Circle of Friends

With school about to start again, the Circle of Friends is a great program to facilitate friendships with the general education students as well as provide education.

One of the more difficult relationships for a student with special needs, particularly a student with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, is peer friendships. However, these peer friendships are an invaluable learning tool. Friendships provide us with a safe and comfortable setting in which to express needs, desires, and opinions.

While friendships come naturally to many of us, students with Autism Spectrum Disorders often struggle to grasps these concepts. Often other students do not understand certain behaviors and are unsure how to react. Providing a safe environment in which students can ask questions and gain social tools creates a more positive learning environment for all involved

A Circle of Friends is a friendship group that focuses on shared social experiences between a student with special needs (the “target student”) and his or her peers. Through small group meetings and larger social outings, peers learn the likes and dislikes of the target student and how to respond to non-standard behavior in constructive ways. These shared experiences also provide a common bond and topics of conversation between students that facilitate friendships.

Any student at the school is invited to participate in a Circle of Friends. Generally, there is one target student in each group. The student’s parent will speak with the general education class and give them the opportunity to ask questions. An exercise may be done to demonstrate the purpose of the group. Students are then asked to volunteer and parent permission is required. The student’s parent can also address the parents of the typical children regarding their goals for the program. Participation may be at whatever level or frequency a student is comfortable with.

There are two main components to Circle of Friends: ‘In School’ and ‘In the Community’. The ‘In School’ component will consist of small meetings, usually consisting of the target student and 1-3 peers in the group. These meetings would occur a couple times a month. Activities would be based upon the target student’s strengths and interests and may include:
Art projects
Games
Shared lunch
Creating stories or memory books

The ‘In the Community’ outings are parent facilitated. They usually occur about once a month outside of school hours. These should also be based on the target student’s strengths and interests. Activities may include:
Park
Bowling
Zoo
Sports