Raising an Inclusive Child: Helping Your Child Embrace Classmates with Differences

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Raising an inclusive child starts with everyday moments. From playground interactions to classroom conversations, children are constantly learning how to understand and accept differences. In this quarter’s blog, we explore simple, meaningful ways to help your child embrace classmates of all abilities, backgrounds, and experiences. We’ll talk about building empathy, confidence, and kindness that lasts well beyond the school years.

Group settings can be challenging for all children, but even more so with those who have ASD. Building up these environments to be inclusive is beneficial for all children involved, and can build new skills, friendships, and understanding of those who are different in more ways than one. This all starts at home and as parents, teaching children about diversity and inclusion.

Why Inclusion is Important
Having a sense of belonging has such big impacts on anyone, but especially children and those with differing abilities. Understanding that they have support in community to succeed along with their peers can really help build up those social skills, emotional development, and overall improved quality of life in children with ASD.

How can you foster this understanding of inclusion at home?

• Celebrate and Focus on Strengths
  
  • Always focus on the things that your child can do, not what they haven’t mastered yet. Celebrate the wins, big or small, as this builds confidence and helps them connect with others that have similar interests.
    
• Modeling
  
  • Children are visual creatures, they learn from what they can see and observe. When parents and caregivers model the behavior they want their children to learn, this can include flexibility, kindness, and acceptance of others. 
    
• Create Predictable Routines
  
  • Using visual schedules or planning weekly activities like game nights or family dinner can help children with consistency and predictability without added stress. This makes it easier for children to join as they know what to expect and generalize this skill to use in other settings.
    

How Your Child Can Build Inclusion
Starting at home is a crucial first step in teaching your children to embrace differences and inclusivity, taking these skills with them is what will help bridge the gap between those differences.

1. Learn and Practice Empathy
   
   1. Ensure that they understand that just because they may have different ways of processing information, they could still be interested in the same things and share common ground. For example, liking trucks or learning about zoo animals.
      
2. Encourage Multiple Routes of Communication
   
   1. Communication doesn’t always have to be verbal, as some children are non-verbal and communicate in different ways like sign language, AAC devices, gestures, and other visual aids.
      
3. Accessible Activities in the Community
   
   1. Lots of companies around your local cities have special events that are inclusive to those who have differing needs, and all are welcome. For example, movie theaters often have sensory friendly screenings open to all, taking your children to events like these can expose them to those with different needs. For more information about events like these, check with your local regional or resource center as they usually have these listed on their website.
      

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ABA Therapy Helps Children with ASD and Similar Diagnoses By:

• Building and Teaching Social Skills
  
• Fostering Independence
  
• Supporting Positive Behaviors
  

In building up these skills, teaching replacement behaviors, coping skills, and building communication, our goal is to help kiddos stay engaged with other children in ways that they feel comfortable.

These inclusive spaces and environments have to be built and fostered, as it’s not something that can happen overnight! Practice makes perfect and ensuring that all kids feel included when they’re together, no matter the differences, will set them up for success as they age. Remember, it starts at the top. Modeling how you want your kids to behave, act, and think has a bigger impact on them than you may realize. Raising an inclusive child starts at home, as that is their first community.


References:
Building Belonging: Inclusion for Children with Autism
Help Your Child Build Friendships with Kids with Autism
Supporting Autistic Kids in Group Settings: Evidence Based Strategies for Success



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