During first grade, Curtis would come running toward the school full force in anticipation of hugging his "girlfriends"  who would always be waiting for him. The remaining members of his class tended to get the shaft in terms of morning chatter from Curtis. His classmates would be comfortably buzzing around the cubby area showing off games from home, sharing playground stories or glowing with love over their new shoes. Curtis could be found sticking to his daily targets and completing his morning jobs as every student had to do (Making his lunch choice, answering the classroom question of the day and putting his folder in the classroom basket). Doing the jobs necessary to get his day started off right.
       Early in the school year I learned that I had to be sneaky and creative in my attempts to get Curtis to socialize. Essentially, I had to put it these jobs out there as"targets" or "jobs" in order for him to comply.  That's when the surveys Greg mentioned were implemented at school.  While they were very format based, they were unique each day depending on areas of his current interest (Do you like fluff? Do you like Taylor Switt? Have you ever been on Interstate 240? Do you like basketball? Do you like the color Red?) - and others were based on his emotional state and/or daily reflections (Do you have bad days? Do you cry sometimes? Is the classroom ever too loud for you? Do you like to be a rascal?) 
      Without Curtis even realizing it, he was bonding with his classmates. He was learning more about his new friends each day and expanding his age appropriate ego centric mind frame little by little.  By October, completing his three morning jobs, he would find a survey on his desk with a clip board and a sharp pencil. He would then hit the class running daily with straight forward questioners and it was a beautiful sight to see him re-enter the cubby area and be among the class chatter. His classmates loved these surveys. They enjoyed the randomness of the questions he would ask and they loved his individual attention without me hovering.
      Soon his class was asking me for these daily surveys so that they could do as Curtis was doing.  I noticed throughout his first grade year that what started out as a "job" and a premeditated social interaction turned into Curtis having the ability in himself to ask his friends simple social questions freely and without his handy clip board and pencil in front of him. He was interacting without the previous barriers and without the rules that were once so crucial. Curtis blossomed this year socially - trail and error, patience, acceptance and love helped him shed his armor. I am a huge advocate for social learning. I have always believed that Curtis will learn more from his peers than from what I have to teach. I may set the stage for these interactions to occur during his school day but than his friends take over quickly and willingly.  His friends also have more patience than myself on some of the tough days :)

Caron, 1:1 School Support