Where to start with Social Stories
Find a Conversation
| Sun, 11-06-2005 - 5:51pm |
I'd really like to start using Social Stories, but I'm not really sure where to start.
I've read the New Social Story book and understand the concept and the different kinds of sentences.....etc. I'm unsure which topic to start with and how general is too general. Is it overkill to have a story for any possible situation that angers my DS......I would assume so, but is generalizing a topic such as anger effective since there are so many different things that can anger him? Also I can get long winded....how long is too long? A page seems to be the standard, but I have seen some samples on the Gray Center website that seemed longer, perhaps for older children.
I've also borrowed the Comic STrip conversation book and think this method could be great for reviewing an incident so I'm not talking blue in the face. Right now Sam can't read or write very much so I'm not sure how much this can help him right now.
Any tips?
Thanks!
Chrystee


I've been doing social stories with great success for a few years now. Out of all the different things I've tried, social stories are what has turned our life around. My most successful stories to date include: staying in bed till 7am, answering me when I call "where are you?" while shopping, aiming neatly into the toilet and a 'no hitting' rule. Not all the stories will work but we have a reasonably high success rate. Of the stories that don't work many will involve sensory issues. For example, we did one about getting his hair cut - but the sensory overload will still leave him distraught.
Before you get started, you will need to think about whether to use photos or cartoons. Both have their advantages and different kids respond to different things. Photos have the advantage of being very specific...but cartoons, being less specific, can be more flexible. For example, if you are doing a social story about going shopping, if you use a photo of a mall - the social story may only be of use in that mall. But if you are making a story about a specific person or place, then a photo can work really well.
Look also at where to get your images from. Boardmaker has some great images, but they are incredibly expensive. I use much cheaper images from an Australian supplier at www.innovativeprogramming.net.au I don't know if they will post to the US (assuming this is where you live), but it's worth a try. Perhaps other posters can recommend some local suppliers. You can also get images from Google. Instead of doing the normal search, try entering the search criteria and clicking on the 'images' button.
I also laminate my social stories. Mainly because many of them involve getting my son to do something that he doesn't want to do - it prevents him from tearing them up.
Which problems should you start with? I'd start with the issues that are causing you the biggest problems. I think that one of my first social stories involved teaching my son to stay in bed till 7am because his 5:45am starts were killing me! If you need practical help, you can email through my profile or we can discuss further right here.
Lastly, I've found the books by Linda A Hodgdon to be very helpful. They are available on Amazon.
hope this helps.
We've had very good luck with "Sandbox Learning" social stories. You can visit their website http://www.sandbox-learning.com/ and make "stories" with your childs' name about specific circiumstances. Colin (age 6) has really loved them - and so has his 1st grade teacher!
Jackie
I'll check out those books......they may already be on my fave. list at Amazon, actually!
Thankfully, there's a nonprofit around here that has been a Godsend for us. They provide assistance to families with ASD kids, IEP planning/advising and visual systems clinics. I have an appt. this week to look into the visual systems. They have Boardmaker available to use and a laminating machine....etc. I'm curious what they will suggest. I do have a feeling that cartoons are the way to go for us. Good thing that I'm an illustrator!!!
Thanks!!
Chrystee
WOW!
What a great product and reasonably priced too! I'm not sure which one to try first, they all look very helpful until I can get around to making my own.
Thanks for posting that link
Chrystee