The Do-It-Yourself Social Story

by Dr. Shannon Melideo Print This Article

Smiling girl displaying a homemade social story booklet as a learning tool for behavioral guidance.

Does your child have difficulty interacting with others in common social situations like respecting a friend’s personal space? Does your child have trouble executing everyday tasks that we might consider “second nature” like remembering to dry hands after washing them? Does your child repeatedly exhibit unsafe behaviors like standing on the kitchen counter? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you can do something very personal, meaningful, and interactive at home. You can write a social story with your child.

If your child has an Autism label or has been diagnosed with a pervasive developmental disorder, then you may have learned about the “social story” in an IEP meeting or from your one of child’s special education teachers. Teachers use social stories as a vehicle with which to teach rules, expectations, others’ perspectives, social graces, befriending a classmate, and safe behaviors, to name a few. Social stories help children learn what to do when in confusing or misunderstood situations. The goal of a social story is for the child to learn true social understanding as opposed to complying with a command by rote. Creating and using social stories have been found to be successful techniques to help mold and encourage appropriate behaviors.

Social stories are usually presented visually with varying amounts of text. The length of the story depends on the lesson to be learned and the child’s reading level. As a literacy specialist, I am always eager to encourage parents to journal with their children about family vacations, summertime activities, holidays or any special event worth noting. All forms of literacy are methods of communication. A social story combines communicating an idea or an action with the message of an important learning experience in a completely personalized fashion. Your social story is written by, about, and for you and your child. If you have the following items, you can create a social story with your child at home:

a. a PC,

b. a digital camera,

c. Microsoft Office Powerpoint,

d. accessibility to clip art,

e. a notepad and pen,

f. imagination,

g. patience.

Now that you have my “recipe”, here are the directions. Please refer to the example of a recently written social story that follows. What is an action or behavior that you believe is critical for your child to learn but has not done so through typical, everyday interactions? My son, really needed to learn that making funny sounds is not all that funny. His sounds were too loud, annoying, and primarily made for attention-getting. His sounds did not carry any appropriate message. So, we wrote a social story.

Here are the uncomplicated steps for writing a social story at home:
Step One: PREPARE

Step Two: TALK

Step Three: DRAFT

Step Four: REVIEW

Step Five: SHARE

Here are the steps explained:

Step One: PREPARE

First, gather the aforementioned “ingredients” before going about the task of writing the social story. On a notepad jot down some prompting questions which will be used to solicit your child’s ideas, the key behavior for improvement, the important reasons as to why this is a desired behavior, and exactly how they can achieve the desired outcome. If you have all the materials ready, there is less of a chance that the exercise of writing a social story will become exhausting. The point of being prepared is to be able to write it together in a way that doesn’t feel arduous.

Step Two: TALK

Next, a conversation between you and your child about the desired behavior must occur. The social the social story should convey the message in a positive tone. It should be written as proactively and objectively as possible. Second, the social story should be a joint creative endeavor that links your prompts with their words.

Step Three: DRAFT

Type the story together on the computer. Your child may type or dictate to you as you type. Simultaneously add graphics and/or photographs where appropriate.

Step Four: REVIEW

Examine your work to check for clarity, grammar, and punctuation. Most importantly, ensure that the message is comprehended and well-received by your child. Print, cut, assemble, and staple the story into a small booklet format. I suggest printing the story in 4 slides per page for the handy size visible in the photo.

Step Five: SHARE

Read and re-read your creation together. Have your child read and discuss the story with you, family members, and friends. This is your new “readable text” that can be enjoyed repeatedly. Begin a collection of social stories for future reference.

In “Funny Noises in Mommy’s Ears” we began by telling about us, the authors. We then progressed through the “who, what, when, where, how, and why” of the social story. We picked the visuals together and immediately added them for the greatest impact.

Sammy still makes those “funny noises” but far less frequently. Initially, I reminded him of our “Funny Noises” book and we reread it often. Now, he recalls our book on his own and can occasionally be heard saying, “Uh oh, Mommy doesn’t like ‘funny noises’ in her ears. I am funny anyway.”

Writing a social story with your child is a rewarding, simple, and meaningful way to spend time together, to create a personalized, “readable text” on your child’s reading level, and to teach a lifelong social lesson at the same time. Don’t be surprised if you are the one who does the most learning.

View “Funny Noises in Mommy’s Ears” powerpoint sample click here to download.

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The Do-It-Yourself Social Story

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