Tag Archives: social skills

Learning Social Skills in the Summer

Nothing has plagued the homeschooling movement more than the idea that a child, who is not immersed in a traditional classroom setting, would be deficient in social skills.  In fact, some families have shunned the idea of educating their children at home because they feel the choice would turn their kids into social outcasts. This is a complete fallacy. There are a myriad of opportunities for homeschooled children to learn how to get along with their peers, though, summer often provides the most varied choices.  Some of the most popular include: Camps:  Some homeschool co-ops organize their own summer camps, … Continue reading →

Typical Peer Program Teaches Skills and Acceptance

An elementary school in Indiana has started an interesting program. It’s called the Typical Peer Program. It puts a couple of students who do not have special needs into a classroom with students who have special needs. The “typical” peers model behavior, and everyone learns to accept others who are different from themselves. J.B. Stephens Elementary School, in Greenfield, Indiana, has started an innovative preschool program. It is called the Typical Peer Program. I have not heard of any other schools who are doing this. The program is specifically directed to helping children who have special needs. At the start … Continue reading →

Resources to Teach Social Skills from Different Roads To Learning

Social skills are something that all children need to learn. Many children pick up these social skills automatically. However, understanding and using social skills is something that is often difficult for children who have autism. Social skills need to be taught, and practiced. The company Different Roads to Learning has resources that can be used to teach social skills. Different Roads to Learning has been supporting the autism community since 1995. They sell over 500 products designed to be used to help teach specific skills to children with autism. Some of the products they sell can be used in a … Continue reading →

Siblings Can Teach Social Skills

Many children who have Asperger’s Syndrome struggle with social situations. While other kids naturally learn to discern between when someone is serious and when they are telling a joke, the differentiation can be difficult for children with Asperger’s syndrome. Often, social skills need to be specifically taught, and practiced, (just as a new math skill would be). One good way to do that is to get the siblings of the child who has Asperger’s syndrome involved. I was a senior in high school when my brother, (who has Asperger’s Syndrome), was a freshman. This gave me the unique ability to … Continue reading →

Do You Want Better Social Skills?

If you want to improve at social skills read fiction. No, you did not read wrongly. If you want to improve at social skills read fiction. That’s the latest finding by cognitive scientists in Toronto. Over the years, I’ve met Christians who tell me with an element of pride they never read fiction – not just Christian fiction but ANY fiction. The implication is that their time is far too valuable to waste on fiction and stories that to their minds are made-up and therefore not true. I admit I’ve always found this is peculiar attitude and think they are … Continue reading →

Teaching Kids About Making Introductions

Maybe we have worked with our children on how to make friends and how to be a friend, and we have probably spent some time teaching our children about basic manners—but what about the manners of how to meet new people? Making introductions and meeting new people can be uncomfortable if a child does not know what is expected of him or her. Young children can be confused—do they shake hands? Do they look people in the eye? Why is it that there are different expectations when you meet different kinds of people? All of these social ambiguities can really … Continue reading →

A Chance to Improve Your Social and Personal Skills

I don’t mean to seem like an overly-optimistic Pollyanna, but there really are all sorts of personal development opportunities that come with life as a single parent. One is that we have the chance to expand and improver our social and personal skills in ways we might not if we are partnered or married. Think of it–as a partnered parent, you don’t have to reach out to the outer world as often and don’t have to ask for help, look for alternative ways to deal with transportation, child care, social activities, etc. I know that as a single parent, I … Continue reading →

You’ve Really Got to CARE About Your Customers

There’s no getting around the fact that customers and clients (or readers, product users, etc.) are the very life-blood of our businesses. Without satisfied people who are purchasing our services or products, we don’t have an income and without an income, we don’t have a business. In order to keep our customers and clients happy and connected, we can’t just treat them like numbers and dollar signs. We really do have to care about our customers if we are going to create strong relationships and customer loyalty. I know that you’ve heard that you shouldn’t get too emotionally involved with … Continue reading →

Being Your Child’s Social Engineer

Children with special needs could almost always use a little help in the friendship department. They might have difficulty with communication or conversation, feel afraid of how other children will accept them, or just plain don’t know how to relate. As a parent, you can greatly enhance your child’s life by offering a bit of social engineering. “I like ants. Do you?” Children on the autism spectrum, especially those with Aspergers Syndrome, often have particularly narrow interests which are hard to draw other children into. I recently read about a child with Aspergers who had a fascination with ants. He … Continue reading →

Enjoyment and Empathy—Good Social Adjustment

Many parents worry about whether or not their child is developing appropriately when it comes to social skills. This can be a hard one since all children are different and our kids may be very different from us, and/or very different from their siblings socially. Some like to play in big groups, others are happier playing alone or with one other friend. Overall, I think that if a child is showing signs of enjoyment—enjoying playing with other children at least some of the time, and empathy—caring how other people feel or if they get hurt or upset, then social skills … Continue reading →