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?
Use a narrative to connect the key details of a situation – what is the context, what is the behavior that needs to be changed, how do others perceive that behavior, and what is a different behavior that can serve as an alternative? In many cases, the narrative can be used to emphasize how the interrupting behavior is perceived by others. The social narrative below may support a student who tends to interrupt excessively or at inappropriate moments, in order to engage others socially to talk about his high interest areas.
"Interrupting Others - Social Narratives - Situational Story"
You might use a social narrative to visually depict the process of determining whether or not it is the right time to interrupt. Below is one example to support a student in identifying the “busy signals,” and the appropriate response to such signals:
How can you visually or thematically incorporate the student’s interests and preferences into this social narrative to increase motivation and engagement?
Continuing with the zombie theme, would the student who has a high interest in this genre be motivated by a coping card that incorporates zombies to identify the expected behavior in a given situation, and why this is expected?
*Be careful if you incorporate high interest areas into a social narrative or other visual support. If those themes or images distract from or dilute the key elements of the actual situation or the expected behavior you are trying to teach, avoid using those. Some students will over-focus on their high interest area and not be able to attend to the important instructional elements.
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?
The social narrative must be designed to meet the needs of the student. Avoid bombarding the student with ALL of the details in a situation. Instead, focus on the key aspects that are most important to promote perspective-taking, attribution, and those that best clarify the expected behavior in a given situation. Design the narrative to align with the student’s comprehension level. Would bulleted information be easier to review than solid paragraphs? Should icons be inserted within each sentence to support understanding?
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?