It's hard for young children or kids with special needs to
grasp the changes COVID has wrought in our lives, and our explanations don't
always make sense to them. If your preschooler can't understand the importance
of wearing a mask or why friends are no longer accessible, consider using a social story to help them grasp the new rules.
Social stories include simple examples of life events from
the learner's point of view, reinforced with pictures. Research has shown that
this method helps children learn positive behaviors and understand how to
behave in social situations. Occupational therapists and teachers use social
stories for a wide range of situations, from meeting new friends to navigating
the school cafeteria.
Read More: 4 tips nurture kids' literacy and love for books
Social stories addressing the pandemic are available for
free online.
You will find other illustrated stories covering issues like
riding the school bus, why my school is closed and others.
You might want to adapt an existing story to your own
situation. Intervention specialist Jack Hans offers guidelines for using
the method successfully.
Compose the story from the child's perspective.
Statements should use “I,” or if your child has trouble understanding the
concept of pronouns, use the child's name.
Include pictures. Photos of your house, family, and
community are ideal and can easily be embedded in the text. Otherwise, drawings
are second best.
Specify appropriate behaviors. Describe actions in
the form of “I will” or “I can”, to help the child incorporate self-talk in
real life.
Read the story together multiple times, both before
going into life situations and afterward, for reinforcement. Lamination
preserves the pages for frequent use.
Don't use a social story in response to negative behavior.
You don't want reading the story to be seen as punishment, which only reminds
the child of mistakes made.
Avoid describing negative behaviors in the story.
Rather than “I won't take my mask if I'm close to other people,” the story
should state “I'll keep my mask on around others.”
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