September 2024 Newsletter | Socializing With Peers

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Socializing With Peers

Socializing with peers allows us to connect with others, learn about ourselves, and engage with our communities. Our social interactions—from brief greetings to deep relationships—can serve as bridges to the world around us. At STAR Autism Support, we understand that many students need support as they engage with their peers. For critical social skills like communication, cultivating friendships, and learning to play, there are evidence-based tools and strategies to help students understand the importance of socializing and practice meaningful interactions.

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Communication

Greetings are a key part of socializing with others. Practicing greetings and conversation basics ensures students are prepared for the frequency of these initial interactions, which are common in both school and community settings.

  • Practice greetings using these scenarios cards (English | Español) from our SOLER curriculum. If students need support learning their peers’ names, teach this skill using discrete trial techniques found in STAR and Links.
  • Teach students how to start and end conversations. Review questions and question words (e.g., who, where, how, is, when), and develop some comments that students can use in various social situations to start and end conversations (e.g., “See you later!”).
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Friendship

Making friends is a complex and intimidating process for many of us! With an understanding of the definition and value of friendship, support from teachers and caregivers, and dedicated practice, students with autism can thrive in social relationships with peers.

  • Use a social story, like this interactive friendship-themed story from Themes First! (English | Español | Video), to help students learn about friendships.
  • To help students get to know their peers in class, use structured activities to focus on identifying and recognizing personal features of those around them. This activity—Find a Friend (English | Español)—is a fun way to practice!
  • Recess is a fantastic time for students to socialize with their peers and create friendships! Some students benefit from accessing the fun and excitement of recess through a routine-based approach, allowing for predictable and practiced experiences while they engage in play.
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Playtime

Play is often explored in social contexts. Playing with toys, using imagination, and taking turns during playtime are skills students can learn to prepare for making friends and enjoying social settings.

  • To teach students how to play, consider using pivotal response training (PRT) tools and functional routine supports provided in our curricula to build skills that make socializing easier. Identify language and play goals along with the associated maintenance skills for each student, and use our fillable PRT Goals Form (English | Español) to monitor progress.
  • Introduce imaginative play, share creative ideas, and allow students to explore together! Lessons in SOLER’s Friendship curricular area offer engaging ways to explore collaborative play, like this visual worksheet (English | Español ) showing creative options for pretending.
  • Our NEW Routine Essentials materials include a wide range of visual supports to make teaching these skills easier! For example, you can guide turn-taking with this chart (English | Español): The fillable name and picture cards can be arranged on the chart so students practice going first and waiting for their turn.

STAR Autism Support Resources

With resources for students from early childhood to secondary and beyond, STAR Autism Support’s curricular tools are packed with evidence-based lesson plans, teaching materials, assessment tools, and more to help students socialize with peers. Our content incorporates strategies such as using visual supports, video modeling, peer-mediated instruction, and social narratives to help students prepare for social connections. Use the links below to learn more about what we offer.

  • STAR Program provides a comprehensive set of materials across six essential curricular areas for teaching primary students with autism.
  • The STAR Media Center hosts our Themes First! curriculum for preschool and primary students, the STAR Online Learning System, and our Routine Essentials materials.
  • Our Links curriculum offers secondary students access to theme- and routine-based instruction across a wide range of student levels.
  • SOLER (Social Learning and Emotional Regulation) is a comprehensive social-emotional learning curriculum.