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?
Many types of social narratives are appropriate in teaching aspects related to reciprocity in conversation.
A situational story can be used to concretely explain what reciprocity is (the back and forth), why reciprocity is important, and what to do to make a conversation more reciprocal.
A coping comic is a way to practice dialoging on paper. Show the student an example of a dialogue between two people having a conversation through a comic strip. Two examples are below:
"Going With The Flow In Conversations - Social Narrative - Coping Comic"
Then, give the student a conversation topic and a blank comic strip. Have them complete the comic strip using the topic of conversation. They can either complete both sides of the conversation, or you could complete one side, and they can complete the other side.
A thought story can aid with perspective-taking. A thought story can illustrate what a conversation partner may be thinking when someone is carrying on a monologue, for example.
Compare the thought story above to the comic below to help clarify the distinction between monologuing versus dialoguing:
How can you visually or thematically incorporate the student’s interests and preferences into this social narrative to increase motivation and engagement?
Have the student “star” in the situational story, thought story, or coping comic. Or, have a character, actor, or other person that the student especially likes “star” in the social narrative.
Incorporate the student’s interests into a social narrative, such as a favorite band or video game. This is particularly helpful if the student tends to focus only on this topic and struggles with commenting on what others say or following their lead in a conversation. A comic could show several frames of the student or a character making comments about that choice interest while another character tries repeatedly to interject with other topics (unsuccessfully). This may help the student visualize how the exchange is choppy and lacks fluidity.
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?
In a coping comic, use color-coding to indicate various types of responses to conversational questions. For example, red font/writing could indicate a question. Blue font/writing could indicate a comment. This could draw attention to whatever skill you are trying to teach- commenting or asking questions, for example.
Should key words be highlighted, underlined, or bolded within a situational story, particularly when the story is presented in paragraph form?
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?
This may be as simple as putting the narrative in the front of the student’s day planner, notebook, or agenda. That way, it is easily accessible for the student to use when needed.
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?