Behavior Related Stories

Many of the requests that I received for social stories are for the topic of behavior.  I’m happy to write some general stories about behavior, but I want to make sure to say that if you have a child or student who is engaging in “behaviors”, you really need to look deeper to figure out WHY the behavior is happening.  There are many underlying factors that might be causing the behavior.  Is it due to a sensory issue?  Lack of ability to effectively communicate what they want or need?  So, I would encourage everyone to look a little deeper so you can individualize strategies to help develop skills that will improve behavior!  In a school setting, this might be through something called a “functional behavior assessment” and developing a “positive behavior support plan”.  For example, if you find (through taking data), that the child usually engages in pinching behavior after you place a demand of some type on them, then the behavior may be in place to communicate to others… “I don’t want to do this!”.  But, if the child is not able to verbalize that, they may pinch instead.  So, in a addition to a social story, you really need to find an effective way for that child to COMMUNICATE.  Maybe you teach them to use a picture card that says “not right now” or simply “no thanks”.