How to Teach Autistic Children to Meet New Friends

Teaching certain skills, such as taking turns, can help a child make new friends.

Autism spectrum disorder is a condition that appears in early childhood. While the symptoms, as well as their severity, may vary, autism ultimately impairs a child's ability to interact and communicate with others. Because of this, autism can make it difficult for children with the disorder to meet and make new friends. Even though there is no cure for autism, intensive treatment and a number of strategies and teaching methods can help these children develop social skills and make friends.

Instructions

1. Explain the appropriate behavior for certain social situations with social stories, which describe important social situations and detail what the child does in the situation. With a social story, a child with autism learns what to expect from a situation and is taught how to behave in that scenario. For example, a social story about play time at school might be: At play time, I play with the students in my class. I share toys with the other boys and girls. Sometimes, I get excited because playing is fun, but it is important to use indoor voices.

2. Teach the child useful, frequently used phrases. Since children on the autism spectrum are often unable to understand how to act in certain scenarios, it can be helpful to teach them certain questions and the appropriate answers, such as, "How are you today?" and "I am well, thank you." When the child remembers these phrases, he can use them when he interacts with his peers, helping himself to make new friends.

3. Practice social interactions and using social skills. Practice makes perfect, after all. Work on appropriate behaviors, dialogs and other actions such as eye contact. With the right skill set and enough practice, the child will be better prepared to enter social settings, interact with her peers and make friends.

4. Peer sensitivity training can help boost the social skills of children with autism and help them make friends. Teaching classmates to be helpers or coaches for a child with autism can increase the number of interactions she has with her peers and protect her from teasing. While labeling or pointing out a child's disability is not recommended, it can be beneficial for her peers to understand that the child's behavior is not her simply being mean. By clarifying the child's intentions and encouraging children to interact with her, other classmates will be more likely to become her friend.

References

• Education: Strategies to Help Children with Autism Cope with Social Situations and Increase Their Independence
• YAI Network: Social Skills Training for Children on the Autism Spectrum
• PolyXO.com: Teaching Children with Autism: Social Stories
• Autism Help: Effects of Autism on Social Development