In our Social learning groups we practise:

Being in a group:
Sharing space and toys alongside peers
Learning how to make a plan with friends
Self advocating in collaboration and negotiation
Tuning in to our friends and noticing what is happening
Identifying a problem and solving it with friends
Practising understanding another person’s perspective
Understanding physical boundaries with peers
Positive self identity- finding a sense of self in a group
Creative expression, through music, dance, art and story telling
Sharing play with neurodiverse peers
Play:
Practising games we might play in school yard
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
Sharing our imagination 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
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 that we want to be friends with
Emotional regulation:
Understanding our own physical/sensory triggers in social setting
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
Practising asking for what we need
Increasing our emotional awareness

Our social learning groups are run fortnightly all through the year. They have 6 - 8 children in the group and are run by Trish and Georgia, two senior allied health clinicians. We practise our social learning though music, play, games, books, craft, lego and high interest activities.

In our Social learning groups we practise:

Being in a group:

Play:

Conversation:

Understanding our own physical/sensory triggers in social setting

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)