#peer relationships

All children need to play and interact with other children. The same goes for children with special needs who are always at risk for social rejection. Building relationship with peers is essential in any child’s development. But for children with disabilities, the importance of peer relationships cannot be stressed enough. At a young age, children with special needs have to start learning the social skills necessary to build genuine relationships that can last until adulthood.

Peer acceptance during a child’s formative years is an indicator for quality of life in adulthood. Good peer relationships provide important support throughout our lives. Children with special needs generally interact with peers less often and are less well accepted. In fact, they are at risk of being bullied because of their difference from regular children. For this reason, we need to help these children develop instinctive social skills that can help them build relationships with their peers before their deficit has long-term repercussions.

Adults play a key role in teaching children how to make friends, and children with disabilities may need extra support from us. We have seen people with special needs shunned because they failed to gain social acceptance with their peers, so it is crucial that the children develop skills that characterize socially competent human beings.

Some children with special needs will make friends very easily; however, others may need an adult's help in connecting with peers. This is where we step up. Adults can encourage children to interact and play with each other. We can teach regular children how to be friends with those who are different from them. Peer relationships act as support for children with special needs. Regular children who get to interact with them also get to learn that disabilities are a part of life, so they tend to accept children with special needs.

All in all, we should support children with special needs by coming up with activities to make regular children interact more with children who are disabled. There are a few suggestions on how to do this on this website.

 Sources:

https://expertbeacon.com/encouraging-friendships-between-kids-disabilities-and-peers#.VsUhmEDQLrM

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Choosing one’s friends is an important part of growing up. Kids will meet new people, join new groups, change friends, and develop new relationships many times before they truly find the group that they “fit” with. And although you can’t choose your children’s friends, you can have a positive influence on the relationships they make throughout their formative years. Use some of the following strategies to help your children build positive relationships with their friends.

  Encourage Diversity- Challenge your children to get to know kids from many different backgrounds and perspectives. In addition to exposing your kids to more diversity, it will also help them learn more about themselves.   Avoid Criticism- Avoid criticizing friendships, but be honest with your kids when you’re concerned. Don’t: Condemn your child’s friends. This may make them defensive and less receptive to what you have to say. Do: Be open and willing to listen to what she has to say, and talk about what makes you nervous.   Get Involved- If you feel that one of your child’s friends is having a negative influence on him, invite that friend to spend time with you and your child together so that you can have a positive influence on the relationship.   Offer Advice- When talking about a friend who has a negative influence on your child, focus your comments on that friend’s behaviors, not on her personality. For example, instead of calling your child’s friend irresponsible for smoking, you could point out that the behavior has a negative effect on her health and recommend ways for your child to help her quit.   Set Limits- Set limits on how much time your child spends with her friends—it’s important to develop positive relationships with family members as well.   Engage in Community Service- Engage your family in service and volunteering (or join a social group) through a local congregation, school, or other nonprofit organization—these events can be great places to meet new friends, and often result in new positive relationships.

via parentfurther.com