Based on the student’s needs and interests, and based on the targeted skill and related concepts, what type of social narrative should you develop – a situational story, coping comic, thought story, and/or coping card?
A situational story with embedded images could be used to explain how and why one should stop talking about their favorite interests when the other person is trying to end the conversation. The story is used to help the student recognize how the other person might feel in this situation:
"Exiting Conversations - Social Narratives - My Favorite Things"
A situational story can also be used to support the student in timing their closure. The narrative may explain that you deliver your “closing statement” after the other person is done talking. Further, the story could explain that it is not a good idea to end the conversation when the other person is still talking or if they have just asked a question of the student. In summary, the situational story could explain the social rules of ending a conversation:
A thought story could be used to clarify to the student how others might view his behavior. Specifically, the thought story could illustrate what the student’s conversation partner might think if they ended a conversation awkwardly:
Finally, coping comics can be a very powerful teaching tool for this topic. Present the student with a comic of two or more people having a conversation. Depending on the level of the student, the comic can be completed to serve as an example for the student, or the word bubbles can be blank, requiring the student to come up with what to say to end the conversation appropriately:
How can you visually or thematically incorporate the student’s interests and preferences into this social narrative to increase motivation and engagement?
Including the student as a character is often captivating, as is the inclusion of favorite characters from books, movies, or television.
What additional visual clarity cues (e.g. images, bolding, highlighting) might you add to the social narrative to support comprehension and to promote attention to key details?
Specific steps or reminders could be bolded or highlighted to draw the student’s attention to the important cues (e.g., “pause, end the conversation”).
Can you design the narrative so that it might not only be used in practice settings, but also reviewed independently by the student in generalized settings?
In order to align this intervention topic area with the unique needs of the student, do you need to create a social narrative in the View2do program?