Virginia AHPERD_Summer 2023

Additionally, assessing the needs of students with disabilities and crafting planned interventions is well within the professional scope of School Social Workers and Special Education teachers. Thus, a collaborative approach, including oversight and support from lead administrators as well as from members of the Special Education team, can help ensure that programming is develop mentally appropriate, evidence-based, and outcome-based. The following table identifies relevant desired outcomes for students with Down syndrome and related intervention options, both gen eral and specific, to help facilitate those outcomes.

It is important to note that students’ identified accommodations will need to be well-understood and implemented during facilitated recess activities. For example, some students with Down syndrome will need to be afforded breaks during activities involving physical exertion. It is also recommended that recreational activities be structured so that they can be implemented in a variety of settings, both indoor and outdoor, to be adaptable to changing circumstances, such as weather and schedule changes. The professional orientation of the paraprofessional in 6

Desired Outcome

Facilitated Interventions

Improve peer to peer engagement and interaction

• Non-competitive and fun recreational games • Team-building games

• Problem-solving initiatives

Expand vocabulary related to social interaction

• Easy versions of charades • Scavenger hunt with paired teams

Develop conflict resolution skills

• Breathing exercises to calm down • Social stories of personal and/or fictitious experiences of conflict resolution • Role play exercises modeling conflict resolution techniques • Games without teams • Games not involving sports or high-level athleticism • For team games, aides should select teams to ensure inclusion

Increase emotional and physical safety

• Therapeutic recreation games

• Modified familiar games

Improve social skills

• Social skills-building games from https://www.positiveaction.net/blog/social skills-activities-and-games-for-kids • Creative play such as drawing or doodling with sidewalk chalk

• Role play, dramatic play

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