How to Write a Social Story with Visual Supports

How to Write a Social Story with Visual Supports

Do you know a child that is struggling with different situations?  Perhaps it is learning a new routine, participating in a conversation or playing with peers.  Whatever the situation, a social story may be helpful to inform children of what they can expect and what is expected of them.  Writing a social story can be a daunting task.  Here are some tips on how to write a social story with visual supports.

Use Different Types of Sentences

Carol Gray developed the concept of social stories.  She recommends that social stories include descriptive sentences and directive sentences.  You should write two descriptive sentences for every directive sentence that is included.  Sentences that describe can be factual sentences, perspective sentences, cooperative sentences and affirmative sentences.  Here are some examples:

• Descriptive/Factual Sentence:  I ride a bus to school.
• Perspective Sentence:  Sometimes, I get upset when I ride the bus.
• Cooperative Sentence:  When I get upset, my friends can give me some space.
• Affirmative Sentence:  Staying calm on the bus is good.

Sentences that direct can be can be directive or control sentences.  Here are some examples:

• Directive Sentence (guide the child):  I may ask the bus aide for help.
• Control Sentence (written by the child):  If I get upset, I can listen to my music.

Prepare the Story

Pick the topic and prepare the story.  Begin to write the text remembering to include 2 descriptive sentences for every 1 directive sentence.  If possible, involve the children in the creation of the social story.  This allows for ownership of the story and in turn, may increase compliance.  Guide the children with open-ended questions if necessary.

Add Pictures

Determine what pictures you will add to the story.  Place the picture above the text.  Make sure the pictures are clear and represent the meaning of the story.  Use photographs of the children, classroom or home or visual support pictures if you are unable to take photos.

Create the Book

If the book will be used to read to a large group, create a larger book.  If the book will be in the class library, laminate it for durability.  If the book is to be used with many children, make multiple copies so each child has his/her own.

Reading the Story

Be sure to set aside time to read the story to the children.  The children should be a “ready to learn” state and attended to the topic.  Read the book several times and have the children read it as well if possible.  Discuss personal experiences regarding the story to make connections to real-world situations.

After the Story

Once you have read the story several times, try role-playing to deepen the child’s understanding of the behavioral expectations. Provide on-going positive feedback when the child exhibits the expected outcome or behavior following the use of the social story.   Keep the social stories easily accessible so that children can re-read as necessary to review the expectations.

Reference: More, C. M. (2012). Social Stories™ and young children: Strategies for teachers. Intervention in School and Clinic, 47(3), 167-174.

If you are looking for resources to help jump start social story writing check out:

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How and When to Prompt When Using Visual Activity Schedules

How and When to Prompt When Using Visual Activity Schedules

Visual activity schedules are pictures, photographs, words or symbols that are arranged in a specific order to represent the step by step sequence required to complete a task.  The purpose of visual activity schedules is to increase independence, engagement, and acquisition of new skills during classroom, recreational, transition, and play activities.  They help to provide clear expectations for academic, motor, social and behavioral skills.

Regardless of the situation or skill being taught, visual activity schedules usually include systematic prompting procedures to teach correct use of the materials.  There are different types of prompts such as:

• verbal prompts – instructions or words to direct a person to complete the skill.  It is the most commonly used prompt.
• modeling – demonstrating the skill either in person or on a video.  It is the second most commonly used prompt.
• manual prompts – physical contact from a teacher to help the child complete the skill.
• gestural prompts – pointing, motioning or nodding toward the child or the objects to complete the skill.

It can vary when prompts are provided to follow along the visual activity schedule.  Time delayed, graduated guidance procedures are frequently used by school staff and parents to prompt children.  This procedure requires that an adult is always present during the use of the visual activity schedule to constantly monitor and evaluate the child’s responses to determine if a prompt is needed and the level of prompt to provide.  Research has indicated that this method is successful, but it can be very difficult to carry out since an adult must be present with the child at all times.

Another option is to provide constant time delay prompts.  Teachers and parents determine how often and what type of prompt with be carried out in advance.  Therefore, when the visual activity schedule is introduced to the child, the adults will know exactly how and when to prompt the student.  Recent research indicated that using constant time delay prompts with visual activity schedules was an effective intervention to increase engagement in young children with challenging behavior.  This method is easier to carry out but additional evidence is needed to support constant time delay prompts.

References:

MacDuff, Gregory S., Patricia J. Krantz, and Lynn E. McClannahan. “Prompts and prompt-fading strategies for people with autism.” Making a difference: Behavioral intervention for autism (2001): 37-50.

Zimmerman, K. N., Ledford, J. R., & Barton, E. E. (2017). Using Visual Activity Schedules for Young Children With Challenging Behavior. Journal of Early Intervention, 1053815117725693.

Here are some resources to help create visual activity schedules:

Visual Supports: Schedules, Self-Regulation, & Classroom Inclusion – Designed by a school-based occupational therapist, Thia Triggs, this color-coded visual support system is suitable for your children with autism, emotional behavioral disturbance, intellectual disabilities, ADHD, communication disabilities, and more. Pictures are cute, engaging, and easy for children to understand.  Includes 283 visuals.

 

Cut and Paste Sensory Diet – Download of the materials to create 2 sensory diet books, one for home and one for school with over 150 picture word cards.

BrainWorks Online – online tool for creating effective sensory diets for children, teens, and adults. BrainWorks takes pride in being USER-FRIENDLY, from start (selection of what you need) to finish (empowering the child to select appropriate activities). Our web-based product allows you to print out visual sensory diet tools, helpful forms, and activity picture cards.

Daily Routine Visual Schedules – digital download includes 70+ picture icons for Morning Routines, School Routines, Afternoon Routines and Evening Routines. The pictures are suitable for all ages.  This document is in black and white.  You can create routine visual schedules for all the children that you teach.

Read more about how to use prompts more effectively when teaching children new skills.

Read Evidence-Based Practice: Using Visual Activity Schedules

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Evidence Based Practice: Visual Activity Schedules

Research indicates that using visual activity schedules can be an evidence based practice for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) particularly when used along with systematic instructional procedures.  Visual activity schedules have been utilized to increase, maintain and generalize a range of skills from preschool through adulthood in different settings.  Considering most of our goals in pediatric therapy are to improve and generalize skills in a variety of settings using visual activity schedules may help children to reach their goals.

Visual activity schedules can be defined as a series of images, pictures, photographs, or line drawings used to depict a sequence of events.  Frequently, the images are used to prepare the individual for the next activity, the next step of an activity or a sequence of activities.  They are used to decrease problem behaviors and to improve transitions, on task behavior, social skills and play skills.  Many experts agree that part of the reason visual supports are beneficial is because individuals with ASD  process visual information better than auditory information.

Visual activity schedules can vary based on the setting, skills being addressed, type of schedule and the mode of presentation (ie binder, tablet, etc.). The review of the research indicates that visual activity schedules can be used as an evidence based practice in order to:

1. teach on-task, on-schedule, and appropriate and independent transitions.
2. improve latency to task from task direction, percentage of correctly completed responses, task, or task analysis steps.
3. decrease level of prompts necessary for transitions.

Many of the studies that were reviewed used visual activity schedules in conjunction with systematic instruction such as: graduated guidance, reinforcement (e.g., high fives, edible rewards, contingent praise, preferred reinforcers) and gestural, verbal, and physical prompts.

Here are some resources to help creating visual activity schedules:

Visual Supports: Schedules, Self-Regulation, & Classroom Inclusion – Designed by a school based occupational therapist, Thia Triggs, this color coded visual support system is suitable for your children with autism, emotional behavioral disturbance, intellectual disabilities, ADHD, communication disabilities, and more. Pictures are cute, engaging, and easy for children to understand.  Includes 283 visuals.

Bathroom Social Stories for Boys OR Girls – Learning to use the bathroom at school can be a struggle for children on the spectrum. Social stories and visual task strips are the most effective methods of teaching new self-help skills to many special needs children.

Cut and Paste Sensory Diet – Download of the materials to create 2 sensory diet books, one for home and one for school with over 150 picture word cards.

BrainWorks Online – online tool for creating effective sensory diets for children, teens, and adults. BrainWorks takes pride in being USER-FRIENDLY, from start (selection of what you need) to finish (empowering the child to select appropriate activities). Our web-based product allows you to print out visual sensory diet tools, helpful forms, and activity picture cards.

Need visual images for exercise programs?  Check out Yoga Moves – Visual Cue Cards, Yoga Cards and Game Ideas and Classroom Activity Posters.

Want to read more about visual activity schedules?  Here are 5 ways to incorporate visual supports during a therapy session.

Reference:  Knight, V., Sartini, E., & Spriggs, A. D. (2015). Evaluating visual activity schedules as evidence-based practice for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 45(1), 157-178.

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5 Ways to Incorporate Visual Supports During a Therapy Session

It is well known that children with autism and certain other disabilities benefit greatly from the use of visual supports throughout the day. Visual supports can be pictures, objects, written words, body language and cues. Some children use visual supports as a primary means of communication in the classroom and home. If this is a child’s sole means of communication, visual supports should be used at all times which would include occupational and physical therapy sessions, physical education class, art, music, library and more.

Here are 5 ways to incorporate visual supports during a therapy session.

1. When explaining directions to certain children, you may need to provide a visual strategy or symbol instead of just verbally expressing directions. Many times picture symbols are used for the child to select a choice or to respond but are you providing picture symbols for “receptive” language as well?

2. Provide responses appropriate for therapy sessions beyond choice selection. Remember children are frequently performing motor tasks and physical activities during a therapy session. You may need to create picture communication boards that allow the child to express statements such as:

Yes
No
This is fun.
I need a break.
I am in pain.
I need a drink.
I am ready to go.
I want to slow down.
I want to stop.

Get more information on the Response Board for Therapy Sessions.

3. Create picture symbols that relate to a therapy session. You can use a commercially produced product or take photos of objects that you use during a therapy session. Once you create picture symbol cards of these items, you can use them to allow the children to make choices regarding activities.

4. Create a schedule for during the therapy session. Set up a schedule board with parts of therapy session on it such as First This and Then This steps to complete so the child can know what to expect.

5. If you need a child to complete many tasks, try creating visual supports for all the steps in the task. Break the whole project down into simple steps with visuals.

Visual Supports: Schedules, Self-Regulation, & Classroom Inclusion includes 283 visuals!  The pictures are color coded, engaging, and easy for children to understand. Visual supports for self-regulation can be pivotal in implementing an IEP in the least restrictive environment. Find out more about this digital document.

The post 5 Ways to Incorporate Visual Supports During a Therapy Session appeared first on Your Therapy Source.

Visual Versus Verbal Prompts to Promote Visual Spatial Skills

Instructional Science  published research on the potential effect of an experimental visual–spatial intervention procedure and possible training benefits of two prompts: one group received training with verbal and visual prompts, a second group training with visual prompts only, while a third, control group did not receive any training.

The results indicated the following:

1.  the two training methods (verbal/visual or only visual prompts) led to significant improvements of performance in visuospatial tasks as compared to control group.

2.  both training methods improved visuospatial tasks about the same amount.

The researchers concluded that there are benefits to interventions targeting visuospatial processing skills.  The interventions did not seem to change based on age or gender.  It appeared that visual cues are particularly effective.

Reference:  Ellahe Chabani, Bernhard Hommel. Effectiveness of visual and verbal prompts in training visuospatial processing skills in school age children. Instructional Science
November 2014, Volume 42, Issue 6, pp 995-1012

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Crossing Paths: This download is a set of 24 puzzles that challenge
visual motor, visual spatial and motor planning skills.  Find out more at http://yourtherapysource.com/crossingpaths.html

Visual Supports during Therapy Sessions

It is well known that children with autism and certain other disabilities benefit greatly from the use of visual supports throughout the day. Visual supports can be pictures, objects, written words, body language and cues. Some children use visual supports as a primary means of communication in the classroom and home. If this is a child's sole means of communication, visual supports should be used at all times which would include occupational and physical therapy sessions, physical education class, art, music, library and more.

Here are several ways to incorporate visual supports during a therapy session.

1. When explaining directions to certain children, you may need to provide a visual strategy instead of just verbally expressing directions. Many times picture symbols are used for the child to select a choice or to respond but are you providing picture symbols for "receptive" language as well?

2. Provide responses appropriate for therapy sessions beyond choice selection. Remember children are frequently performing motor tasks and physical activities during a therapy session. You may need to create picture communication boards that allow the child to express statements such as:

I need a rest.
I need some water.
I have pain.
I need to slow down.
I can go faster.
I need to sit.
I am ready.
I need to stop.

3. Create picture symbols that relate to a therapy session. You can use a commercially produced product or take photos of objects that you use during a therapy session. Once you create picture symbol cards of these items, you can use them to allow the children to make choices regarding activities.

4. Create a schedule for during the therapy session. Set up a schedule board with parts of therapy session on it such as warm-up, main activity and clean up. That way the child will know what to expect each time.

5. If you need a child to complete many tasks, try creating visual supports for all the steps in the task. Break the whole project down into simple steps with visuals.

Sensory Mini Books and Charts, by Your Therapy Source Inc, offers over 100 picture word cards related to touch, movements, attention, calming down, eating, smelling and listening. You can create schedule strips and establish sensory likes/ dislikes.







For fine motor projects, with visual supports for all the steps in the tasks check out Step By Step Shape Projects. Download a sample of a puppy project with step by step directions.