Teaching Social Nuances and Friends/Acquaintances

[imagine.more]

Can anyone here recommend a book or curriculum for higher-functioning special needs kids about friendships and social skills? 

 

We're preparing for DD14 to re-enter school in 1-2 years and I want to do everything in my power to prepare her to be successful and stay safe. I'd love for her to make some nice, like-minded friends. She has a tendency to be attracted to manipulative and deceptive friends, often getting taken advantage of in the friendship. 

 

I want something to help teach the following skills explicitly with examples and ways to practice:

 

- different types of relationships: friends, acquaintances, new friend vs best friend, family, doctor/teacher, stranger, etc. 

- boundaries for different types of relationships

- characteristics of trustworthy vs untrustworthy people

- how to make friends (right now I think she waits for whoever talks to her then immediately says they're her best friend forever, which means the manipulative ones who are trying to use her are the ones she ends up friends with)

 

 

[Kerileanne99]

Have you seen the book The Unwritten Rules of Friendship?

It isn't a young kids book, more of a guide for parents, but at 14 would be fantastic. It is also set up so that you could do it together.

I actually recommend it for anyone with kids. It has helped me tremendously in how to talk to/teach/understand my very quirky child who has the same types of issues.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316917303?keywords=the%20unwritten%20rules%20of%20friendship&qid=1454937467&ref_=sr_1_cc_1&s=aps&sr=1-1-catcorr

[Crimson Wife]

American Girl has a series of books aimed at middle-school age girls and there are several titles on friendship that cover these sorts of things. I've gotten them from the library for my oldest to read. Michelle Garcia Winner also has books for adolescents like this one: http://socialthinking.com/Products/Socially%20Curious%20and%20Curiously%20Social%20A%20Social%20Thinking%20Guidebook%20for%20Bright%20Teens%20%20Young%20Adults

 

One book that might be good for you to help your DD since she's hard-of-hearing is Let's Converse: A How-to Guide to Develop and Expand Conversational Skills of Children and Teenagers who are Hearing-Impaired by Dr. Nancy Tye-Murray. It is OOP unfortunately but worth trying to track down a used copy. I really like it because it gets into conversational repair strategies and communication skills specific to hearing loss.