Tag Archive: social stories

Video of the Week: Learning About Social Stories

February 13, 2019 by - Leave your thoughts

Video of the Week: Learning About Social Stories

Social stories(TM) are a type of narrative that are used to help learners with social pragmatic and other difficulties gain a greater understanding of a particular context, skill, or concept. For example, we may use social stories to help a preschooler understand what happens in a fire drill or at a birthday party. We may write social stories for a high school student who asks overly personal questions or talks only about their own favorite topics. First developed by Carol Gray, these stories are written using a specific process so that they meet 10 defining criteria. Both the process of writing social stories and the narrative structure that is used in this genre differentiates them from other types of social narratives. You can see examples of well-written social stories here and learn more about the early history of social stories here. Ready to get started learning how to write ‘real’ social... [Read More...]

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PrAACtical Resources: Social Stories and Narratives

January 17, 2019 by - 1 Comment

PrAACtical Resources: Social Stories and Narratives

Social narratives are a promising intervention for people with autism and others who need assistance in understanding the expectations for various situations. The term Social Story, coined by Dr. Carol Gray, refers to one specific type of social narrative that has particular rules for its structure and development. Social narratives, a broader term, includes other kinds of stories that help AAC learners and others better understand the expectations of various situations. They are often used when building an understanding of various life experiences, such as how to respond in a fire drill or what to expect on a trip to the doctor. Here are some helpful resources with more information on social stories and social narratives. AFIRM Module for Learning About Social Narratives (comprehensive tutorial) Carol Gray: What are Social Stories? Overview of Social Stories About Social Stories Social Stories and Behavioral Issues Making Social Narratives with iMovie  Sample Social Narratives and... [Read More...]

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5 Resources for Social Narratives

July 29, 2013 by - 2 Comments

5 Resources for Social Narratives

Social Stories™ are a research-supported strategy for helping people to better understand situations and concepts by making these events and the expected behavior within the events more explicit. Initially developed by Carol Gray of The Gray Center, they have a specific structure with rules for development. Here’s a quick overview. Direct Link to Video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjlIYYbVIrI Other people have developed their own form of social narratives with similar goals but a more flexible structure. If you’re looking for information and ideas for using social stories and narratives, take a look at some of the resources below. First, let’s take care of an important question that should be on the mind of anyone thinking about using social narratives. Where’s the evidence regarding the effectiveness of this strategy? Lucky for us, much of it has been collected at the National Professional Development Center on ASD. Here in our own state, the Florida Diagnostic... [Read More...]

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It’s PrAACtically Memorial Day!

May 16, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

It's PrAACtically Memorial Day

It’s PrAACtically Memorial Day! Memorial Day is prAACtically here.  We remember, appreciate, and honor the people who have protected our freedoms. Getting ready so EVERYONE can participate is important. We wrote about memorial day last year and had found some good  gluten-casein free Memorial Day recipes. There are even more resources today. Check out Gluten Free Memorial Day Weekend Menu and Recipe Ideas or Gluten Free Casein Free Applesauce Muffins.  Cooking and baking provide meaningful language experiences as well as just plain fun. There are symbol based recipes on Pinterest  at Picture Recipes and Visual Recipes for Children with Autism, and at Specialty Chef. There are also prAACtical AAC ways to teach about Memorial Day’s meaning as well as the typical memorial day vacations, activities, and events. Learning about Memorial Day  Memorial Day Activity Board Memorial Day Vocabulary Cards Memorial Day Bingo Memorial Day Adapted Bingo Summer Pack  Memorial Day  After learning about Memorial... [Read More...]

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PrAACtical Supports- Walking the Walk AAC Style!

January 28, 2013 by - Leave your thoughts

PrAACtical Supports in the Community: Walking the Walk

We are extremely proud to be part of the Dan Marino Foundation WalkAbout Autism,  which is a large South Florida event.  It is a true collaboration between the community, volunteers, sponsors, donors, walk partners, and the Miami Dolphins.  The Walkabout helps raise money for organizations that provide programs and services for individuals with autism and other developmental  disabilities.   It also promotes a sense of community collaboration and awareness about autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities.  We are writing about the WalkAbout, not as a plea for money  (although read about the WalkAbout and donate if you are so inclined), but instead to tell you how we continue to try to integrate AAC  & visual strategies into community events.  We are so grateful to Dan & Claire Marino and their family and Jeff & Rachel Ireland and their family for continuing to dedicate their time and effort for this amazing event. This past weekend was the 3rd WalkAbout Autism.  It was a... [Read More...]

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5 Tips to Make AAC Assessments Run Smoothly

March 17, 2012 by - Leave your thoughts

5 Tips to Make AAC Assessments Run Smoothly

No one likes to be tested, least of all people with communication difficulties who don’t have the tools to express their anxiety or discomfort in the ways they would like to. Some of the people we evaluated had real issues with this and so we’ve experimented with ways to make the testing less stressful and more productive. Here are some of the strategies that we found to be most successful. – 1. Work with the team to establish Fair Testing Practices for the person you’ll be evaluating. Our chapter on ‘Language Assessment for Students Who Use AAC’ describes this in more detail, but essentially it involves writing a ‘rule book’ for how to test this person. It might specify how long the test session can/should be, how to set up the situation so the person can respond, and what other supports are needed so that we are testing the person’s... [Read More...]

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