There was a special friends club in elementary school and now in middle schoolmy son has 'increasing social interactions with peers' written into his last IEP.

I just signed my son up for a social group sessions organized by his Special Needs Teacher. They created a group of kiddos that are on IEPs so they can create friendships and bonds. Crossing my fingers.

I didn’t have it written in my son’s IEP…but it’s an EXCELLENT idea! Maybe you can discuss it with the case manager or someone you have a connection with on his IEP team 👍🏽
Good luck!!

I was just remembering back when Dennis was in 3rd grade. He & a girl in his class became “friendly” & when he told her about his toys & video games she wanted to see them. When she saw his room she said “Your room looks like Toys R Us!” She went back to the class & told EVERYBODY! The next week, one of the most popular boys in the school said HE wanted to see, too!
After that, we had pizza parties EVERY Friday night…FOR years….with 6-8 kids being here!! He developed a network of friends lasting through high school.
Dennis is now 30…& Fridays are STILL pizza nights for us 😉

This goal isn’t written in my son’s IEP. However, his high school has a Best Buddies chapter, and his teacher is a co-advisor so the students are automatically members. We fill out the membership form every year. Anyway, they meet weekly during lunch. Maybe you can have your son start by saying hello to a neurotypical peer, like a neighbor or someone he sees outside of school? Then go from there. Or you can sign up for Best Buddies in your area.

https://www.bestbuddies.org/california/