Social Relationships- Targeted for Parents, Students, and Family

The title of this blog-posting is "Because Everyone Needs a Friend." This blog-posting is essentially targeted for parents, students, and families. Its main purpose is to aid in the development of communication with parents and students on discovering ways to create and maintain social and networking skills for children with special needs that is necessary for success in the transition process. I feel that this posting will offer resources for promoting the development of social skills and social competence in individuals with disabilities. The core topics that these resources will address include the following:

• information on social support groups
• support groups for siblings of an individual with disabilities
• special needs social summer camps and activities to foster the development of true social relationships
• organizations that help to foster friendships
• book and sources that promote healthy friendships and inclusion of individuals with special needs into the mainstream environment
• awareness and education
• provides individuals with the social skills to successfully utilize in the transition process and to enhance their networking skills. Developing networking skills is essential for success in the future and I feel that these resources will help instill more self-confidence in this area

Here are several websites geared towards support groups/organizations for families and individuals with disabilities in developing networking skills.

1. Support for Families and Partnerships: http://www.supportforfamilies.org/partnerships.html
2. Summer Camp Listing for Individuals with Disabilities: http://www.mysummercamps.com/camps/SpecialNeedsCamps/
3. Sibling Support Groups- is designed for siblings with a sister or brother who has special needs http://www.siblingsupport.org/
4. Kid's Friendship Club- is designed to assist children with special needs in finding and maintaining friendships: http://reachdevelopment.org/kids-friendship-club.html

I have listed below several books and reading materials that educators can adopt into their curriculum to foster friendships and instill social and networking skills for success in the transition process. Additionally, these sources make the students aware of the discrimination and bias that society has and assists them through the transition process.

1. Through the Eyes of Friendship- by Elizabeth T. Peters
2. Social Skills Activities: for Secondary Students with Special Needs- by Darlene Mannix
3. Delicate Threads: Friendships Between Children with and without Special Needs in Inclusive Settings- by Debbie Staub
4. The Special Needs Acceptance Book: Being a Friend to Someone with Special Needs- by Ellen Sabin

I hope you find these sources as useful as I did and provided you with hope that individuals with disabilities will create lasting friendships and will now have the tools, the voice and the confidence to advocate for their future!