Social Story for case study student

     Social stories are a great way to help students understand social norms and expectations.  They are little stories that teach social skills, daily living skills  or behavior management skills.  According to The Interactive Collaborative Autism Network (ICAN), the purpose of a social story is to:
1. describe social situations and appropriate responses
2. correct student responses to a social situation
3. personalize instruction for each student
4. break goals into easy steps
5. teach routines for better retention and generalization
6. help the student cope with both expected and unexpected transitions
7. address a wide variety of problem behaviors
(from http://www.autismnetwork.org/modules/social/sstory/index.html)
Social stories are written in the "first person" so the children can identify with the character in the story.  They can be general enough so that anyone can relate to the story.  Or, they can be specific to a child, using that child's name, picture, and personal associations.
     I use several general social stories in my classroom.  For example, "I Can Be Calm." and "My Hands Are Gentle." and "I Want To Play." and "I Can Be Quiet."  My students are interested in these stories because the characters have strong emotions that the students can relate to.  For example, in the social story "I Can Be Calm" the character sometimes feels angry, or sad, or frustrated.  I use board maker pictures to illustrate the text.  The students love to see pictures of strong emotions.  In this story, the character shares some things he can do when he has these feelings:  breath in and blow out like a balloon, go to a safe place to be alone, tell a teacher or a friend.
     My case study student has a hard time with transitions.  She does not want to move from the tables to the circle rug, or from play to clean up, or from the playground to the classroom, or from her cot to the bathroom, etc.  Even though we use a two-minute shaker (rain stick) to give advance notice of an upcoming change, AND we tell her personally that we are about to change to the next activity, AND we give her a reward when she comes to the next activity without teacher assistance, she still resists almost every transition.  So perhaps a social story telling how she can stop one activity and move to the next activity will help her.  It will have pictures of her doing the things she is supposed to do.  It will have text that says how she likes to play and she does not like to stop.  But when the bell rings she can go with her friends to the next activity.  When the teacher calls her name, she can say "OK" and get up and go.
     We have a picture schedule for this student, but they are not photos of her.  They are board maker pictures (icons).  I think she will respond better to photos of herself and a little story of how she, Sally, can make choices that will help her have fun in the classroom.

source:  Social Stories:  Introduction from http://www.autismnetwork.org/modules/social/sstory/index.html