Social difficulties may be temporary or long-term and can be extremely distressing for some individuals. Strategies which encourage appropriate peer relationships are an effective intervention. Attention paid to social inclusion should extend beyond the classroom.
Alternate quiet and active activities.
Include choice of presentation to include peers if desired.
Seek student input into preferred activities.
In activities designed for group work, list student names to avoid exclusion.
Small group instruction.
Avoid placing student in competitive activities with clear expectations.
Encourage cooperative learning tasks where student’s contribution is critical and valued.
Give students the responsibility of contributing to group assignments.
Incorporate a variety of experiences to enable social opportunities.
Allow lesson breaks which incorporates movement to encourage interaction.
Use proximity and positive gestures and body language – use the student’s name.
Try to answer student inquiries promptly if they are reluctant to ask peers.
Provide an array of calming strategies.
Use behaviour reflection sheets to identify triggers and feelings.
Provide positive feedback for effective social interaction.
Structured seating arrangements.
Prompt desired behaviour positively.
Establish times for student to self-advocate.
Develop private signal from student to teacher to request additional assistance.
Use peer supports or SLSO for mentoring.
Facilitated socialisation during recess and lunch.
Encourage social interactions with classmates eg board games.
Arranged for choice in assessment and presentation of information?
Arranged for special provisions in assessment tasks – separate supervision?
Considered preferential seating near teacher or peer role models?
Included collaborative activities?
Provided explicit group roles for peer tasks?