Early years: Difficulty with social communication and developing relationships

Strategies and approaches:

Mirror, copy and mimic the child’s play as a way into reciprocal interaction and to show that it is valued.
Use intensive interaction strategies.
Planning of small groupings and opportunities to develop social understanding and inference.
Model functional language e.g. “hello, please, can I play?”, “help me”, “Hello, Sonny wants to play”.
Consistent use of natural gestures e.g. pointing, facial expressions, open body language/position at child’s level.
Organise small group or 1 to 1 tasks and activities, e.g. which involve turn taking and learning each other’s names, build up the size of the group gradually, adult to child, adult to two children etc.
Promote a calm learning environment.
Be clear and consistent in your communication of expectations.
Ensure staff support child to label their own and other’s emotions.
Consider creating communication friendly spaces for the child.