Making Friends: How the Friendly Group Supports Children and Young People on the Autism Spectrum

Anita M Hughes has been running the Friendly Group with her colleagues for 18 years, supporting more than 200 children and young people in that time. The Friendly Group is a social and therapeutic group for children and young people on the Autism Spectrum who struggle to make relationships and share feelings with others. The author describes the core principles of this extremely successful group and the structure and framework offered. These children appear to cope without real friendships, but often from an increasingly isolated position. Their behaviour is often driven by anxiety, made worse by feeling different. Families experience frustration and uncertainty about how they can help. Through vivid accounts Hughes describes how the group leaders can facilitate children and young people to support each other, and to think and talk about what happens inside and between them in the ‘here- and- now’. Professionals working with children and young people and their families in and outside school will find a fantastic range of ideas here on how to work in similar groups, with a sound sense of how to ‘contain’ children’s and young people’s anxiety. Parents too, will find inspiration.As Hughes states when we have faith in the children we live or work with, they will blossom .