| Social Communication and Interaction groups were devised by early years professionals, speech and language therapists, and parents. They aim to support children to join in with small group activities. They provide structured opportunities for children which encourage them to become aware of other people, to make choices, to develop imitation skills, and learn how to take turns. |
How to set up a Social Communication and Interaction Group
An introduction to Social Communication and Interaction groups and a guide to running groups:
Purpose of social communication and interaction groups
Running social communication and interaction groups
Planning and resources for the six sessions
Examples of planning for a set of six Social Communication and Interaction group sessions and lists of the resources needed to run the sessions:
Guide to planning Social Communication and Interaction groups
Social Communication and Interaction group resources
Social Communication and Interaction groups cards
Plans for the set of 6 Social Communication and Interaction group sessions
Observation and Recording
Keeping records of the sessions helps to inform the planning for next steps and future sessions. Observation of children’s responses during the sessions can also provide some illuminating insights. The observation sheets below suggest alternative ways to record your observations of individuals or groups of children and can be used and adapted to record progress and to plan future sessions:
Individual child observation sheet
Summary individual child observation sheet
If you have a child with quite complex language and social communication and interaction needs using the observation profile below will give you a clear and detailed picture of the child’s needs and rate of progress. This form can also act as evidence when talking to parents, support teams or external professionals:
Social Communication and Interaction observation profile
Ideas for extension activities
Examples of extension activities for children who have mastered the basics of the sessions. You may also want to develop your own extension activities: