Social Emotional Development and Friendships sensory support service Social Emotional Development and Friendships www.sensorysupportservice.org.uk

Aims To remind us of the importance of social emotional development and its impact on academic achievement To understand the main issues that can prevent CYP with VI having a good social understanding To share experiences and learn from each other To understand how you can promote social emotional development, inclusion within your role

Social emotional development Plays an important role in children’s lives Children need healthy social emotional development to be prepared and ready to learn Dynamic interaction between social emotional development and academic achievement

Activity Sim specs In a group Make an umbrella out of newspaper

What do we want? Children and young people who: Get on with other children, young people and adults Make friends Feel secure and valued Explore and learn confidently Feel good about themselves (realistic) Belong - who are included Are independent

What does Social Exclusion mean? Not being listened to Having no friends Finding it difficult to do the kinds of things that non-disabled people of their age do Being made to feel they have no contribution to make Feeling unsafe, being harassed and bullied (Morris, 2001)

Discussion Think of the child or young person you work with. What are their interactions with their peers like? How do they join in a group during break / free time?

Children with vision impairment Every child is an individual Wide range of situations Different eye conditions and implications Different personalities Different family styles / cultures / values Different contexts, socio economic status, etc We will learn from each case but need to be careful not to over generalise

Issues for children with VI Less experiences More time needed Not so consistent experiences Limited access to feedback from others Limited access to what is happening around them Difficulties with social understanding

Early social interaction with peers Young children spend a lot of time watching their peers, Imitation, Offering objects as a way to initiate interaction, Taking objects.

Play Play gives children opportunities to: explore the world around them, learn about objects, what happens when, how things work, how objects relate to each other, etc but also: Learn about how people think, act and what they believe

Friends resolving conflict Conflict situations between friends are less hostile and friends seem more able to resolve them. Friends are more likely to use reasoning and take account of the other person’s point of view or feelings. Issues – at times adults intervening too early

? What issues could there be in the school years?

Social interaction in the school years Children continuously develop understanding of their social world - identity Peer culture - access Joining in a group – how is it done? And for the child with VI? Fitting in and keeping up – needing adult support Role models and realistic feedback

School years (cont.) Locate a friend in the playground Compete at similar levels Tend to look for quiet areas and to interact with adults Adults’ view of good interaction as lack of physical or verbal abuse rather than the presence of positive social interaction

Teenage years and the dreaded spotlight Move to secondary school Self awareness Organisational issues - so much to take in and at a fast pace Changing rules - (e.g. hands up) Time spent in trying to fit in, making sure you do not stick out - spotlight

Bullying Most bullying takes place in settings that are not monitored by teachers. Children with special needs are twice as likely as their peers to be bullied. Be alone at playtime Male Having less than 2 good friends Having extra help in school

Bullying and Friendships Most helpful factors in preventing or helping pupils in dealing with bullying are: friendships, avoidance strategies and learning to “stand up for yourself” Friendship can protect children from bullying to a certain degree but this depends on the quality of the friendship and the characteristics of the friend.

? What can you do in your role to promote development in this area?

Promoting development: your role Encourage curiosity in other people and opportunities to enjoy the company of others Describe social environment, other people’s feelings, wishes, intentions and events Help peers understand needs of child or help the pupil explain his or her own needs Support communication - but do not speak for the child Ensure child/young person has the independence skills

Your role (cont.) Liaise with teacher for VI about how to develop child’s awareness of their condition and to provide training to peers Environmental issues: physical layout and social context (role models) Monitoring social interaction and friendships: standing back promoting independence

Your role (cont.) Remember that social skills need to be experienced in context so there is a need for: Using any incidental opportunity to promote social understanding Planned sessions to cover some skills which then need to be put in practice e.g. to learn about body posture, active listening, turn taking, staying on topic, etc. Time to discuss issues or learn specific skills (particularly sensitive issues)

You role (cont.) Work as part of the team supporting the child / young person Circle of friends - using the child’s natural peer group to support the child Social Stories - help children anticipate situations or reflect on events Implementing individual programmes of work