Teaching social skills to our autistic children and students can be hard. Autism and social skills is something that may not easily go together. But, recently, we learnt about Bridges. Bridges is a wonderful company that has helped us – and so many other people around the world. It helps us with teaching social skills to our autistic students and children in a hands-on and easy way.
What are Social Skills?
Social skills are what we use to communicate with others around us. Many people assume that this is through verbal interaction. But, our gestures and non-verbal actions are all means of communication. Which, in turn, makes them our social skills. For many of us, social skills are learnt naturally while we grow. We want to interact with others, and we get enjoyment from communicating.
But, if you’re on the spectrum, this is one of the difficulties you may face. Social skills may not come naturally to you. Note – this isn’t for all autistic. Many autistics are some of the most social butterflies you will meet. Many of our students don’t understand WHY they should communicate or interact. And if they’re not motivated to do so, it’s even harder.
Why Is It Important to Have Good Social Skills?
There are so many reasons on why it is important to have good social skills.
- Having good social skills allows you to build relationships with others. Relationships can have many benefits. Including, your day-to-day life and having someone to talk to.
- Communication. This is a big one. We need to be able to communicate to get our needs and wants met. It’s also important to be able to communicate in a range of ways. Not everyone we meet will communicate in the same way or speak our language. Having good social skills will help you to communicate in a range of different ways.
- It will help you to leave awkward situations, in a polite manner. We may all find ourselves in an uncomfortable situation at one point in our lives. This may be with people who we don’t want to socialise with. Having good social skills will give us that knowledge of how to leave a conversation. It can help us to go somewhere that is more comfortable for us.
- Today, ‘who you know’ goes very far in the employment world. By building good friendships with others, you may be on your way to gaining a potential career in years to come.
How Can We Teach Social Skills?
Teaching social skills can be a scary thought for many of us. This includes teachers, tutors, educational professionals and even our families. Many families want to help their child progress and become the best they can be. Teachers want the same too. But, we don’t always have the knowledge, training, tools or time. This makes it difficult to put together activities and lesson plans to work on social skills, in a positive and engaging way.
So, What Can We Do?
Social skills was hard for us to find time to plan in the classroom. It was not through the want of trying – it was one of those things that we could never devote as much time to as we wanted. But, not anymore. We came across a fantastic, online tool that provided us with weekly lessons. These allowed us to work on our student’s social understanding in an engaging way. Not only that, the tool was really easy to use and understand. This meant that our student’s families could use it at home to work with their children too.
Bridges in Social Understanding Curriculum
Bridges began with Mary and Catherine, two Speech and Language Therapists with over 40 years’ experience in working with children on the autism spectrum. They were concerned that their students weren’t receiving the right support, so designed a program that would teach children social understanding as a cognitive skill over time.
The result is an online curriculum lasting 6 years, with resources and lessons designed to suit their student’s unique learning styles. Their proactive curriculum creates lasting learning and real-word social skills for the children who need it the most; helping them to go on and live independent, successful lives.
Who Do They Help?
So often, I come across tools that can only be used at home – or in school. Bridges are one of the companies that stand out with us. Their online curriculum is perfect to use in schools and by educational professionals. But, it can also be used at home, by families.
2019 is a milestone year for the Bridges team, who now have over 100 schools across the globe using their curriculum to teach high-functioning children on the autism spectrum social understanding.
Their curriculum, which is structured into weekly online classes, is also used by parents at home. This allows them to teach their children the social skills they need to thrive in school and in the community.
So far, they’ve supported hundreds of families in the UK, South Africa, Australia and the US- but this is just the beginning. To help as many children as they can, Bridges are offering individuals a 14-day free trial of their curriculum, with access to a week’s worth of lessons and interactive resources, from anywhere in the world.
Don’t Just Take Our Word for It!
I’m always wary when a new tool or training is introduced. One thing that helps me decide, is hearing from other professionals and families. I love to hear about how successful a tool is – and if it’s easy to use. Right now, it’s being used all around the world. Don’t put off trying it out any longer!
“A wonderful program developed by such wonderful people! A truly specialised tool designed and delivered in a manner that is accessible to individuals with social challenges.
– Petra Conradie, Psychologist/Director, Neurodiversity Centre, Cape Town South Africa”
“By practising the social skills I learned at Bridges over time, it helped me build my confidence and gave me the courage to try new things; like, leaving my home and family to study my A levels in another country when I was just 17 years old.” – Gemma, 19 years of age, Bridges Student
Try It Free!
19-years on and Bridges has a global presence, industry recognition and is helping to create a brighter future for children on the autism spectrum, every single day. See how Bridges can support parents, teachers and specialists to transform the social lives of children on the autism spectrum with a 14-day free trial of their curriculum. Just click here to sign up for your free trial – you don’t have to enter any payment information. There’s no obligation for you to sign up with a purchase plan after it. Just a free 14-day trial for you to learn all about this fantastic tool and how it will help your students – or child – with their social skills.
Sign Up Now.
Don’t waste any more time. Sign up for the 14 day free trial and let me know what you think in the comments below.
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