A Message From Your COF Team

We’re pleased to share an article on Circle of Friends Mary Schlieder was asked to write for Autism Advocate Parenting Magazine’s September Issue. Not only have they given permission for it to be shared, but they’ve made their entire Sept. magazine issue free for all of us involved in providing COF support groups for our students. The article does a few things: 1) Provides a bit of history on COF here in Nebraska for those of you newer to the program, 2) Serves as a reflection on what we’ve found to be best practice, and 3) Hopefully, serves as encouragement to everyone using COF to foster inclusive, welcoming school environments for our kids. Link to the free September online magazine HERE .

The COF article is on page 25. You are all part of this story–thank you for everything you do!

Hopefully, at this point in the school year we haven’t missed anyone, but if you know of a new COF group leader who isn’t receiving the monthly COF newsletters please pass this link along so they can sign up to receive information and free ongoing support. You can also direct them to our Virtual Community Learning Site.

Here to Help!

Need Help?

Are you struggling to meet consistently with your COF group? Have a reluctant focus student? Are problematic behaviors occurring during meetings and COF activities?

Trouble finding peers to engage with your focus student? Other issues?

Did you know you can request a 1:1 Zoom meeting anytime?

Reach out to mary.schlieder@gmail.com to communicate via email or to arrange a meeting.

Tips from the Circle

Congratulations to Hannah Gay, the winner of our COF $50 Amazon gift card for the month of September!

Tri-County COF Applications At An All-Time HIgh! Submitted by Hannah Gay

We have moved towards having students apply to be a part of Circle of Friends. We pick our focus students and then make the applications available for all students in grades 7-12. This year we had over 30 students get applications and 25 complete and hand them in! On this application, they have to state why they want and why they would be a good fit for Circle of Friends. They also have to get two recommendations from teachers. This was a good problem to have. I talked with our principal and stated I couldn't imagine cutting anyone who applied for a group that is about inclusion. We decided... WHY NOT! So we will have a large group this year and I can't wait to see how the year goes! I have included a picture of our group of 15 friends from last year. This year with our focus students it will be 28!

I have noticed more engagement from peers when they apply than when they were hand-picked by me. These students want and choose to be a part of and learn with our focus friends.

Social Skills Game Using Social Behavior Mapping

Shared by Bobbi Moraski

I run a 30 minute COF group. We spend the first 15 minutes acting out social scenarios. Each group of 2 is given a scenario and they act out the unexpected and expected reactions, then the group discusses how others would feel and react. Sometimes we use Michelle Garcia-Winner and Pamela Crooke’s Social Behavior Mapping The scenarios are linked to real problems, for example, “You are playing Gaga ball, everyone says you’re out, you know you’re not.” We spend the last 15 minutes playing a game that could be used during indoor recess. This has really helped our students bond with peers but also develop problem-solving skills. Note: Social Behavior Mapping has been revised and is now titled Social Situation Mapping: Making Sense of the Social World. The updated website is awesome and even has free stuff to check out!

Bobbi’s Tip:

Ask your COF students for real ideas of social situations to problem solve. They have great ideas that we don’t even know are problems.

Using Bibliotherapy to Introduce the Group and Identify Special Qualities

Shared by Amy Kopanic

Here is a lesson idea that was fantastic and helped kids connect with each other. We used this as an introduction to what COF is, the purpose of our group, and discovering that we are all unique in our own special way. We read the book Being Zoey: Meet the Misfits .

We discussed how we are all special and unique in our own way and discussed accepting others for who they are and their own special qualities. We then allowed students to pick a shape (image below) write 3 things about themselves and put their names on shapes. After all students complete this, we then mix up the shapes and read the 3 things about them without saying the name associated with the shape and then the other kids guess who it is... This is a great way to make connections with others in the group.

You can find this book in bookstores near you and online.

Check it out on Amazon here

Happy Birthday Party at Shelby Rising City

Shared by Stacy Stewart

September 22 was our focus student's 9th birthday. So the COF group partied by hosting a birthday party. The party included pizza, cupcakes, conversation, and gifts. During this party the kids worked on social skills. It was a huge success!!!!

Stacy’s Tip:

Celebrate birthdays and holidays. It's an easy and inexpensive way to work on so many skills!

Monthly Gift Card Drawing for October

Do you have a Circle of Friends success story to share? Submit your tip, idea, or resource here. Every submission is entered into our monthly $50 gift card drawing.

Submit your photos, too!

Submit by October 28th!

Submit here

Read more ideas and stories on our Activities page

Share your tips, stories, and successes with us HERE!

Visit our Circle of Friends Virtual Community Site

Have questions about Circle of Friends? Contact: Mary at mary.schlieder@gmail.com

Want to be added to the newsletter list? Add your information HERE. Need to update your contact information? Contact: Megan at mmisegadis2@unl.edu