Social stories have been a constant companion in my parenting journey (with my two neurodivergent boys).
I, as well as our speech and occupational therapists, crafted social stories whenever we wanted to expand my boys’ understanding about which behaviors were safe and nourishing (which we wanted them to choose) and which ones were less safe and associated with greater discomfort and distress (which we wanted them to stop engaging in, or at least decrease). Or, we crafted social stories to break down instructions about how to perform a task, for instance how to play a “Guess Who” game with a friend, or how to play with trucks at the sand pit on a play date.
The social stories we crafted always involved explicit descriptions of various situations and addressed a myriad of "wh" questions; you know the ones: who, what, where, when, why, and how. They also included photos that my boys loved looking at. I loved seeing their reactions, "It's my picture!” “It's a book about me!" Personally, we found social stories incredibly effective, hence I continued using them over the years.
For instance, when we welcomed a new puppy into our home, a social story crafted by our speech therapist helped to clarify what behaviors were safe and nurturing toward the puppy. It outlined ideas for appropriate play and gentle handling, while also explaining that when a puppy barks, it is likely communicating that he doesn’t like what we are doing and would like us to be gentler. At other........