tips for Children with Special Needs
Parenting Tips in Other Areas Include
Learn More About Early Intervention
Thankfully, there are many ways to deal with childhood developmental
delays and behaviors. These include in-home services, outpatient (you take
your child to a clinic), inpatient (following injury or surgery) and school
based services. Which type of therapy should you choose?
Visit our Therapy Options
area to learn more.
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