Can the key elements of this skill be appropriately depicted and connected in a social narrative?
Social narratives explain the reason why the student needs to change their behavior as well as how to make that change.
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 is a great way to explain why perseverative questioning is not appropriate and what to do instead. Here is one example of a situational story for a student who engages in perseverative questioning when he feels anxious:
Then, you might devise a coping card that the student can carry at all times. Below is one example of a coping card to address an anxious student’s perseverative questioning:
In this coping card, a mantra serves to replace the perseverative questioning. Instead of repeating a question over and over, the student repeats a calming phrase over and over, hopefully relieving anxiety. Note that this mantra came directly from the situational story example above.
How can you visually or thematically incorporate the student’s interests and preferences into this social narrative to increase motivation and engagement?
The situational narrative is specifically about the student and individualized to their specific issue. Their involvement in the development story should increase engagement.
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?
Below is a modified version of the situational story, and the coping card, with visual clarity cues and “paired-down” language:
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?
The coping card is an excellent tool to bring into the community so that the student can use the skill in “real life.” The coping card could be small enough to be folded into their wallet, on the back of their work ID, or taped to the inside of their top desk drawer. The coping card should be in a format that will be easily accessible at the student’s particular work place.
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?
