Being in a group

• Sharing space and toys alongside peers

• Learning way we might make a plan with friends

• Self advocating in collaboration and negotiation

• Noticing what is happening around us

• Identifying a problem and solving it with friends

• Practising understanding another person’s perspective and vice versa

• Understanding our own physical boundaries with peers

• Positive self identity- finding a sense of self whilst in a group

• Creative expression, through music, dance, art and story telling

• Playing with neurodiverse peers- free play and expression.

 

Play

• Practising games we might play in the school yard

• Practising how we might join in play with peers

• Practising noticing if a peer is asking us to play

• Practising inviting peers into our own play if we want them to join in

• Sharing our creativity/ideas in play (mutual high interest)

• In games, learning about what we need to support ourselves if something unexpected happens or we lose

• Increased opportunities for supported connected play with peers

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Conversation

• In a mutual high interest topic, practising options for how we might add a comment or ask a question if we want to

• Practising strategies to extend our conversation if we are interested in it and want to keep it going with a friend

• Practising how to know when it feels right for us to join in a conversation between other people if we want to

• Self advocating if there is a communication breakdown

• Brainstorming how we might start a conversation about a high interest topic with a peer

• Using our communication styles to get to know someone we want to be friends with

• Understanding that everyone has a different communication style and that's okay.

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Emotional regulation 

• Understanding our own physical/sensory triggers in social settings

• Self- advocacy- Increasing our ability to support ourselves in tricky situations (such as disappointment at losing a game, frustration, following rules, significant anxiety/distress at new tasks/making a mistake, meeting new peers, unpredictability)

• Knowing what we need to stay sensory safe

• Noticing what is going on for us inside our bodies (escalation/de-escalation and awareness of triggers can be ( internal and external)

• Practising asking for what we need

• Increasing our emotional awareness 

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