Social Stories

Recently, I wrote a very long post on Snugglebug's anxiety. (http://felinidelarosa.blogspot.com/2011/04/anxiety-attacks.html)

We have started two things that I hope to impact his anxiety. Only time will tell if they work.

The first thing we started was the use of social stories. Social stories are short, descriptive stories with pictures to help the child visualize an event and explain what is going to happen. For Easter, I made a social story using scrapbook graphics. I love digital scrap booking so I used the same concept for the social story.

We then read the story about hunting Easter eggs, what to do with the eggs, and what to do when we saw our friends. Snugglebug loved it and even asked me to read it after the egg hunt.

Once at the egg hunt, he was excited. There was no visit from the evil anxiety until the kids began to crowd into the starting area before the egg hunt. I could feel the tension increasing as the kids crowded around him and began invading his personal space (personal space is a whole other post). I whispered the words from the story in his ear, "We are happy to see our friends." He began to relax and seconds later the whistle signaling the craziness sounded. Snugglebug took his time gathering eggs and enjoyed every minute of the ten minute egg hunt. He walked away with a dozen and a half eggs. I walked away with a smile on my face. I don't know if we can attribute the social story to helping him to deal with his anxiety but it was enough that I am now making social stories for other upcoming events.

(For those interested in social stories, there are several websites that were very helpful. I'll post them at the end of this article.)

The second addition to our anxiety fighting battle is a visual scheduling system for each day and week. Using Picture Exhange Cards with Velcro on the back, we attach the cards to a laminated piece of card stock. We list the events of the next day with the PECS, and walk through those events the night before and again the next morning. We have just started this system so I hope it works as well as I have imagined.

We also have a laminated weekly calendar with the days of the week. We check off each day of the week and if there is a special event we mark it on the calendar so he can see it coming. He seems to like it.

I'll let you know if all this works to help curb his anxiety. I have no doubts that anxiety will still stage an unwarranted attack, but hopefully those attacks will be less in number.

~ Cynda

Curbing Anxiety Using Social Stories, Cues, and Pictures

Question:
Does anyone use social stories with their kiddos to prepare them for events and new situations?  Often times, new situations and the unexpected will cause anxiety and lead to behavior problems.  What are some ideas that might help our children process their anxiety.

Answers:
In most cases, our children crave routine and want to know what is happening next.  If something is different than what they expect, it may lead to a meltdown.  One way to help our children process their anxiety is through schedules or picture charts. 

Idea 1:
Families have used the Picture Exchange System (PECS) mostly to assist in the language but several parents have used them for curbing anxiety.  A school or therapist should be able to assist and print out pictures for you.  There is a program with thousands of pictures to select from in order to find something that is just right.  It is best to laminate them because they will gets lots of use.  There are Velcro books and short pads (which looks like a ruler) that allow each card to be displayed and in front of the child.  

You are also able to use the cards to make a daily (kid friendly) calendar for your child to view.  You can also take actual photos for them (to use like the PECS cards) and writing the single word below.  Example:  take a photo of school,  then label it school so they also begin to learn the word.

Idea 2:

Parents also rely on a check list format when their child is going to have a new experience.  It can work like a chore sheet.  The list could contain a picture reference on the left (with some words to remind the parent of what that step really was) and then a blank box to the right for the child to check off as it is completed.  At the end, there could be a treat like ice cream or play in the park.  Parents have used this for activities like the dentist, therapy, homework, or even for something simple like brushing teeth or getting ready for school or bed.  

For example, the list could include things like:
--sit in cool chair
--put on bib to protect clothes
--let them count teeth with mirror
--polish
--floss
--get picture taken
--done!

One parent mentioned they would always at least attempt each step and the child would get a star/smiley face for those attempts. For two visits, maybe they only got the polish brush out and the child touched it with their finger. The child would still get a star for whatever they could do in that step.  At the next visit, maybe they would only get four teeth done but couldn't sit for the rest; floss maybe 1-2 places; etc.  At the child's last 2-3 visits, they were able to complete all of it and the checklist stayed at home.  The child still had anxiety, but the checklist really helped them know what was next.  This process began when the child was 3-4 years of age.  

A parent also bought a magnetic chore board and made it into a magnetic schedule at home.  The family would talk about the next day and where the child would go and what they would do. Sometimes the parent would find them huddled in a corner studying their schedule in order to process their anxiety.  The child would also prompt the parent to check their schedule. This worked well from 3 years on because the child's preschool had a similar picture schedule in place.  The family made individualized magnets (from the computer and cheap round magnets with adhesive backs); The pictures were also laminated for repeat use. 

Idea 3:

Our children are very visual people.  Below is a good site that you can "copy"" and paste the pictures.  They have pictures for morning routines, school, etc.  You can also search on the Internet for "morning routine" or something similar for the pictures you need. 

Some therapists put Velcro on a piece of cardboard and then create different pictures to show the types of activities they will work on in a day.  The child can then take them off one by one when they finish.  Individual pictures are great in case something changes in the routine.  It provides a way to process the change before the event actually happens - which will hopefully lessen or eliminate a meltdown. 

Try this site if you need pictures:   

http://www.setbc.org/pictureset/