How do I help my child make friends in their gen ed class?

Parents may worry about including their child in gen ed if their child isn't able to sustain friendships. Even if other students say hi in the hallway, it can feel like a student doesn't have friends if they're never invited to socialize outside of class.

Parents can advocate for support for social interaction in the IEP because socialization is a core component of the school experience. Children with disabilities often need structured support in order to develop friendships. For typical kids, friendships might develop from proximity and shared interests, but some kids need extra help. Here are a few tips:

• Make sure your child is able to go to school social events, such as sports games and dances, without a parent. You can ask for an aide to support your child during extracurricular activities.
• Behavior issues will impact your child’s social interaction, but behavior intervention can also have an impact — do other students want to be friends with the kid who has an adult taking data on their social interactions? You can ask for explicit social skills instruction.
• Help your child create opportunities outside school. Community organizations such as Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are great for this. You can find more ideas in our article Socialization and Inclusion: Nurturing Authentic Peer Relationships.
• Don’t be afraid of “volunteer” friend programs that your child’s peers sign up for. Over time, they often develop into real friendships.
• Add goals in the IEP to support socialization or social skills.
• Help build an inclusive culture with peers in the classroom, especially if there is bullying going on.
• Schools can be proactive in creating opportunities for proximity and shared interests. Peer mentoring is great for developing authentic friendships.

For more information, see our full articles 10 Ways Schools Can Help Kids with IEPs Make Friends and What to Do When “Inclusion” Isn’t Working.