Our own Jayne Dixon Weber pulled together a social story to use to help you and your self-advocate prepare for the NFXF Advocacy Day on February 24, 2021.
What are Social Stories?
First used for children with autism, social stories are mainly used to explain a social situation to a child, teen, or adult experiencing social challenges. They usually have trouble with the concept of social cues, so an example may be a story about visiting a neighbor and might cover things like ringing the doorbell (once, not repeatedly until someone answers) or when to enter the home (only after being invited).
Social stories are usually written specifically for one person and personalized based on their challenges. They’re not intended to change behavior, instead the goal is to clarify social situations or explain something new while hopefully also encouraging self-management through self-awareness and self-calming. They’re used most often to help children deal with change, new routines, transitions, unique situations (like COVID-19), and understanding other people’s point of view.
Pictures are optional, but having the child help with the pictures can be a super fun activity, and help make the situation you’re trying to address more fun for everyone. You can view our COVID-19 social story here.
The NFXF Advocacy Day Social Story
The Advocacy Day Social Story covers:
- Summary of Activities
- Siblings and Self-Advocates Training
- New Attendee Training
- The NFXF Advocacy MasterClass
- Live virtual training on February 19
- The speakers: Linda Sorensen, Gregg Harper, Dan Whiting, and Christopher Kush
- Breakout sessions during the training
- Testing the virtual meeting app
- Preparing for your meetings
- Questions
We have provided the social story in both PowerPoint and PDF formats. Feel free to edit the PowerPoint to suit your individual needs. You can download either format below.
author
Dan Whiting
Dan served as the NFXF Director of Community Impact from 2017 to 2022. He has over 23 years of experience in public policy and communications, including 11 years as a staff member for a U.S. Senator, in the Bush Administration as Chief of Staff at an agency, and as a senior strategist for communication initiatives across the DOD. During his time at the NFXF, he was passionate about helping individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities live better lives.