Polly Bath: Friendships. Is it OK to have just a couple friends? Yeah!

Some of our children, especially our children on the autistic spectrum, often have a very difficult time making friends. I truly believe that our goal is to help these children to be successful who they are and the way they’re wired.

Stop trying to make them “normal.” Stop trying to make them live up to a standard that’s so darn uncomfortable for them.

When I see behavior plans and I see IEPs that are forcing kids to be in a group and interact with five or more kids for 20 minutes with 85 percent or whatever accuracy, I worry.

I say, what if the kid is wired differently? That’s going to be so hard for them. If they only choose to talk to one person one on one the rest of their lives, is this a bad thing?

As long as they know the social skill, if they can walk into the department store or into the bank and they know the social skills and how to act, that’s what’s important. And that’s my goal! Am I going to force you to be social if it’s uncomfortable for you? No.