Hand in hand – forging bonds and friendships together
Friendships and social relationships are important for all children. Positive social relationships are important to mental health. This is true for everyone, including children and young people who have Down’s syndrome.
Friendships and meaningful relationships with similar-aged peers are important to them in the same way that they are for anyone else. If a learner does not have any friends they can feel isolated and as though they do not belong.
Building new friendships can be a challenge for anyone, but for disabled children and young people there can be additional challenges when creating new friends and navigating relationships.
It is therefore important that you do not assume that learners who have Down’s syndrome do not want to make friends or that they do not have the ability to do so, for instance, because of their developing communication and social skills.
It may just be that they – and importantly their peers – need some additional support in developing those relationships in a way that works for everyone.
Below, we have provided a new resource providing guidance about developing friendships, together with some videos made with Catherine and Molly from Our Voice discussing their experiences, as well as a range of other resources including those that can be used in the classroom to discuss Down’s syndrome.