Dating and Relationships

Hello! Thank you for checking out my first posts on social skills and dating and relationship basics. These posts were developed upon request from clients and colleagues to be a very basic collection of tips, information, and education notes for adolescents and young adults with developmental conditions, physical disabilities, and chronic illnesses. Of course they are quite useful to anyone else who may be looking for some ideas or reassurance. They are intended to be a loose framework for a continuously growing and expanding series of posts on dating and relationship needs and issues, and social skills in general, facing adolescents and young adults. I welcome any and all comments and suggestions on additional topics, resources, and real-life examples of what you have found useful or not when exploring dating and relationships. Let’s work together to make this a resource where our friends and family can turn to, to find some inspiration and seeds for relationship-building success!



These posts will cover the following topics:

• Thinking about a relationship and what you are looking for in another person
• Understanding the importance of personal boundaries in different types of relationships
• Types of relationships and what it means to be intimate
• Being able to understand and identify healthy boundaries in a relationship
• Healthy boundaries using electronic communication with an emphasis on texting
• Understanding and being able to recognize difficulties of entering another person’s personal space
• Where to find and meet the type of person you may be interested in
• Getting ready to start a conversation and starting it
• Maintaining a conversation and ending it positively
• Asking for a telephone number and getting a first date