Circle of Friends

Elementary School

In elementary school, Michael’s teachers and social worker sent a note home to families of kids in his class. They asked if the students would like to take one recess each month to be part of a Circle of Friends. Michael was not the only student with special needs in the group, but there were also typical kids and kids who might be struggling to make friends. The kids who signed up came once a month, but the group met each week and the kids rotated through. 

The teachers would come up with a quick craft, cooking activity or theme idea and the kids would participate. The week pictured above, they made snowmen. It gave Michael a smaller group of friends to connect with and the school provided plenty of adult support to make sure they could facilitate conversation.

Middle School

As Michael got older, his middle school made sure his friends could come see him and share a book or a puzzle. Sometimes they even did some coloring with him…they were really amazing with him. They also had a program for the typical peers called Leadership. This was a class on their schedule and they came into the special ed room to learn about differences and how to support students with special needs.

High School

In high school, the program was called Unified Wellness. It too, was a class that typical students could sign up for and they got to participate in physical fitness activities like unified drumming, social activities like pumpkin carving and holiday parties.

If your child’s school does not offer these types of opportunities yet, be vocal and advocate for getting them set up. Enlist the school social worker, guidance counselor, special ed teachers and administration. These programs are very important to creating a community where the students all understand each other and can be kind and accepting.  The typical kids and the students with special needs all benefit!