Exciting New Social Stories Music Project!

You've heard me (read) mention of my new friend, Craig Evans, in the web autism community.  Craig hosts a wonderful site dedicated to the world of autism :  http://www.autismhangout.com/.  Craig is also a fellow musician (see past blog posting for more info on his wonderful CD that I use often in therapy!)

Craig, along with his fellow musician friends, are working on a project that I am especially excited about.  They are gathering various social stories, and putting them to music! I will be sharing with him some of my own, and I cannot wait to hear the finished product.  I am certain to get a lot of use out of these within session, and I also look forward to being able to send these with my clients for use outside of therapy.  See below excerpt from the AutismHangout webpage (or visit the page ... see link above) for more info.
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A Call For Social Stories!! Let's Put Them To Music!
Teachers, aids, caregivers and parents, if you've a great Social Story, here's a chance to put it to music and share it with others.
It's been proven time and again that music helps open up our kids. So why not put together "the best of" our community-prepared Social Stories with music so that all our special kids can benefit? Read more here.




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I will keep you posted!

Jessica

a school social story

You have heard me mention the use of social stories.  Carol Gray has many wonderful social stories that I highly recommend.  (Search her on this site for blog postings on her). 

Anyhow, I have created a school social story (click on link to view and/or print).  Included are pictures to go with each scenario mentioned.  This is a good tool to implement when a child is being first introduced to school, returning from summer break or a holiday, or when he/she is demonstrating anxiety related to going to school.  This could help to prepare and acclimate your child. 

You may want to introduce this in a fun way ... in a song, a game, a story, a chant ... keep in mind what would work for your child.  Remember to build positive associations.

After introducing this, you may want to review it on a consistent basis (it can become a morning ritual).  You may even want to print and laminate a copy for your child to keep with him/her.

Feel free to contact me for other ideas on how to implement this.
Jessica

a great social story from a fellow blogging therapist ...

There's a great blog I enjoy entitled "If Only I Had Super Powers".  The blog is hosted by a Speech-Language Pathologist/Mommy, and she has a range of topics from recipes for "Moosey Muffins" (home related topics) to "Articulation Development" (Speech Therapy related topics).  

"Therapy Thursdays" are dedicated to therapy, and it was in her most recent Thursday posting that I discovered this little social story entitled Therapy Thursday: Not Getting Chosen.  Click on the link above to visit the site (and to view a larger version of her social story). 

I love that she has included pictures here beside each line.  This is something I often include in my social story activities.  It serves various purposes, including drawing attention to each line (scenario/action) as well as making each line more applicable to real life situations and more concrete.

Thanks, Super Powers, for a great resource!
Jessica

Autism focus

Hello all.

I am back from my "Sister's Get-a-way Trip", and am feeling ready for the week ahead. Thank you, again, to my sweet sisters.

This blog today is focused on AUTISM. I wanted to mention a couple of resources here for you today. First off, (and I have mentioned this before in past MT newsletter) I listen to a daily podcast on http://www.faqautism.com/. I have subscribed to it, and have a link for it on my Google homepage so it's very convenient. Cathy Knoll posts these very informative and very pertinent podcasts that have not only served as a resource for me, but also for the parent's of some of my clients. The podcasts are short and sweet which is also very convenient.

I also wanted to bring to your attention (for those of you who are net yet familiar with this tool) the use of Social Stories™. If you are not familiar with Social Stories™, here is a brief description.

"A Social Story™ describes a situation, skill, or concept in terms of relevant social cues, perspectives, and common responses in a specifically defined style and format. The goal of a Social Story™ is to share accurate social information in a patient and reassuring manner that is easily understood by its audience. Half of all Social Stories™ developed should affirm something that an individual does well. Although the goal of a Story™ should never be to change the individual’s behavior, that individual’s improved understanding of events and expectations may lead to more effective responses." (http://www.thegraycenter.org/ , Carol Gray)

Although Social Stories™ were initially developed for children with ASD, they are certainly very useful for persons outside of an ASD diagnoses. This may include persons with similar needs (those with social and/or communication delays) as well as typically developing persons.

Here is an example of a Social Story:

BRUSHING MY TEETH
At night I need to brush my teeth so they are clean.
I put the toothbrush in my mouth.
First I brush in the back on the bottom.
Next I brush in the back on the top.
Then I brush in the front on the bottom.
Last I brush in the front on the top.
When I am done brushing my teeth I can spit out the toothpaste.
I can rinse off my tooth brush after I spit.
When I am ALL DONE I can have something special.

Visit the link above to view/order the various Social Stories™ tools and resources, including Social Stories™ book, Social Stories™ 10.0 (PDF download), Storymovie Professional Vol. 1 (DVD), etc.