Benefits of Social stories

A social story is a story that is meant to show how people deal with certain situations and problems. They help kids, especially those with autism, understand how to be prepared and handle social situations. They also teach kids how to interact with others in a social setting.

Different Kinds Of Social Stories

You can write different kinds of social stories. You can use them to:

• Describe how other people might feel or act in a given situation (including the child)

• Help a child deal with changes in routine or things that come up occasionally, like a doctor’s visit, haircut, etc.

• Help with behaviors that are expected or not

• Learn how to take care of themselves (brushing, dressing up, etc)

• Explain what will happen at a certain event (social gatherings, birthday parties, etc)

In short, there are many situations when you can use a social story. Social stories tell about things that happen in the form of general narration, more than they tell the child what to do. Children who don’t know how to react to certain things can use social stories.

Step-by-step instructions for writing a social story

1. Choose what kinds of topics your social story will cover: Usually, social stories are written in the first or third person, but never in the second.

The best way to write a social story is from the student’s point of view, like “I went to the store” or “Rahul went to the store” instead of “You went to the store.” They will answer questions about who, what, when, where, and why in a certain situation, as well as what the student should do.

So, the first thing you have to do is figure out what you want to talk about in the social story.

2. Use different kinds of sentences: Carol Gray, the pioneer of ‘Social Stories’ says that social stories should use sentences that are both descriptive and “coaching.” Sometimes these “coaching” sentences are also called “directive” sentences. This can be hard to understand, since we want the story to lead rather than tell.

Every coaching sentence should have at least two sentences that describe it. There are also factual, point-of-view, cooperative, and affirmative sentences that can be used to describe something.

Many people find it helpful to write one sentence that describes something and then one sentence that tells the reader what to do. After these are sentences that are helpful and positive. This kind of structure has a nice “cause and effect” flow that might help children who have trouble with abstract ideas by giving them enough structure.

3. Get the story ready : Once you’ve chosen a topic and thought of some sentence ideas, it’s time to put pen to paper and start writing the story.

4. Add a picture or two: The next step is to add pictures to the story. Put the picture above the text so it’s clear that the picture goes with the sentence. The pictures should be easy to understand and show what the story is about. This is not the time for fancy graphics or abstract art. If you can, use pictures or real photos of the child in the situation you want to talk about. For example: Your social story about going for a hair cut can include pictures of the barber shop, the chair, scissors, etc. Sowing all of these pictures before going for the haircut and telling the about what is going to happen can help the child get the right context, this preparation can help them handle the situation better.

5. Create Copies: After you’ve written the social story and added the pictures, you need to make copies. As a teacher, if you want to show the social story to a big group, try to make it bigger so that everyone can see it. If you want to use the book with a lot of kids, you should make multiple copies and maybe even laminate them.

6. Start the story and read it: This is one of the most important parts of making a social story, but people often forget it. Even though the way a social story is written and what it says are important, you also need to give yourself enough time to read it to the child. Make sure you pick the right time to tell the child the social story, when he or she is in a good mood and ready to learn.

7. Try things out and give feedback: After reading the story several times, you could have your child act out different parts to help him or her understand what is expected. Use positive feedback when your child acts the way you want them to after hearing the social story. Don’t get rid of the stories just because you think you’re done with them. Keep them and keep them handy so you can read them again and practice more if you need to.

8. Bonus Step: When possible, have the child help!

If you can, get the child to help you write his own social story. This will give people more ownership and a bigger stake in the project. If you need to, you can lead the child with open-ended questions.

What are the benefits of Social Stories?

They help kids with autism in these ways:

• Understanding social behavior

• Improving social skills

• Learning to understand different situations

• Preparing children for a new environment

• Getting rid of worry and anxiety

Some of the reasons why making Social Stories for autistic children is a good idea

These stories teach kids how to regulate themselves and react in the right way to things that happen every day. In 2015, a study of 30 children with autism, half of whom had been taught how to use Social Stories, showed that the training helped them in real life situations.

Here are some more benefits of social stories:

• Helps kids learn how to take care of themselves and get along with others.

• Helps kids with special needs understand how they act and how others do as well.

• Helps autistic children understand feelings like anger, sadness, and happiness, as well as how to deal with them.

• Helps children on the autism spectrum deal with changes and other parts of everyday life.

• Encourages kids to work on building relationships.

• Teaches kids how to play with others, take part in activities, and use their imaginations.

• Gives kids with special needs the tools they need to learn how to make and keep friends and take part in group activities.

Get Help!

At Daffodil Health, we help kids by giving them speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavior therapy, and special education. Through our Home therapy program, we also show parents how to help their child from the comfort of their own home.

For more info: www.FitNtip.com