Social Stories

What is a Social Story?

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Social Stories are a social learning tool that supports the safe and meaningful exchange of information between parents, professionals, and people with autism of all ages. The people who develop Social Stories are referred to as Authors, and they work on behalf of a child, adolescent, or adult with autism, the Audience.

Authors follow a defined process that begins with gathering information, discovering a topic that ‘fits’ the Audience, and the development of personalized text and illustration. Most frequently associated with short, simple Stories, there are also Social Articles for use with older or more advanced individuals. The Social Story Definition and ten defining characteristics (The Social Story Criteria) guide the development of every Story and result a patient, respectful, and unassuming quality that is the hallmark of the approach. It is that quality that distinguishes genuine Social Stories from social scripts, skill checklists, or ‘social stories’ that do not meet the current the definition.

There is only one definition for the term ‘Social Story’:

A Social Story accurately describes a context, skill, achievement, or concept according to 10 defining criteria. These criteria guide Story research, development, and implementation to ensure an overall patient and supportive quality, and a format, “voice”, content, and learning experience that is descriptive, meaningful, and physically, socially, and emotionally safe for the child, adolescent, or adult with autism.

How are Social Stories Used?

• Safety: Understanding safety may make it easier to follow some rules.
• Tragedies:  What a tragedy is and understanding tragedies on television.
• Discovery of Self and Others:  Each person is one of a kind.
• Advanced Concepts: Stories to address ‘elusive’ topics like stereotypes and resilience.
• Change: Changes in their daily life, including transitions. 

Additional Social Story Information:

Where did Social Stories come from?
The History of Social Stories

Is THIS a Social Story?
It is NOT a Social Story if… An initial screening instrument

How the Social Story Criteria keep pace with experience and research
Social Stories 10.0 – 10.2 Comparison Chart

Social Thinking: Chicago Metro Conference

Social Thinking Conference 

April 24-26

Social Thinking presents: Chicago Metro Area Conference

April 25-27, 8:30-3:45 PM

Conference led by a speech language pathologist, Michelle Garcia Winner, will also include other presenters. Organization that helps people develop their social competencies to better connect with others. They teach different skills and strategies that can be used in the classroom, home or community centers to help students with organizational skills and social emotional learning.

What is social thinking? Social thinking is the process by which we interpret the thoughts, beliefs, intentions, emotions, knowledge and actions of another person along

with the context of the situation to understand that person’s experience.

Topics Conference will cover:

Executive functioning: Tackle Homework and classwork with these helpful strategies!

(5^th graders – young adult)

Learn organizational skills, strategies to find motivation to tackle tasks, and strategies to complete homework.

Zones of regulation: A framework to foster self-regulation and emotional control (K-Young adult)

Learn the frameworks for self-regulation and emotional control, and executive functioning. It is a cognitive behavior approach that uses four zones (colors) to help students visually and verbally self-identify how they are functioning in the moment given their emotions and state of alertness.

Helping teens prepare for the real adult world (upper elementary – young adult).

This conference focuses on helping parents and educators prepare for and learn how to respond to the transition to independence. Discuss strategies that will help individuals develop a more mature social mindset.

The frameworks and strategies taught in these courses are developed from

Using peer-reviewed research and client family values. Also, it connects to research in fields that study how individuals have evolved and developed in order to function in society like: anthropology, cultural linguistics, social psychology, child development etc. 

This conference fits in the Promote a school climate and culture conducive to student learning and teaching excellence section of the School social work model. It is allowing the enhancement of professional capacity of school personnel by providing them with an opportunity to further their knowledge on social emotional and executive functioning skills that could be applied within special education classrooms.  

Link to Brochure: Brochure

TEEN DATING VIOLENCE INTERVENTIONS & RESOURCES

TEEN DATING VIOLENCE INTERVENTIONS & RESOURCES

• One in 10 high school students has experienced physical violence from a dating partner in the past year. 

• Among adult victims of rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner, 22.4% of women and 15.0% of men first experienced some form of partner violence between 11 and 17 years of age. 

• Across studies, 15-40% of youth report perpetrating some form of violence towards a dating partner. 

• Risk factors for teen dating violence include individual, peer, partner, parent, and neighborhood influences. 

• Perpetrating dating violence in adolescence increases the risk of perpetrating violence toward a partner in adulthood. 

• Exposure to dating violence significantly affects a range of mental and physical health problems.

CDC: Dating Matters™ Educator Training—Dating Matters™: Understanding Teen Dating Violence Prevention

Warning Signs of Dating Abuse:

Checking cell phones, emails or social networks without permission
Extreme jealousy or insecurity
Constant belittling or put-downs
Explosive temper
Isolation from family and friends
Making false accusations
Erratic mood swings
Physically inflicting pain or hurt in any way
Possessiveness
Telling someone what to do
Repeatedly pressuring someone to have sex

Resource Links:

Break the Cycle

Activity Guides with Students

Evidence Based and Free Curriculum on Teen Dating Violence

Love is Respect

Text Us

Text* loveis (capitalization does not matter) to 22522. You will receive a response from a peer advocate prompting you for your question. Go ahead and text your comment or question and we will reply.

Call Us

Speak to a peer advocate by calling 1-866-331-9474. When you call, be prepared for the advocate to first ask if you are in a safe place to talk. Once you are, the advocate will encourage you to explain your situation.

Love is Not Abuse iPhone App

Launched in August 2011, the free Love is Not Abuse iPhone app is an educational resource for parents that demonstrates the dangers of digital dating abuse and provides much needed information on the growing problem of teen dating violence and abuse.

Pyramid Cup

PYRAMID CUP

Purpose: An Icebreaker to practice effective communication and teamwork to complete the given task.

Skills: Communication, Cooperation, Coordination, Paying attention, Patience, Problem solving, Self-control

Populations:


            Middle/high school students due to the reliance on well-developed motor skills. Younger students may find the activity too difficult and therefore excessively frustrating.

Objective:

            Students will construct a pyramid from Styrofoam cups using only the rubber band and string apparatus.

            Use this time to reinforce any established expectations that are important for players to remember during the game. The challenge becomes that students cannot touch the cups, but may use their voices and the rubber band tool.

            To challenge the students more, one or two team members could be blind folded or students would have to remain silent.

Materials:

•                – 4 pieces of 3ft long string per group of 4 students

•                – 1 rubber band per group of 4 students

•                – 8 – 15 Styrofoam cups per group of 4 students (I would have extra cups handy in the event your students get    ambitious and want to build even higher).

Set up:

            Construct the rubber band apparatus by tying the ends of 4 pieces of 3ft long string to a rubber band. Excess string from the knots should be cut off and knots should be evenly spaced on the rubber band.

Process:


            Divide your group into equal groups. As the teams surround the tables, place the cups on the table, as well as your pre-assembled rubber band with 4 strings tied evenly to it. Have group members each choose 1 string to be in charge of (if there is an extra, a person will have to be in charge of 2).

            Instruct the group members to grab the cups with the open rubber band and stack the cups into a pyramid.  Add additional cups when the group completes the task of making a pyramid.

Rules:

            If the cups fall on the ground- only then can a member use their hands to pick it up and move it onto the table. Cups should otherwise never be used by the participants’ hands and should only be touched by the string/rubber band.

Debrief:

            Allow for the opportunity to help players connect the game to personal experiences, actions, and beliefs. You will want to reinforce any skills or beliefs you are hoping players will carry beyond the game.

Possible Facilitator Questions to Ask:

What happened during this activity?
What was easy or hard about working together? How did your group work together?

Did any specific roles emerge in the group? Was there one player leading or resolving conflict in your group?

Were there conflicts? How did conflicts impact your success? How did you resolve the conflicts that came up?

What peacemaking skills did you use during this game? How can you use these skills outside of the game?

            This activity is more structured and has a limited goal unlike traditional play therapy, however the process identifies several play therapy skills listed by Buser (2007), such as overcoming resistance, communication, competence, attachment formation, and relationship enhancement.  It falls in the school social work model as evidence-based practice and behavior and promoting school climate and culture conducive to student learning.

            I have used this activity as an icebreaker for freshman groups as it helps to develop group cohesion and allow the students to learn about each other. After completing the activity, the group has accomplished a task and worked together to complete a common goal. Observing the students throughout the activity can provide valuable information to the facilitator, such as communication styles and problem-solving skills of the group members.

Reference:

            Buser, J. K. (2007). Chapter 14, Play therapy. In C. L. Thompson, & D.A. Henderson (Eds.), Counseling children, 7thed. (pp. 414-446). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

More can be found on www.schoolsocialwork.net

http://socialworkpodcast.blogspot.com/2015/11/Bodenheimer.html

  My item of interest is a podcast on how to be a clinical social worker, what makes a social worker a bad social worker, how to utilize supervision, how to better serve your clients, dealing with transference, counter transference, narcissism, and the observing ego. This is a podcast we listened to at my placement during group supervision. I believe that this will be helpful for us as school social workers because in a school when you are dealing with teenagers it is easy to feel this need to establish rapport and bond with your students but I think it’s important that we learn how to do that in a way that doesn’t include over sharing and yet still feels human. I appreciated how this podcast spoke to what makes someone a bad social worker as we are all in our final placement and preparing to enter the social work field as new professionals I think that it is easy to feel hyper aware of your performance. This podcast discusses how we should be forgiving and maximize supervision now. I also thought this podcast might be helpful because the clinical social worker Danna Bodenheimer said in order to be a good social worker we must decide for ourselves what health and wholeness looks like and work from there; that was significant for me as I tend to feel pressure for the way that I do social work to look like my supervisor’s or professor’s way of providing services. This podcast relates to the school social work model because it reminds us to evaluate the services being provided to our students, enhance the professional capacity of school personnel, and practice professional consultation all while keeping in mind ethical guidelines.

Choices

Today I Choose.....

This activity is a great to use with girls in order for them to feel empowered in the everyday choices they may not know they make. It is important for teens to know that although some choices and decisions in their lives are made by their parents, guardians and teachers they still make many choices for themselves. This exercise is very helpful for all a middle school girls group as middle school can be very hard on teens who are growing many changes, mentally, physically and emotionally. It is important that they know that they do play an active role in the choices they make everyday. 

Activity:

Everything we do is a choice. Every choice has a consequence. The consequence can be positive or negative. Girls often have a difficult time thinking about the ramifications of their decisions. The pressure and uncertainties during times of trouble can lead to poor choices. This activity focuses on the importance of thinking though and planning to help promote healthy decision making.

Procedure:

1. Explain to the girls that they will be focusing on choices. Ask some examples of the many choices they make every day.
2. Talk about about these examples and point out that good choices are often harder to make but usually lead to better results.
3. Talk to the girls about how empowering themselves helps them know that they make choices in their life.
4. Have them make a list of the choices they make on a daily bases. 
5. Once they are done have them talk about a couple of the choices they wrote down.
6. Once they are done sharing talk about the what types of consequences they may face if they do not make those choices. Ex. If they choose not to brush their teeth, what might happen? If they choose not to eat lunch, what might happen?
7. Complete the activity and explain the idea that making choices is empowering.

Closing Questions

• Can you name a couple of choices that are sometimes difficult to make?
• Why do you think these situations are so hard?
• How will you use what you have learned in the future?

References

J.V. Taylor & S. Trice-Black. Girls in Real Life Situations: Group Counseling Activities for Enhancing Social and Emotional Development- Grades 6-12 (2007)

Selective Mutism

Selective Mutism 

This is a great webinar for anyone who wants further information on how to help students who are struggling with selective mutism because there is not much information out there about this topic. I myself have three students who are currently struggling with this issue and both my supervisor and I have been researching this topic in order to offer better support. The webinar offers some tools for teachers and social workers can use when working with student with Selective Mutism.

Some basic Information about Selective Mutism:

What is Selective Mutism?

It is characterized by the appropriate use of language in certain settings and ongoing lack of language in other areas.

·         Ongoing refusal to talk in one or more social situations.

·         A disturbance that interferes with their education or occupational achievement and social communication.

·         Duration of disturbance is at least one month.

·         Failure to speak is not due to a lack of knowledge of comfort with spoken language in a social situation.

·         SM is not part of a communication disorder or other. (Ex. Stuttering)

What are some distinguishing features?

These can be determined by looking at history, family, interviews and examinations of behaviors in different settings.

BACK TO SCHOOL PLANNING FOR THE CHILD WITH SELECTIVE MUTISM 

PRESENTED BY:  DR. ELISA SHIPON-BLUM 
DESCRIPTION:

Join the expert, Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum, who developed the evidenced-based treatment,Social Communication Anxiety Treatment® (S-CAT®), discuss ways to help the child with Selective Mutism prepare for the upcoming school year, including the Selective Mutism Interview Game.  In addition, recommendations on how to maintain progress throughout the school year to help the child with Selective Mutism speak within the school setting will be discussed.

http://www.selectivemutismcenter.org/Media_Library/Back_to_School_Video.mp4

References 

Giddan, J. J., & Ross, G. J. (1997). Selective mutism in elementary school: Multidisciplinary interventions. Language, Speech & Hearing Services In Schools, 28(2), 127.