Behavior Bits
August 2021
Social Narratives
For many learners, particularly those with social skills deficits, engaging with others can lend itself to some awkward or confusing interactions. Knowing that the past year and a half have been isolating for many, I would also argue that many more people are feeling socially awkward or anxious now than prior to the pandemic. So, for all of us coming back to school this year, I thought I'd take a moment and talk about social interactions. There isn't a formal "how to" book for social skills (well, except maybe for PEERS, but I'll talk more about that in February's Behavior Bits) - in large part because they can be quite subjective and they change depending upon culture, norms, and relationships. Thankfully, there have been ways developed to teach the particulars of a social circumstance to someone who is needing help navigating it. I talk a little more about some Evidence Based Practices for Social Narratives to support autistic learners with developing social skills in the video below. This is not to say that there not other effective interventions for social skills learners, nor is it to say that only folx on the Autism Spectrum can benefit from these interventions. Rather, when choosing an intervention to teach social narratives it is helpful to know that educators have these tools - in addition to many other strategies - which they are able to pull from and individualize in order to optimally support student success with their social interactions.
FREE Visual Supports
Provided by Indiana University Bloomington. Check out their Pinterest page, too: https://www.pinterest.com/IRCAIU/_created/
Assumptions
Social skills aren't inherent in every learner's repertoire. Assume those you're supporting don't know more often than assuming that they do.
There's more to school...
...than reading, writing, & math. Teaching social skills helps to get more bang for your educational buck while supporting core academics.
Resources
As you start your school year, please remember that we at the SELPA are here to support #allthethings Our support request forms are in the SEIS Document Library.
https://youtu.be/YuTN59Kbw_c
More Information About Social Stories (TM)
Get an introduction from Carol Gray herself on this evidence based practice. Complete with a video, a Social Story quiz, and a tool to screen if something is a Social Story or not.
About Us
Behavior Support Services Padlet: https://padlet.com/abenton1969/abasupportservices
Email: seplasupport@bcoe.org
Website: buttecountyselpa.org
Location: 1870 Bird Street, Oroville, CA, USA
Phone: (530) 532-5621
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Twitter: @BCOEStory