One of my students is nonverbal due to a medical condition. How can I make sure he feels welcome and included in my classroom?

I’ve been teaching kindergarten for about 5 years. For the most part, my students have been neurotypical. This year, one of my students, J, is nonverbal. He is otherwise developmentally on par with the rest of my students (running and walking and interacting), but cannot verbally communicate.<br><br>He has an aide who is in my classroom at all times. She is very sweet, but I can tell she is relatively inexperienced. She shadows him during centers and snack, and assists during lessons by repeating my instructions.<br><br>I want to make sure this child feels welcome and included in my classroom, but I’m not sure where to start. The aide is great at supporting him physically (opening snack packets, giving him blocks to play with), but I feel like the child is missing out on a lot of social and academic interactions.<br><br>I’ve never taught a non verbal child before. Has anyone had success with something like this? What did you do?<br><br>Edit: I am waiting to hear back from mom. The aide doesn’t know the child outside of being his classroom aid. I do have some information from his IEP and medical documents, but I’m not sure how much I can share.