How to help your child befriend a child with special needsy

As the new school session starts, parents start anticipating about what the new year in school will bring. While it is good to get the children back to school, parents often worry about how their kids will behave with other children, especially ones who have special needs.
It is quite inevitable that your child will encounter other children with special needs in school, so it is important that you teach your child, how to behave and befriend with a child with special needs. Some disabilities are visible, while some might not be so clear especially those with learning disabilities. Children are curious about their peers who are different from them and want to know why is this so. It is up to the parents to teach the children to respect the differences. If you have encountered a similar situation, where your child is curious about a classmate with special needs, here is how you can help your child to respect their special needs peers:

• Tell your child that no two people and same. Some characteristics are more visible. Site an example to help the child understand better.
• Tell your child a disability is a characteristic of a person and people with disabilities have to face a different set of challenges, but everything else remains the same.
• You must also help your child understand that children with special needs are just like them – they enjoy playing, spending time with friends and even they have feelings. Just as your child gets hurt when someone misbehaves with them, even the children with special needs feel hurt when others misbehave with them.
• Teach your child that there is nothing wrong in befriending with a child with special needs since they can't catch a disability. Children are either born with it or they become disabled due to an accident or a mishap.
• Disabilities can be many types, some have physical disabilities, while some others might have cognitive disabilities.
• When provided with the right support and assistance, children with special needs can do the same or sometimes even better than their peers.
• If your child asks you about a disability, talk to him/ her about it and help her understand why it happened and what the challenges the person with that disability has to face.

Most children are compassionate by nature; you only need to help them understand how difficult it is for a child with special needs to cope with the rest of the world. As a parent it is necessary that you become your child's role model and show respect towards people with disabilities. Tell your child about the kind of special care a child might get at school due to his or her special needs. Talk to your child about disabilities even if they have not yet come across other children with special needs. This will help them get prepared about how to react when they encounter children with special needs.
Encourage your child to befriend with a child with special needs at school and help them become better individuals.