Creating Social Stories is a skill that all special education teacher should have. They can even be utilized in the general education setting, like most special education strategies. They are told from the first person point of view. Social Stories can be made for a particular student or for a specific situation, including (but not limited to) cleaning up, lining up, proper behavior in the cafeteria, to achieve desired behaviors, and to stop disruptive behaviors. I have used social stories frequently this semester, mainly with one of my students who does not like to put away his toys. Before he starts to play we read the story together, then when it is time to clean up we read the main points again. This helps him to make the decision to clean on his own.
One problem I see with students with disabilities is that they do not know what to do when they start to feel overwhelmed. In this social story that Elizabeth Griss and I created zeroed in on this issue. When there are loud noises and the student cannot concentrate, instead of having a meltdown the student can ask the teacher for a break. The teacher will have already established a break routine with the student and can just nod to the student without any disruption. In our social story the student likes trains and music, so the break consists of choosing one of those options for break-time.
