Difficulty with social communication and developing relationships

Provision and/or strategies

• Plan small groupings and opportunities to develop social understanding and inference.
• Group work is planned and used flexibly to promote independence from adults.
• Model functional language, for example, pointing, facial expressions, open body language / position at child’s level.
• Organise small group / 1 to 1 tasks and activities, for example those which involve turn taking and learning each other’s names, building up the size of the group gradually, adult to child, adult to two children.
• Promote a calm learning environment.
• Be clear and consistent in your communication of expectations.
• Ensure staff support the child to label their own and other’s emotions.
• Create communication friendly spaces for the child.
• Monitor the child at break and lunchtime and introduce strategies to support peer interactions, such as teaching of structured games.