Developmental disabilities/developmental delay and social interaction: challenges and helpful things

For kids with developmental disibilites and or developmental delays social interaction can be hard. Examples of these include autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, speech delay,moter delay, neurological disibiliy,fragile X syndrome as well as other delays and disabilities. Kids with these types of things can have a hard time understanding social cues or voicing their wants and needs, Because of these challenges as well as others they can have a hard time making friends and interacting with their neurotypical peers. A speech delay is the most common type of developmental delay now and most kids outgrow it, of corse others do not. Kids with disibilites like those mentioned above most of the time need help with certain aspects of social interaction below are a few ways that they may benefit from.

Find out what they like to talk about: some kids like to always talk about a certain subject that intrigues them. It could be sports,dinosaurs,video games or a lot of other things.

Find other kids their age: If there aren't many kids in your neighborhood their around age you might try school or another program they go to like after school.

Find effective communication methods: if your child is nonverbal they may use signs or ASL. They also might use an AAC or another speech app if their speech is not clear. Communication is a vital part of social interaction,people are almost always talking.

Have someone nearby: if your child gets nervous around other kids or new people try having another adult or an aid nearby to give them security.

Ask who they would like to hang out with: It's always good to ask who they would like to play and hang out with because how would you feel if you were stuck having to play with someone you didn't like? Not very happy I'm guessing?

In conclusion kids with disabilities typically have a harder time interacting with their non disabled peers but there are ways you can help get them more involved with other kids.


Until next time,
Meredith