Help Your Special Needs Child Build Stronger Social Skills

Do you have a special needs child who blurts out comments without considering cause and effect? If this sounds like your child, chances are your child has received more than his or her share of verbal insults. Children have a tendency to tease or ridicule unusual behavior or inappropriate verbal responses in other children. As a result, your child may be socially ignored or even chastised by peers. How then, do you teach your special needs child to behave or speak in more socially acceptable ways? Here are three tips that might help.

Tip #1: Teach Social Skills Through Role Playing

The first tip for helping your child build stronger social skills is to role play. Introduce a situation where you play the part of the child and another actor plays opposite you. Set up the scene to mimic a behavior you have noticed in your child. After the act, ask your child what he or she saw. Ask your child if someone's feelings might have been hurt or if someone behaved in a way that was mean.

Then act out the scene again, this time responding in a more appropriate manner. Use this lesson to discuss the more favorable behavior and response with your special needs child. After he or she sees what a poor response looks like and what a good response looks like, your special needs child should be better able to respond positively in the next similar situation.

Tip #2: Pair Your Special Needs Child with a Younger Friend

Younger children look up to older children. Pairing your special needs child with children who are younger will give him or her the edge socially. This pairing should provide your child the advantage of being the role model. His or her language and reading skills should be stronger, and your child's life experiences will be more varied than those of the younger children. What this should do for your child is build needed self-confidence.

Tip #3: Hand-Select Accepting and Forgiving Friends

As a parent, you can manage some variables in your child's social life. Outside of school, you have control over who your child spends time with. What if you plan social opportunities where your child has access to a child who is accepting of the differences in others or a child who easily forgives? Some children have these natural qualities and make wonderful friends for those who don't share the same qualities. Allowing your special needs child to associate with children who are welcoming and forgiving, goes a long way in helping your child build stronger social skills.

These three tips can help you strengthen your child's social skills: model acceptable behavior, pair your child with those apt to look up to him or her, and provide friendships with children who easily forgive and accept differences in others.