EARLY INTERVENTION FOR COMMUNICATION
- AN EXAMPLE

This is a selection of notes from over two years of behavioral intervention sessions with a young child who ultimately recovered completely from autism. Please note that there is no implication that these interventions will 'cure' autism. These notes include many curricula ("drill sheets"), therapists' notes, and parents' notes, covering (in part) the development of social skills to an age-appropriate level.
The notes are by the parents, Megan and Jim Sumlin (pseudonyms), who feel strongly that this information should be freely available to all who might benefit from it. They ask only that these notes belong in the public domain, and are not to be claimed or copyrighted by any person who is or will in the future be seeking monetary gain for wide distribution of same. Feel free to re-distribute this document, but please include this entire preface.

These notes are just one part of a comprehensive program guided by a behavior analyst; there were other parts of the total program, not included here, that were necessary to the child's development and eventual recovery. They are specific to one individual child. Use them as a resource to help you plan your child or student's curriculum. What works for one child will not work for all. While much of the material here addresses problems common to many or most children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, you will want to select carefully based on individual needs, learning style, and personality.

A few notes on terminology:

Discriminative Stimulus (SD)

This is the instruction given to the child.

Response

This is the response expected or desired from the child.

No-No-Prompt (NNP)

This is one specific technique for presenting the "Discriminative Stimulus," then prompting (providing the "R") if the child responds incorrectly.

Time Out

This is a brief removal of all reinforcement, where the child must sit and do nothing. This is meant to reduce certain unwanted behaviors but it has no moral or emotional overtones; it is not a punishment for "being bad."

Reinforcement

This is a reward for a correct response, which may be anything the child loves: a bit of chocolate, a piggy-back ride, an enthusiastic "You're so great!" Proper reinforcement is the key to learning.

Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (DRO)

Much more common in these notes is Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior. In addition to reinforcement for getting the right answer, the child was frequently praised for unprompted appropriate behaviors (in place of undesirable, stereotypical behaviors). For example, when playing with dolls, the therapist may say, "I'm glad you're not banging the characters together," or as the notes say in many places, "DRO'd flexibility"--unprompted spontaneity. Remembering to "catch 'em being good" takes a lot of practice, but it is essential to the development of a truly natural repertoire of age-appropriate skills.

Please note there is no connection between this document or its authors and Carol Gray or her books entitled Social Stories.

Introduction

Although there may be a few repeats in the stories that follow, most of the time there will be slight differences in stories w/the same name (i.e., all Social Stories Originals 1, 2, 3 & Masters look the same, but there are differences in the wording of the stories within each letter under those). We did this because we realized right from the start that our son was memorizing the words too well and would criticize us if we'd change any of them in the slightest. They were kept unpredictable in this way and it helped him key into the words and what they meant instead of whether or not we were doing them correctly.

Even if all of this is confusing (it is to me as well), if you have a child who is ready, I hope that you could glean from these since so many of the residual problems these kids have seem, at least from correspondence we've had with parents, to be fairly universal.

The graph sheets at the beginning of some of the series were for check off/initialing by therapists (so we could keep track that they are all getting done and sometimes could assign specific ones that weren't worked on enough within the notes). This was in a small print font. In notes (loose-leaf sheets after the graph, at the end of this document) they'd write which "set" (a, b, or c) of the story we were currently using (Social Stories: Originals, 1, 2, 3, or Master) that they'd used, though the graph was the same no matter which letter they were using. We of course preferred that whoever was there did not use the same "set" the previous therapist did.

We developed graphs we used throughout the programs to keep track of how many times each story had been taught. Each week, we would keep a check on these stories:
• Time out
• No answer from others
• Asking questions you know the answer to
• Other's property
• and so on.

To clarify: We didn't do Carol Gray's social stories but rather something our consultant showed us that was loosely based on these. As with everything we post, these were tailor-made for our son and may or may not be appropriate for every child. There were many pre-requisites for these stories related to the degree of language and ability to reason that he had before we even engaged him in the very simplest forms of these stories. We also had been working with our son on self-control, pride and confidence statements (we'd had signs on every wall months before to alert us to continuously do this) and tons of scripted language (i.e., fully prompted conversational language) well before we started these, so he was quite accustomed to repeating large, complicated sentences and hearing similar language even before he really understood any of it. Our stories obviously did contain negatives but we were instructed to balance anything we'd write with pride and self control statements and, as I think we mentioned in brackets in one of our stories posts, we wished we'd had done even more of these (not that we could see that he suffered ANY for lack of -- again, we and our therapists constantly did these in life and therapy before, during and since).

Certainly, there are other ways to create and deliver stories like these. We're posting the ones we wrote because they worked for our son and more and more became the primary focus of our endgame. These interventions should of course be discussed with your consultants and/or team to determine whether or not they (or some variation) would be appropriate either at the point of therapy you're at, at some future time, or at all.

How social stories work

Each story consists of three sections:

The opening statement

Keep this as close to the original as possible. You can tell from the following -- Bullet Pts. -- that these notes were written with the original Social Sentences in mind, but it was hard for all the therapists to put the stories in their own words until they had many stories, probably even different versions of same stories, memorized well. This is probably an additional reason why it was good to go with our "three-version" method (additional to that he was memorizing them)]

Bullet points

Our original stories were titles with bullet points. Our team had to improvise around these. Later, we created three versions of full-blown stories. Each social story contains several bullet points for you to touch upon. You've got leeway to improvise here since these are general themes that are put into your own words.

Look at each bullet point and read it from any perspective (his, yours, ours, people's...)

e.g., "People like me better when I look at them; it makes them want to talk to me more."

The bullet point above can be delivered several ways (be sure to keep shifting the point of view):

a. As a statement read to him (exactly as above) b. As a scripted answer delivered by him to the question, "Do you ever walk away from someone when they're talking to you?" c. Ask him, "How would YOU feel if I walked away from you when you spoke to me?" and script the above answer as "I would like you better if you looked at me."

2. Remember, each bullet point is a theme that you can play with as above. Take some time to discuss some of these themes and return to them more than once as you cover each topic. Do not zip through these with him. Make sure he's attentive and is trying to comprehend what you're saying. These are to be treated as stories/conversations. Pause here and there to give him a space to comment in between your scripting. Other themes can bleed across boundaries ("getting stuck" fits in many places).

Always end with a confidence statement

Examples are "I can do it" or I'm very good at..."
These stories give a rationale for "why" you do things in certain situations.

Examples of social sentences

Time out

Sometimes grown-ups send me to a timeout when I don't listen.

What are you supposed to do in a timeout?

What do grown-ups think if you don't listen? A: They think I don't know how to listen.

I can control myself so I don't get timeouts

I can listen to grown-ups.

No answer from others

Sometimes people don't answer when you talk to them
Maybe they didn't hear you.
Maybe they weren't paying attention.
Maybe they were busy.
Maybe they just didn't want to talk to you.
It's not my job to make people answer me.
I can just forget about it, maybe they'll talk to me later.

Asking questions you know the answer to

It's not good to ask questions that I know the answer to.

It's boring to others.

People might think I can't remember the answers.

People might think I'm dumb.

People might think I'm testing them & that will make them feel angry.

If I want to talk to someone I can ask a question that I don't know the answer to.

Touching others' property

I should not touch other people's things. I might break them and that would upset people and make them mad at me.
If someone did that to me I'd be upset.
When [brother] takes my toys, I worry he'll break them.
[Brother] does it because babies don't know better.
I know better; I can remember not to touch people's things.

Circle time

In circle time I listen to the teacher.
If I talk to the other kids, the teacher will be upset because I'm not paying attention to her.
The other kids might think I'm a bad boy who doesn't listen to rules.
When I listen to the teacher, I learn.
Learning is fun; I can remember to listen to the teacher.

Leaving activity

I talk to the kids that I'm playing with.
It's important not to talk to kids playing with other kids
If I talk to kids playing other games, my friends will be sad, they'll think I'm ignoring them.
They might not want to play with me next time.
If I only talk to my friends we have fun together
Next time they'll play with me again.

Tuning into people

I only think about what people are saying or doing.
When I remember to do this, I make friends and I know what's going on.
If I think about other things I can get distracted, I might even get stuck.
People will think I'm weird and they won't want to play with me.
I will always think about what people are saying and doing.

Predicting

I should not try to guess what's going to happen later
Surprises are fun.
If I try to guess, I miss out on good things.
I might even miss a surprise.
I'll remember not to predict.

Calling out

Whenever I want to talk to someone, I need to walk over and speak to them.
That's the polite thing to do.
When people call out, they disrupt the whole room; everyone gets distracted.
If I call out, people might think I don't understand the way to do things.
I'll be able to walk over to people when I want to talk to them.

Not listening

It's important to look at people and stop what I'm doing when they have something to tell me.
Sometimes grown-ups tell me very important things that I need to know.
If I don't look & listen I might miss something important and make the grown-ups angry.
I know it's wrong to keep doing what I'm doing when grown-ups want me to listen.
I will listen to grown-ups when they talk to me.

Rules

I'm not allowed to make up rules.
Only grown-ups I know can make up rules for me.
Children don't know how to make up rules; they make up silly rules.
I can learn a lot from the rules grown-ups make.
If I make up rules, grown-ups will be upset with me.
They will think I'm trying to boss them around.
I'll act like a little boy, that's what I am.

Leaving objects when an adult calls me

When a grown-up calls me I need to immediately stop what I'm doing and go to them.
They might have something to tell me that I need to know right away.
If I don't go right away I won't hear what I need to know.
Grown-ups don't like children who don't listen.
I will listen to grown-ups.

Stepping on things

When I'm walking someplace I need to look everywhere in front of me.
That's important for everyone's safety.
If I don't look, I might step on something and break it.
I might trip and hurt myself.
I might bump into someone or something.
I don't like breaking things or getting hurt so I'll always look where I'm going.

Interrupting

I can't interrupt when others are having a conversation or are busy with something.
It's not polite
If it's extremely important, I can tap the person on the shoulder and say excuse me, otherwise I must be patient and wait until they're finished.
Interrupting makes people angry because you stop them from talking and they might forget what they were talking about.
Everyone deserves to talk without being interrupted.
Grown-ups like polite children
They're especially proud of children who do not interrupt.
Sometimes I might think it's important and the grown-up will tell me it's not. If that happens, I need to wait patiently.

Personal space

When I talk to people I need to give them their space and stay away from their faces.
When people come too close it makes other people uncomfortable.
Everybody needs space.
When I make people uncomfortable, they want to get away from me.
They might not want to ever talk to me again.
When I give people enough space, I get to play with and talk to people, I make friends and have fun.

Walking away from a conversation

I never turn away from anyone when I'm in a conversation.
Looking at people is an important part of talking to them.
If I turn away I will hurt their feelings.
They will think I don't care about them.
It's impossible to understand what someone is saying when you're not looking at them.
People like me better when I look at them, it makes them want to talk to me more.
I promise to look at everyone who talks to me.
I want to be a good friend.

Listening the first time

It's important to listen to grown-ups the first time.
Grown-ups know when I'm getting stuck.
I can't always tell them about myself.
The worst thing I can do is ignore grown-ups, even for a second.
When I listen, grown-ups are proud of me and I'm proud of myself.
If I don't listen grown-ups might think I'm a baby who doesn't know how to listen.
Big boys listen the first time.
I'm a big boy.

Doing the best I can do

It's important to do my best in everything I do.
I need to make everything I do as good as it can possibly be.
When I do my best, I'm really proud of myself and other people say good things about my work.
Doing my best means -------- (pressing hard, doing it quietly, coloring in the lines...)
When I don't do my best it's because I'm being lazy.
Lazy people finish things last, miss things and lose games.
People aren't proud of other people when they don't try their best.
I'll always try to do my best and work hard, that way I'll get the most out of everything.

When I feel I must talk

Sometimes I want to say things very badly, it feels like I have to say it right that second.
It's important to wait until the other person is finished talking.
Even though it feels important, it can wait.
They will listen to me better if I wait patiently.
When I interrupt, it just angers people.
People wonder, "what's wrong with him?", "why can't he wait?"
If I can wait, I can tell them later.

METHODS OF DELIVERING STORIES

Here are some of the ways we recall that we presented the Social Stories.

1. Read them to him.

2. Acted out with dolls and puppets (with him only as an observer). When we got to the "behavior" we would stop and de-brief him about what happened e.g., Discriminative Stimulus: "Why did they walk away?" Then we would re-enact the scene (or crime!) without the offending behavior and have a positive outcome and de-brief again. e.g., Discriminative Stimulus "Why did they stay and play with him?"

3. Once he could handle it, we had him join in the doll/puppet play with his doll or puppet being the one reacting to the weird/ inappropriate behavior. Then we would ask him why his doll/puppet was nice/mean to the offending doll/puppet. This was very reinforcing to him and gave him a chance to contemplate someone else's perspective of his behaviors (empathy).

4. We acted out stories on a flannel board (similar to dolls/puppets) and later had him join in (again de-briefing...we ALWAYS de-briefed, no matter what method we used for the stories).

5. Since he was able to read we would have him read the stories to us or trade lines from the stories with us.

6. Since he was writing we would sometimes write questions (as part of the de-briefing) and have him write the answers.

7. We used the Grolier "Help Me Be Good" Books extensively, either reading them to him or having him read them to us. Or sometimes making up stories using the pictures. We ALWAYS de-briefed (e.g., "why is that boy making that face?", etc.).

8. Sometimes we did "overlapping sessions" where the last half hour of one therapist's session overlapped with the first half hour of the next. The two therapists could then overlap and role play various social stories and de-brief. Even if only one therapist were available, they could role play one of his behaviors and then de-brief him ("How do you feel when I ignore you?", etc)

9. Whenever we could (rare for us but it happened), we would get an older NT child to play with him. We would let them play and then prompt (whisper in the NT kid's ear) a response that was a negative reaction to any inappropriate behavior ("I'm not playing with you; you're making weird faces"; "If you don't look at me it makes me upset"). This was critical since it was an early phase of transferring stimulus control to other kids. As mean as it sounds, we wanted other children to get upset with him when he behaved inappropriately so we could de-brief him later. This had a tremendous impact and made him really want to play with others appropriately.

The Social Stories have specific topics (Personal Space, Acting Weird, Interrupting, etc.). Once we were rolling with all the previous things mentioned, we were able to use many of the familiar expressions we created in these stories in real life to deal with these situations. (e.g., "Who gets good things?" "Good boys get good things"). So we constantly generalized these stories and de-briefed in real life when the situations came up. We also created new Social Stories all the time as new situations arose (and added them into the many ways we used them mentioned previously).

The stories - Set Original A

No answer from others

I like talking to people, ESPECIALLY other children.
Sometimes they don't answer when I talk to them.
Maybe they didn't hear me or maybe they weren't paying attention
Maybe they were busy or maybe they just didn't want to talk to me.
It's not my job to make people answer me.
I can just forget about it, maybe they'll talk to me later.

Waiting my turn

I LOVE doing great work in school.
When I'm REALLY proud of what I do, I'm in a hurry to show all of my teachers.
SOMETIMES the teacher is busy with ANOTHER child and I walk over, stick my work in her face and say, "HERE!"
THIS makes the teacher VERY uncomfortable and annoyed and MAD at me.
I don't blame her -- I would feel the same way if someone did that to ME!
It would be better if I WAITED my turn and then gave it to her.
When I stand PATIENTLY and WAIT my turn, I still get to show off my great work and nobody will be MAD at me.
I KNOW that good things happen to people who wait patiently.
I CAN wait for my turn.

Not listening

When people talk to me, it's usually something I need to hear.
It's important to look at people & stop what I'm doing when they have something to tell me.
Sometimes grown-ups tell me VERY important things that I need to know.
If I don't look & listen I might miss something important and make someone mad.
I know it's wrong to keep doing what I'm doing when grown-ups want me to listen.
When people talk to me, I will STOP what I'm doing and look & listen to them.

Touching other people's things

I should NEVER touch other people's things without asking permission first.
I might break it and that would upset people and make them mad at me.
NOBODY likes people who touch their property.
If someone did that to me I'd be upset.
I also shouldn't touch people in a weird way.
[Brother] does it because babies don't know any better.
But I know better and I can remember not to touch people's things or touch them in a weird way.

Leaving an activity

I LOVE playing with other kids.
I talk to the kids I'm playing with.
If I talk to kids playing other games, MY friends will be sad and think I'm ignoring them.
They'll think I don't like them.
They might not want to play with me next time.
If I ONLY talk to my friends we'll have fun together
Next time they'll play with me again.

Time Outs

Sometimes grown-ups send me to a time-out when I don't listen.
When I'm in a time-out, I'm VERY quiet.
I think about what I did wrong and I feel VERY sad.
I don't want anyone to think I don't know how to listen.
I CAN be good and control myself so I WON'T get time-outs.
I CAN listen to grown-ups.

Standing and sitting still

It's important to sit still when I'm sitting and stand still when I'm standing.
When I don't sit or stand still I get distracted and have trouble following what's going on.
The other problem is that everyone else gets distracted too since they start staring at the way I'm moving and forget to listen to me.
I hate when people don't listen to me and I know I can get them to listen to me by staying in one place.
Even though I get excited when I talk to people, I can control myself and stay still.
This way I'll have more friends pay attention to me.

When the bell rings

I know when I'm in school there are many rules that I have to follow.
When I follow the rules in school I make my teachers proud and the other kids know I'm a good boy.
One of the rules in my new school is that when the teacher rings the bell, I have to stop whatever I'm doing.
When the bell rings it means the teacher has something important to say so I know I better look at her and listen carefully.
If I'm good when the bell rings, I can earn a star.
It's easy to stop what I'm doing and listen to the teacher when the bell rings.
That's because I know how to follow rules and listen to grown-ups.

Playing with my hands

Sometimes I think about my hands and the weird things I can do with them.
The problem is, I can't think about ANYTHING else when I'm playing with my hands.
The best thing to do is to keep my hands QUIET and on my lap.
If I'm in school I can also fold them quietly.
I can NEVER pick them.
I can NEVER play with my fingers.
These are the things that make me TOTALLY stuck.
I CAN remember to keep my hands quiet on my lap.
It's NOT that hard, I CAN control myself.
When I stop thinking about my hands, I can concentrate on other things.
I'm proud when I'm NOT thinking about my hands.

Doing my best

It's SO important to do my best in EVERYTHING I do.
I need to make everything I do as good as it can possibly be.
When I do my best I'm REALLY proud of myself & others say good things about my work.
When I DON'T do my best it's because I'm being lazy.
Lazy people finish things last, miss out on things and lose games.
NOBODY'S proud of me when I don't try hard.
I'll always try to do my best and work HARD so I'll get the most out of everything.
That will make ME very happy.

Rules

Rules are important for EVERYONE.
I'm not allowed to make up rules.
Only grown-ups I know can make up rules for me.
Children don't know how to make up rules -- they make up silly rules.
I can learn A LOT from the rules grown-ups make.
If I make up rules, grown-ups will be upset with me.
They'll think I'm trying to boss them around.
I won't make up rules because that's a grown-ups job.

Earning stars

One thing I love about my new school is that good boys and girls get good things.
When I do something good in school, the teacher gives me a star.
If I stop what I'm doing and put my things away when the bell rings I can get a star.
Helping to clean up gets me stars as long as I don't throw things and put it away nice.
At the end of the day I can exchange my stars for good things like stickers or candy.
Earning stars and getting stickers and candy is a special part of my new school that I like a lot.

Weird things

All the strange things I do are NOT a good idea.
People stare at me and laugh AT me (and not WITH ME) when I act weird.
I get stuck on these things whether its my hands, my feet, my mouth or my eyes.
Sometimes when grown-ups tell me to stop doing a weird thing, I think of ANOTHER weird thing I can do instead. Instead of thinking about OTHER weird things to do, I SHOULD think of ways to be good.
When I'm GOOD I can get lots of good things.
It's hard, but I CAN do it.

When I feel I must talk

Sometimes I want to say things VERY badly.
It feels like I HAVE to say it RIGHT THAT SECOND.
It's important to wait until the other person is finished talking.
Even though it FEELS important, it CAN wait.
They will listen to me BETTER if I wait patiently.
When I interrupt, it just ANGERS people.
People wonder, "what's wrong with him?" and "why can't he wait?"
If I can wait, I can STILL tell them later and EVERYONE will like me MORE.

Calling out

Sometimes I want to get the attention of someone who is far away.
Whenever I want to talk to someone, I need to walk over and speak to them.
That's the polite thing to do.
When people call out, they disrupt everything and everyone gets distracted.
If I call out, people might think I'm rude.
I KNOW how to be polite and walk over to people when I want to talk to them.

Listening the first time

It's IMPORTANT to listen to grown-ups the first time.
I don't know when I'm getting stuck, but grown-ups always KNOW when I am.
I can't always talk about myself.
The worst thing I can do is ignore grown-ups, even for a second.
When I listen, grown-ups are proud of me and I'M proud of myself.
If I don't listen, grown-ups might think I'm a baby who doesn't know HOW to listen.
Big boys ALWAYS listen the first time.
I'm a big boy because I ALWAYS listen the first time.

Look where I am going

When I'm walking someplace I need to look EVERYWHERE in front of me.
That's important for EVERYONE'S safety.
If I DON'T look, I might step on something and break it.
Something might come crashing into me and hurt me bad.
I might trip and hurt myself.
I might bump into someone or something.
I don't like breaking things or getting hurt so I'll always look where I'm going.
When I look, I can get out of the way if something dangerous is coming at me.
I'm SO proud when I remember to watch where I'm going.

Pacing

Sometimes I do things for a VERY long time.
I know that I have to save up my energy so I don't get tired later.
I always have to pace myself and NOT get TOO wild or I will get tired and have trouble paying attention later. If I have trouble paying attention, my friends will think I'm ignoring them and they will look for other people to play with. If I stay calm and pace myself, I'll be able to do great for a VERY long time.

Grown ups are different from kids

Kids never make up rules for anyone.
It seems unfair since kids can't do all the things that grown-ups can.
It's important to respect what grown-ups say and do, they know best.
I can learn a lot from grown-ups especially if I follow their rules.

Walking away from a conversation

I LOVE to hear what other people have to say.
I NEVER turn away from anyone when I'm in a conversation.
Looking at people is a VERY important part of talking to them.
If I turn away I will hurt their feelings.
They will think I don't care about them.
It's impossible to understand what someone is saying when you're not looking at them.
People like me better when I look at them, it makes them WANT to talk to me.
I promise to stay still and look at everyone who talks to me.
I'm want to be a good friend and I'm PROUD to be a good friend.

Daydreaming

I LOVE hearing what other people say and WATCHING what other kids & people do.
When I'm with other people, I pay attention and ONLY think about what they are saying or doing.
When I remember to do this, I'm proud to make friends and know what's going on.
If I daydream and think about other things, I can get distracted and might even get stuck.
People will think I'm weird and won't want to play with me.
I never daydream and ALWAYS think about what people are saying and doing.

Circle time

I like circle time because I learn and have fun at the same time.
In circle time I always listen to the teacher.
If I talk to other kids, the teacher will be upset because I'm not paying attention to HER.
And if I DON'T pay attention to her, I might miss something fun.
Other kids may think I'm a bad boy who doesn't listen to rules.
When I listen to the teacher, I learn new things and have a GREAT time.
Learning is fun...I'm so proud to always remember to listen to the teacher.

Answering the first time

People ask me things ALL the time.
I KNOW when someone asks me something it's because they want me to answer.
When I DON'T answer, grown-ups and other kids might think I don't like them.
I hate when people don't answer MY questions so I KNOW how THEY must feel when I don't answer them.
I know I have important things to say and that's why people ask me things.
I will ALWAYS answer EVERYONE the FIRST time so I can have lots of friends.

Doing things quickly

Part of pacing yourself is learning to do things quickly.
Dawdling and stalling isn't good because you can finish things last.
When I finish last, I miss out on playing games with other kids.
If I take to long to join an activity I might miss something.
I'll have less time to play with other kids.
I want to be part of the group and be part of the action.
I won't stall, I'll do things quickly and always know what's going on.
I'm very proud of myself when I do things quickly

Set Original B

Time Outs

Sometimes grown-ups send me to a time-out when I don't listen.
When I'm in a time-out, I'm VERY quiet.
I think about what I did wrong and I feel VERY sad.
I don't want anyone to think I don't know how to listen.
I CAN be good and control myself so I WON'T get time-outs.
I CAN listen to grown-ups.

No answer from others

I like talking to people, ESPECIALLY other children.
Sometimes they don't answer when I talk to them.
Maybe they didn't hear me or maybe they weren't paying attention.
Maybe they were busy or maybe they just didn't want to talk to me.
It's not my job to make people answer me.
I can just forget about it, maybe they'll talk to me later.

Asking when you know the answer

I know it's not good to ask questions that I know the answer to.
When I do that people may think I'm dumb or can't remember the answer.
It's SO boring to others to talk about things we already know.
People might think I'm testing them & that will make them feel angry.
If I want to talk to someone, I can ask a question that I DON'T know the answer to.
I only ask questions when I DON'T know something and I want to learn.

Touching others' property

I should NEVER touch other people's things without asking permission first.
I might break it and that would upset people and make them mad at me.
NOBODY likes people who touch their property.
If someone did that to me I'd be upset.
When [brother] takes my toys, I worry that he'll break them.
[Brother] does it because babies don't know any better.
But I know better and I can remember not to touch people's things.

Circle time

I like circle time because I learn and have fun at the same time.
In circle time I always listen to the teacher.
If I talk to other kids, the teacher will be upset because I'm not paying attention to HER.
And if I DON'T pay attention to her, I might miss something fun.
Other kids may think I'm a naughty boy who doesn't listen to rules.
When I listen to the teacher, I learn new things and have a GREAT time.
Learning is fun...I can always remember to listen to the teacher.

Leaving an activity

I LOVE playing with other kids.
I talk to the kids I'm playing with.
If I talk to kids playing other games, MY friends will be sad and think I'm ignoring them.
They'll think I don't like them.
They might not want to play with me next time.
If I ONLY talk to my friends we'll have fun together
Next time they'll play with me again.

Tuning into people

I LOVE hearing what other people say and WATCHING what other kids & people do.
When I'm with other people, I ONLY think about what they are saying or doing.
When I remember to do this, I'm proud to make friends and know what's going on.
If I think about other things, I can get distracted and might even get stuck.
People will think I'm weird and won't want to play with me.
I ALWAYS think about what people are saying and doing.

Predicting

Surprises are FUN!
I should NEVER try to guess what's going to happen later.
If I try to guess, I may RUIN a surprise and miss out on it.
I'll remember not to predict. That way it's MUCH MORE FUN!

Calling out

Sometimes I want to get the attention of someone who is far away.
Whenever I want to talk to someone, I need to walk over and speak to them.
That's the polite thing to do.
When people call out, they disrupt everything and everyone gets distracted.
If I call out, people might think I'm rude.
I KNOW how to be polite and walk over to people when I want to talk to them.

Not listening to others

When people talk to me, it's usually something I need to hear.
It's important to look at people & stop what I'm doing when they have something to tell me.
Sometimes grown-ups tell me VERY important things that I need to know.
If I don't look & listen I might miss something important and make someone mad.
I know it's wrong to keep doing what I'm doing when grown-ups want me to listen.
When people talk to me, I will STOP what I'm doing and look & listen to them.

Rules

Rules are important for EVERYONE.
I'm not allowed to make up rules.
Only grown-ups I know can make up rules for me.
Children don't know how to make up rules -- they make up silly rules.
I can learn A LOT from the rules grown-ups make.
If I make up rules, grown-ups will be upset with me.
They'll think I'm trying to boss them around.
I won't make up rules because that's a grown-ups job.
12. LEAVING OBJECTS WHEN A GROWN-UP CALLS
Sometimes I'm busy with something and a grown-up calls me.
When grown-ups call me I need to IMMEDIATELY stop what I'm doing & go to them.
They might have something to tell me that I need to know right away.
If I don't go right away I WON'T hear what I need to know.
Grown-ups don't like children who don't listen.
I will listen to grown-ups IMMEDIATELY when they call me.

Stepping on things

When I'm walking someplace I need to look EVERYWHERE in front of me.
That's important for EVERYONE'S safety.
If I DON'T look, I might step on something and break it.
I might trip and hurt myself.
I might bump into someone or something.
I don't like breaking things or getting hurt so I'll always look where I'm going.
I'm SO proud when I remember to watch where I'm going.

Interrupting others

Sometimes other people are having a conversation without me.
I CAN'T interrupt when others are having conversations or are busy.
It's not POLITE to interrupt.
If it's EXTREMELY important, I can tap their shoulder and say "excuse me".
Sometimes I still have to wait a little longer, even if I say "excuse me."
And SOMETIMES they won't even excuse me!
Interrupting makes people angry because you stop them from talking and they may forget what they were talking about.
EVERYONE deserves to talk without being interrupted.
Grown-ups like polite children.
They're ESPECIALLY proud of children who do not interrupt.
I make EVERYONE proud when I don't interrupt.

Personal space

I love talking to people, especially my friends.
When I talk to people, I need to give them their space & stay away from their faces.
EVERYBODY needs space.
When I get too close, it makes other people uncomfortable.
When I make people uncomfortable, they want to get away from me.
They might not want to ever talk to me again.
When I give people enough space, they want to talk with me and be my friend.

Walking away from conversations

I LOVE to hear what other people have to say.
I NEVER turn away from anyone when I'm in a conversation.
Looking at people is a VERY important part of talking to them.
If I turn away I will hurt their feelings.
They will think I don't care about them.
It's impossible to understand what someone is saying when you're not looking at them.
People like me better when I look at them, it makes them WANT to talk to me.
I promise to stay still and look at everyone who talks to me.
I'm want to be a good friend and I'm PROUD to be a good friend.

Listening the first time

It's IMPORTANT to listen to grown-ups the first time.
I don't know when I'm getting stuck, but grown-ups always KNOW when I am.
I can't always talk about myself.
The worst thing I can do is ignore grown-ups, even for a second.
When I listen, grown-ups are proud of me and I'M proud of myself.
If I don't listen, grown-ups might think I'm a baby who doesn't know HOW to listen.
Big boys ALWAYS listen the first time.
I'm a big boy because I ALWAYS listen the first time.

Doing my best

It's SO important to do my best in EVERYTHING I do.
I need to make everything I do as good as it can possibly be.
When I do my best I'm REALLY proud of myself & others say good things about my work.
When I DON'T do my best it's because I'm being lazy.
Lazy people finish things last, miss out on things and lose games.
NOBODY'S proud of me when I don't try hard.
I'll always try to do my best and work HARD so I'll get the most out of everything.
That will make ME very happy.

When I must talk

Sometimes I want to say things VERY badly.
It feels like I HAVE to say it RIGHT THAT SECOND.
It's important to wait until the other person is finished talking.
Even though it FEELS important, it CAN wait.
They will listen to me BETTER if I wait patiently.
When I interrupt, it just ANGERS people.
People wonder, "what's wrong with him?" and "why can't he wait?"
If I can wait, I can STILL tell them later and EVERYONE will like me MORE.

Answering the first time

People ask me things all the time.
I know when someone asks me something it's because they want me to answer.
When I don't answer, grown-ups and other kids might think I don't like them.
I hate when people don't answer my questions so I know how they must feel when I don't answer them.
I know I have important things to say and that's why people ask me things.
I will always answer everyone the first time so I can have lots of friends.
2

Pacing

Sometimes I do things for a very long time.
I know that I have to save up my energy so I don't get tired later.
I always have to pace myself and not get too wild or I will get tired and have trouble paying attention later.
If I have trouble paying attention, my friends will think I'm ignoring them and they will look for other people to play with.
If I stay calm and pace myself, I'll be able to do great for a very long time.

Weird things

All the strange things I do are not a good idea.
People stare at me and make fun of me when I act weird.
I get stuck on these things whether its my hands, my feet, my mouth or my eyes.
Sometimes when grown-ups tell me to stop doing a weird thing, I think of another weird thing I can do instead.
Instead of thinking about other weird things to do, I should think of ways to be good.
When I'm good I can get lots of good things.
It's hard, but I can do it.

Waiting your turn

I love doing great work in school.
When I'm really proud of what I do, I'm in a hurry to show all of my teachers.
Sometimes the teacher is busy with another child and I walk over and stick my work in her face and say, "here!"
This makes the teacher very uncomfortable and annoyed.
I don't blame her, I would feel the same way if someone did that to me.
It would be better if I waited my turn and then gave it to her.
When I stand patiently and wait my turn, I still get to show off my great work and nobody is mad at me.
I know that good things happen to people who wait patiently.
I can wait for my turn.

My hands

Sometimes I think about my hands and the weird things I can do with them.
The problem is, I can't think about anything else when I'm playing with my hands.
The best thing to do is to keep my hands quiet and on my knees.
If I'm in school I can also fold them quietly.
I can never pick them.
I can never play with my fingers.
These are the things that make me totally stuck.
I can remember to keep my hands quiet on my lap.
It's not that hard, I can control myself.
When I stop thinking about my hands, I can concentrate on other things.

Set Original C

Time Out

I ALWAYS try to behave.
Sometimes when I don't listen, grown-ups send me to a time-out.
I'm VERY quiet when I'm in a time-out.
I feel VERY sad and I THINK about what I did wrong.
I want EVERYONE to think I know how to listen.
I CAN behave and control myself so I don't get time outs.
When I listen to grown-ups, everything is great!

No answer from others

I enjoy talking to people, ESPECIALLY other children.
They don't always answer when I talk to them.
Maybe they weren't paying attention or they didn't hear me.
Maybe they just didn't WANT to talk to me or they were busy.
I SHOULDN'T try to FORCE people to answer me.
I can just walk away and forget about it and be happy anyway.
I'm PROUD of myself when I can just walk away.

Asking questions you know the answer to

It's not good to ask questions that I know the answer to.
People might think I can't remember the answers or that I'm not smart.
People get bored when you talk about things we already know.
People might think I'm teasing them & that will make them mad.
I should only ask questions that I DON'T know the answer to.
That's what questions are for!
I'm VERY smart & want to learn new things, so I ONLY ask questions I don't know the answer to.

Touching other people's property

I like to look at other people's things.
The best way to do this is to ask permission first.
Nobody likes people who TOUCH their property without asking.
I don't like it when someone touches MY things without asking first.
I worry they might break my things if they're not careful.
When someone asks permission first, I KNOW they'll be careful because they're acting grown-up.
Only BABIES grab things without asking first.
But I'm NOT a baby -- I ALWAYS ask before touching someone's property.

Circle time

Circle time is FUN!
When the teacher talks, I pay close attention.
The teacher likes it when I ONLY pay attention to her & don't talk to the other kids.
I know if I talk to the other kids, I might miss something the teacher said.
OTHER kids will be upset with me if I ruin circle time.
When I listen to the teacher, circle time is MUCH more fun!

Leaving an activity

I LOVE having friends!
I have GREAT conversations with the kids I play with.
I would be hurt if MY friends walked away from ME!
If I see other kids playing something else, I NEVER walk away from my friends.
If I did walk away, I'd hurt my friends' feelings.
They would ALWAYS remember that I walked away & would NEVER want to play with me again.
If I stay with my friends they'll always stay with me and be my friends.

Tuning into people

I love people MORE than anything else!
People are VERY interesting.
I ALWAYS pay careful attention to what people say and do.
I don't want to miss anything so I always look and listen when people are talking.
If I stop paying attention, I will miss things.
When I DON'T pay attention, people have to repeat themselves.
NOBODY likes to repeat themselves.
I want to make people happy so I ALWAYS listen and look when people are talking and doing things.

Trying to predict things

I NEVER know what's going to happen later.
I know it's better to wait and see what will happen instead of trying to guess.
If I wait, I MAY get a big surprise.
I'd hate to ruin a good surprise.
When I try to predict what will happen later people get annoyed with me.
There's NOTHING better than a big surprise and I know if I DON'T predict I'll get more surprises!

Calling out

Sometimes I want to talk to someone who's far away.
When this happens, I NEVER yell across the room.
It's more polite to just walk over and talk to them.
Yelling across the room is rude -- it interrupts everyone else.
I'm GLAD and PROUD that I always walk over to people when I have something to say.

Not listening

People want to talk to me a lot of the time.
I ALWAYS stop what I'm doing and look at whoever is talking to me.
I need to pay attention and hear ALL the important things that grown-ups tell me.
If I don't stop what I'm doing when people talk to me, I'll lose all my friends.
I like when people stop doing stuff when I talk to them.
So when someone talks to me, I can stop everything & pay attention to them.

Rules

I make sure to follow rules.
Only grown-ups I know can make up rules for me.
The rules they make help me learn how to be a better person.
I make up silly rules and get stuck & that can make a grown-up mad.
I'll let grown-ups make the rules so I can be great when I grow up.

Leaving objects when a grown up calls me

I like concentrating on what I'm doing.
Sometimes a grown-up calls me over when I'm busy.
When this happens, I IMMEDIATELY stop what I'm doing and walk over to them.
I know if a grown-up calls me when I'm busy, it MUST be something very important.
If I don't go right away, I can miss something important.
No one likes children who don't listen.
When a grown-up calls me, I stop what I'm doing and walk over to them.
I'm SO glad that I stop what I'm doing to listen.

Stepping on things

Sometimes I'm in a hurry when I walk.
When I'm walking I need to LOOK where I'm going so I don't step on things.
When I don't look where I'm going, I could trip or bump into things.
I'm ALWAYS very careful when I walk, even if I'm in a hurry.

Interrupting

Sometimes I see other people talking with each other.
Sometimes I notice people who are very busy with something.
When someone is busy or in a conversation with someone I NEVER interrupt.
It's not polite to interrupt.
I can tap the person on the shoulder and say excuse me ONLY if what I have to say is EXTREMELY important.
Even then I might have to be patient and wait longer.
People get mad when I interrupt because they can forget what they were going to say.
NOBODY likes to be interrupted -- I don't like when people interrupt me!
That's why I don't interrupt people -- I'm sensitive to how other people feel.

Personal space

I love talking to people, and when I do I give them enough space.
When I talk to people TOO close they get very uncomfortable.
I don't like it when other people talk too close to MY face!
My friends like me better when I give them enough space.
I ALWAYS make sure to give people enough space when I talk to them.

Walking away from conversations

I talk to people all the time.
When I'm in a conversation, I NEVER turn away from whoever I'm talking to.
If I turn away I will hurt their feelings.
My feelings are hurt when people walk away from me when I'm talking to them.
When I talk to people and don't look at them, they have trouble hearing me.
I know if I STAND STILL & LOOK at whoever I'm talking to, I'll have lots of friends.

Listening the first time

When a grown-up tells me to do something, I listen the FIRST time.
I shouldn't talk back, I should just listen.
When I talk, I want other people to listen to me the first time.
When I listen the first time, grown-ups know that I respect them.
Babies talk back or don't listen the first time and that's o.k.
Big boys ALWAYS listen the first time they're told to do something.
I ALWAYS listen the first time -- that's what big boys do.

Doing my best

It's important to ALWAYS try hard to do my best.
I must concentrate on what I'm doing and not be distracted by anything.
When I do my best, people tell me what a GOOD job I did and I feel proud.
Lazy people don't do their best -- NO ONE likes lazy people.
Lazy people finish last -- they miss things and are losers.
I LOVE to finish first and be a winner!
I LOVE to do my best and work hard so I'll get the MOST out of EVERYTHING and always feel happy and proud.

When I must talk

Sometimes I want to say things very badly and it feels like I have to say it RIGHT that second.
It's important to control myself and WAIT until the other person is finished talking.
People will pay MORE attention to me if I wait my turn.
When I interrupt, it makes people very mad. I don't like it when someone interrupts ME!
If I wait patiently, I can STILL tell them later and everyone will like me more.

Answering the first time

I'm very smart so a lot of people want to ask me things.
I love it when people ask me questions because I know it means they find me interesting.
Sometimes when grown-ups ask me things, I don't answer them the first time.
This makes them think I'm dumb.
I get frustrated when grown-ups don't answer me the first time.
The only way anyone will know how smart I am is if I answer their questions as soon as I hear them.
Part of being smart is answering questions quickly.
I want everyone to know how smart I am so I will always answer everyone the first time.

Pacing

Some things I do last for a few hours.
School goes on for a few hours and so do a lot of games and sports I play.
I like to finish everything I start.
I'm always good when I start things but sometimes it's hard for me to stay good for a long time.
I know if I stay good for a long time I'll get something special.
The best way to stay good for a long time is to pace myself.
Pacing means not running too fast or talking too much in the beginning.
If I pace myself when I start things, I'll probably still be good at the end.
I want to make you proud of me and I know the best way is to be good for a long time.

Weird things

There are a lot of weird things I can do.
When I stop doing one weird thing I can always think of another.
The only problem with this is that when I do one weird thing after another, everyone wants to get away from me.
If everyone keeps running away from me, I'll be very lonely.
I would rather be with lots of people than be all alone.
I better work really hard at controlling all the weird things so I can always have friends.

Waiting your turn

I see people waiting on line all the time.
Sometimes I have to get on line at a store or in school.
I know that when I'm on line, I have to stay there and not wander off.
If I don't stay on line in school, other kids will think I have no self-control.
Their parents won't want me to go to their house or to their birthday parties.
Parents don't let their children play with children who can't control themselves and wait on a line.
If I don't stay on line in a store, my mom and dad won't buy me things I like.
I always wait on lines patiently wherever I go.

My hands

There are a lot of strange things I can do with my hands.
When I look around me I notice that almost nobody else does these things but me.
The people who I notice that do strange things with their hands are all alone.
Nobody wants to be their friend because of the weird things they do.
I like having a lot of friends.
I don't want to be alone.
I can keep my hands in my lap when I'm sitting and at my side when I'm standing.

MASTER LIST STORIES

These were what we called the final series of the Social Stories we did. We gave them this name because the themes of these stories bled into several drills (Role Play - Dolls/Puppets, Appropriate Play, Pretend/Fantasy Play, etc. -- we'll eventually type these up) and, at this point, the language of these stories was an integral part of our common redirections in real life. Our son (the human instant-replay) had memorized the earliest stories, forcing three versions of each. By this time, he had also memorized their titles and would gleefully request specific stories by name.

For the Master List stories you can see we removed the titles. Our therapists had been doing variations of these for so long, they were easily able to improvise and mix & match around each of the versions here. Therapy had now become more "natural" and needed to resemble and segue into real life. We were very consciously transitioning things we said away from "therapy" language and toward that which he might hear from teachers, peers, etc. These were among the last steps in transferring stimulus control to his teachers and peers (i.e., the language had to begin to match). He was in school without a shadow (& without anyone at the school having knowledge of his autism) at the end of using series 3 and during the time of these "Masters." It was also at about this time that we started calling his "therapists" his "babysitters". This came in handy since he was constantly mentioning their names to those in the outside world he was becoming a part of.
P.S. - WATCH OUT for #1 - The Golden Rule. Boy did he perseverate on turning THAT one around on us! (-;

SOCIAL STORIES MASTER LIST A

The most important rule of all time is the Golden Rule, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
That means you shouldn't do something that you wouldn't want someone to do to you.
Boy is that an important rule!
Breaking the Golden Rule makes people think you don't like them or care about what happens to them.
If I hurt someone's feelings, I have to think about how I would feel if that person did the same thing to me.
The Golden Rule also has a good side.
I should do the same good things to people that I would want them to do for me.
People will know I like them if I do good things for them and if I'm nice to them.
I know people will treat me good if I treat them good.
That's the Golden Rule and I know I can stick to it.

When people talk to me, it's usually something I need to hear.
It's important to look at people & stop what I'm doing when they have something to tell me.
Sometimes grown-ups and kids tell me VERY important things that I need to know.
If I don't look & listen I might miss the message that they're trying to give me.
All the other kids look and listen when people talk to them.
I know it's wrong to keep doing what I'm doing when grown-ups want me to listen.
When people talk to me, I will STOP what I'm doing and look & listen to them.

I LOVE to hear what other people have to say.
I NEVER turn away from anyone when I'm in a conversation.
Looking at people is a VERY important part of talking to them.
If I turn away I will hurt their feelings.
They will think I don't care about them.
It's impossible to understand what someone is saying when you're not looking at them.
People like me better when I look at them, it makes them WANT to talk to me.
I promise to stay still and look at everyone who talks to me.
I'm want to be a good friend and I'm PROUD to be a good friend.

Sometimes I want to say things VERY badly.
It feels like I HAVE to say it RIGHT THAT SECOND.
It's important to wait until the other person is finished talking otherwise I'm interrupting and changing the subject.
Even though it FEELS important, it CAN wait.
They will listen to me BETTER if I wait patiently.
When I interrupt, it just ANGERS people.
People wonder, "what's wrong with him?" and "why can't he wait?"
One of the MOST important times to wait patiently before talking is in circle time or when a teacher is giving a lesson.
I also know that "excuse me" means I'm asking if I can interrupt.
Even if I'm told to wait, I can STILL tell them later and EVERYONE will like me MORE.

It's IMPORTANT to listen to grown-ups the first time.
The worst thing I can do is ignore grown-ups, even for a second.
A grown-up shouldn't have to tell me something more than once.
When I listen the first time, grown-ups are proud of me and I'M proud of myself.
If I don't listen, grown-ups might think I'm a baby who doesn't know HOW to listen.
My friends will also think I'm a baby because they're not babies and they listen the first time.
I'm a big boy because I ALWAYS listen the first time.
Nobody ever has to ask me something more than once because I listen quickly and I like controlling myself.

When I do something wrong I feel terrible not only for what I did, but for hurting another person's feelings.
Usually when I do something that hurts someone, they tell me right away and they're mad.
That makes me feel even worse because I like people and never want to make them feel bad.
The best thing to do after doing something wrong is to apologize to the person I hurt.
Saying "I'm sorry" helps the person I hurt feel a little bit better and that makes me feel a little bit better too.
When a teacher or any grown-up punishes me or gives me a time-out for doing something wrong, the worst thing I could do is talk back.
The best thing I could do is apologize. Then after the punishment or time-out is over, everyone will respect me more.
I don't have to explain the reason I did what I did since grown-ups already know the reason without me saying it.
Knowing that grown-ups understand helps me stop myself from talking back to them.

Grown-ups are in charge and make the rules and decide things.
Grown-ups have different sets of rules than kids.
They make up the rules for grown-ups and kids.
I never see kids making up rules for anyone.
It seems unfair since kids can't do all the things that grown-ups can.
It's important to respect what grown-ups say and do; they know best.
I'm not a grown-up and I can't pretend I'm a grown-up.
I can learn a lot from grown-ups especially if I follow their rules.

Sometimes it's very clear what I'm supposed to be doing, like in school when I need to go to certain areas.
Sometimes it's not exactly clear what I should do and I'm kind of on my own to decide what to do.
In these free times when the rules don't seem clear they really are.
The rules haven't changed at all!
I just have to be sure that I follow all the same rules and behave just as good.
In these free times, I'm in charge of myself and I will make everyone, my teachers and parents, so proud that I don't need them to keep me well behaved.
I can behave myself all by myself.

When I see other kids playing I always want to join them and have fun.
Sometimes when I ask to join in the other kids say "no".
That's OK, I can play with them later, find other kids to play with, or just do something else.
It's also important when playing with other kids to let them express their own ideas.
Everyone gets a turn at having their say and using their ideas.
I can learn from other kids' ideas.
Their suggestions can make playing more interesting when I'm on my own or playing with new kids.

I love talking to people, especially my friends.
When I talk to people, I need to give them their space & stay away from their faces.
I also don't lean on them or lay all over them.
EVERYBODY needs space.
My space bubble helps me keep good space.
When I get too close, it makes other people uncomfortable and they want to get away from me.
They might not want to ever talk to me again.
When I look around I notice that the other kids know just how much space to give.
They don't lay all over or lean all over each other EVER!
I want to be just like them.
When I give people enough space, they want to talk with me and be my friend.

I spend a lot of my day with other kids.
When I'm with other kids I pay close attention to everything they do because I can learn a lot from them.
The other kids like to spend time with me too.
Kids should always work together and play together and watch each other closely.
The reason I have so many friends is that I'm very interested in what they do.
That's because I always watch them.

I love playing with other kids.
The most interesting and fun times I have are when I join kids who are already playing.
I do this by asking in a nice and gentle voice, "Can I play with you?"
If they say yes, then I ask, "teach me how to play" or "show me what you're doing".
When I join other kids who are playing, I really feel like I have friends and that I belong to the group.
I also know that I'm NOT ALLOWED to touch other kids when I play with them or else they'll be mad at me.
As long as I keep joining other kids and don't touch them, I'll be popular and have lots of friends.

I love to talk to other people and other people like to hear me talk.
I don't have to yell for other people to be interested in what I have to say.
As a matter of fact, if I talk in a gentle tone and don't shout people will care more about what I have to say.
I must always use my real voice in conversations.
When I use my real voice and speak quietly, people listen to what I say.
I like that.

SOCIAL STORIES MASTER LIST B

I must always be sure to treat everyone the way that I would want them to treat me.
That means I should always treat people nice and kind since that's how I would want to be treated.
That also means that I shouldn't be mean to people or hurt them since I wouldn't want to be treated poorly.
That's the Golden Rule and I know I must always follow it!

People want to talk to me a lot of the time.
I ALWAYS stop what I'm doing and look at whoever is talking to me.
I need to pay attention and hear the message that people tell me.
When someone talks to me, I better listen the first time.
If I don't stop what I'm doing when people talk to me, I'll lose all my friends.
My friends listen to other people and they want me to be the same way.
I like when people stop doing stuff when I talk to them.
So when someone talks to me, I can stop everything immediately & pay attention to them.

I LOVE having friends!
I have GREAT conversations with the kids I play with.
I would be hurt if MY friends walked away from ME!
If I see other kids playing something else, I NEVER walk away from my friends.
If I did walk away, I'd hurt my friends' feelings.
They would ALWAYS remember that I walked away & would NEVER want to play with me again.
If I stay with my friends they'll always stay with me and be my friends.

Sometimes I want to say things very badly and it feels like I have to say it RIGHT that second.
It's important to control myself and WAIT until the other person is finished talking.
People will pay MORE attention to me if I wait my turn.
I have to be especially careful not to blurt things out and interrupt when it's circle time or when a teacher is giving a lesson because they wouldn't want me to change the subject.
When I interrupt, it makes people very mad. I don't like it when someone interrupts ME!
Sometimes when I say "excuse me" I still have to wait a minute because "excuse me" is only asking permission to interrupt.
If I wait patiently, I can STILL tell them later and everyone will like me more.

When a grown-up tells me to do something, I listen the FIRST time.
Nobody should ever have to tell someone something more than once.
When I talk, I want other people to listen to me the first time also.
When I listen the first time, grown-ups know that I respect them.
Babies talk back or don't listen the first time and that's O.K.
Big boys ALWAYS listen the first time they're told to do something.
I know this because I notice other kids listening.
I ALWAYS listen the first time -- that's what big boys do.

Sometimes I do something that makes other kids or grown-ups angry at me and they tell me.
When this happens I never argue but instead apologize.
Saying "I'm sorry" shows people that I feel bad about making them feel bad and that helps me stay friends with them.
If I get a time-out or get punished, the right thing to do is apologize and not try to explain since grown-ups already understand why I did what I did.
I always remember to apologize quickly after doing something wrong.

Sometimes I see a grown-up do things that I'm not allowed to do.
It's seems unfair but I know it's OK since I realize that grown-ups make the rules, not kids.
One day I'm going to be a grown-up and I'll be able to make rules too.
I'm not a grown-up yet so I shouldn't pretend I'm one ever.
The only way I'll learn is if I follow grown-ups' rules while I'm still a kid.
When I don't follow a grown-up's rules, they get angry at me and sometimes yell at me.
I don't like when grown-ups get mad at me.
I'm a good boy who follows all the rules that grown-ups make.

Sometimes the grown-ups aren't around to tell me what to do.
Other times the grown-ups are too busy to be watching what I do as carefully as they usually do.
You know what I do in these situations?
I follow all the same rules as if the adults were paying careful attention to me.
That's what mature kids do.
Besides, if I act up when a grown-up isn't watching me as carefully, they'll probably catch me and I'll get into a lot of trouble.
I behave whether or not a grown-up is close by and watching.

Kids don't always want to play with me and that's fine.
I know that there's usually a good reason -- like they're already in the middle of what they're doing and it wouldn't be fair for me to interrupt and make them start all over.
I don't let it bother me when a kid doesn't want to play with me because I know I can do something else or play with them later.
When I play with kids I don't push my ideas on my friends and force them to play using only my ideas.
The fair thing is to share ideas; it's kind of like turn-taking with ideas.
People can learn from my ideas and of course I can learn from theirs.

I love talking to people, and when I do I give them enough space.
When I talk to people TOO close they get very uncomfortable.
I also know that I should NEVER lean on anyone or touch them.
I don't like it when other people talk too close to MY face or lean on me.
My friends like me better when I give them enough space.
I ALWAYS make sure to use my space bubble and give enough space all the time.

I love to play with other kids.
I play with them in the park and watch everything they do.
I play with kids at school and watch everything they do.
I play with my friends at day camp and watch them there too.
I know when I watch all the other kids, I will always learn new things.
When I learn new things, I can teach them to my brother later.
I can also tell mommy and daddy all the new things I learned watching other kids.
That makes them very proud of me.

Sometimes I walk into my class and I see groups of kids already playing or doing something.
Whenever I see that happening, I walk over to see what they're doing.
It's always something interesting so I always ask in a nice, gentle way "can I play with you?"
Of course the kids usually say, "yes" since most kids want to be my friend when I'm nice.
Once I'm invited to join them, I always ask, "how do you play?" or "how do you do this?" so I can really be a part of the group.
One thing I know is that I'm not allowed to touch the other kids when I play with them or they will probably stop playing with me.
If I keep joining other kids and groups of kids and ask how to play with them, I will learn lots of new games and have so many friends.
I like that!

The most pleasant sound in the world is someone's gentle, quiet voice.
When I yell or don't use my real voice, it makes people uncomfortable.
Talking loud makes people want to get away from me.
I try really hard to speak in a soft, gentle tone so people will listen to me.
Not only do people like me better when I use my best voice, but I feel more relaxed too.

SOCIAL STORIES MASTER LIST C

Mommy and daddy have always told me that good things happen to good boys.
People will usually treat me the way that I treat them so when I'm a good boy, people will treat me good and when I'm nasty to others they probably won't treat me so well.
Treating people the way you want to be treated is really another way of saying the Golden Rule.
The Golden Rule is to do to others what you would hope they would do to you.
Since I know that following this rule will make people treat me better, I always try to follow it.
I want to have good things and be happy.

People want to talk to me all the time.
When someone talks to me I stop what I'm doing and pay total attention to them.
I would not like it if someone did not listen to ME!
Only people who look and listen hear EVERYTHING there is to hear and don't miss the message.
If I don't stop what I'm doing when people talk to me, I won't HAVE any friends.
Friends are VERY important, so I always pay attention when people talk to me.

I LOVE playing with my friends!
When I'm playing a game or sport, I stay with my friends the WHOLE time.
I don't leave them even if something else that's interesting is happening nearby.
If I did that, I would ruin the game for everyone and nobody would want to play with me.
I wouldn't someone to ruin the game for ME!
Friends are too important to lose, so I'll stick with them the WHOLE time.

Sometimes I feel like I can't STOP myself from talking!
When that happens, I give EVERYONE a headache!
The worst is when I interrupt circle time or a teacher's lesson.
Nobody likes someone who always has to talk and keeps changing the subject.
I don't like people who are that way!
I like to only talk when I REALLY have something to say.
If I feel like I must talk when someone is busy with something I say, "excuse me" which really means, "can I interrupt?"
Sometimes I will be allowed to talk but sometimes I'll have to wait, and that's OK.

I do what I'm told the FIRST time.
I know that nobody should have to repeat themselves because I didn't listen the first time.
When I get stuck I can't learn and I frustrate EVERYONE!
I'm VERY proud of myself when I listen the first time and the grown-ups are proud also.

When I do something wrong and don't apologize do you know what people think?
They think I don't care about them and they think I did something wrong because I'm mean and don't respect them.
That's not true, I really do care a lot about people and that's why I always apologize after doing something wrong.
Saying "I'm sorry" shows people that I really didn't mean to hurt them and that I'm really a good person.
I also never argue when someone points out that I've done something wrong and hurt them.
They're already hurt and arguing will only make them feel worse.
Also, grown ups understand why I did what I did without me having to explain.
I want to make them feel better and that's why I apologize quickly after doing something wrong.

When a grown-up tells me to do something I better listen.
They make the rules for the grown-ups and the kids.
I have to have respect for what they say since they're older and know better than I do.
The rules they make up are for my own good.
I don't know how to make up good rules yet so I better pay attention to the grown-ups rules so I can learn.
Someday I'm going to be a grown-up but since I'm still a kid I can't make up any rules yet.
I can learn by paying attention to all the grown-ups rules.

It's pretty easy to follow all the rules and behave when there are grown-ups around who are watching me carefully.
The tough thing is behaving when the adults are busy with something else.
It's not always clear that there are rules but since I already know many of the grown-up rules, I don't have a problem behaving.
Even when the grown-ups aren't paying close attention I still know how to behave especially good.

Kids don't always let me play with them when I ask.
That doesn't bother me that much because I know there's probably a good reason -- like maybe they're in the middle of their game or something.
I can always play with them later or find someone else to play with instead.
When other kids do want to play with me I let them have their own ideas about how we'll play.
It's never right for me to take over and use only MY ideas in a game.
The games are much more interesting when ideas are shared.
More kids will want to be friends with me if I don't act like I'm in charge.

I LOVE talking to my friends!
I NEVER get too close when I'm in a conversation.
I also never LEAN on them or LAY on them or TOUCH them.
Nobody likes to have someone in their face or all over them EVER.
I have LOTS of friends because I always give them their space when I talk to them and they give me my space when they talk to me!

Kids know how to do many things.
I know because I always pay careful attention to them when they're around.
I love to imitate what other kids do especially when they're being good.
When I'm near other kids I watch them very carefully because I want to keep up with them.
If I stop paying attention they might move onto something else without me.
I don't want that to happen.
I want to keep my friends so I watch them closely when they're around.

When I walk into my class in the morning I always see kids doing stuff together in groups.
This is very interesting to me so I always walk over and ask in a nice, gentle voice if I can join them.
I don't always know how to do exactly what the others are doing so I ask HOW to do things.
I always listen carefully when the other kids tell me how to do what they're doing.
Then I join them.
Everybody wants to be my friend because I love to participate in the group.
The teachers also know that I love being a big part of the class.

Sometimes I'm very excited when I talk to someone and I say things too loud or forget to use my real voice
This is not a good thing.
Nobody wants to hear a loudmouth!
I know I would rather talk to someone who speaks gently than someone who yells. I'd also rather speak to people who use a real voice.
I always use my real voice and speak in a gentle tone so people will want to listen to me.

Notes from the program

P.N is "parent's note."

#5, 16, 17 - Used examples of [playdate] in school for #5; #16: used myself & [name]; #17: gave ex. of a boy listening to mom first time someone asked him to pick up his toys. She rewarded him and he felt proud of himself.

#4, 6, 8, 13 - He was touching his toes. Used everything from imitation to phys interv, to pointing, DROing when he stopped, Time Out warning. When I had him sit on the chair, he refused, got o/o control & pushed my hands away. Time Out from Megan. Sitting funny when he came back so Jim tempted him w/a trip to [preferred store name] and he got under control. DRO and finished drill nicely.

Sitting poor at beg. Used observational learning & got it under control. #7, 17 - 19. Accepted prompts beautifully. Used stories reflecting both his & anther person's perspective. DRO'd quiet sitting & eye contact. which responded to non- phys interv & observ learning.

#9, 2, 16 - Some initial squirming on chair that responded to control statements & list to grown-up. Talked about social stories in relation to school experience today. Interested & responded well. DRO.

#7,6,5,4,13,9 - He did really well. We switched roles for a while & he pretended to be the teacher. He sat still & had great e.c. DRO'd.

P.N. - Please do #s that haven't been covered like [#s listed here]. These cane be presented in a positive or negative way (remember... all different perspectives). Please try to keep the repetitions even.

#2,4,3,10,11,8 - Did some as himself, then he was [other therapist--not the one doing the drill] and I was him. Did lots of ?s, social stories. He loved it. When sitting poorly I said "[other therapist] doesn't sit like THAT." He was very careful to remember good behavior. DRO'd him for good job. I did lots of weird things and he told me to stop AND why.

#1,10,13 - I started off with a Time Out story to make him aware of his nonsense, babbling, etc. Talked about why adults give time outs to little kids because they don't listen, etc. ... #10 - Not listening: Story about me when I was 5. Didn't listen to teacher announcing a party in school. Missed out on important time because I didn't look at teacher - Perspective taking. #13 - Told story about me stepping on nail because I wasn't looking. He wavered w/attention back & forth. Did a lot of control statements. He was also fidgeting. DRO'd any good behaviors.

P.N. - Nobody's done [#s listed]. When you're all telling your stories, are you hitting the bullet points from both your perspective and his? Also you must hit all bullet points in each story. Notes please.

We talked about stuff from all perspectives. He did well (lots of hand and foot stuff -- gesturing and pointing worked). Then, on break while I was writing notes, he made noises. Had to go back to work when he worked well. He got to go on a break and we played mummy (this time I was the mummy).

#12,15,4 - From various perspectives. Trouble sitting in chair (gesturing and pt did not work - but phys interv did). DRO'd quiet sitting & getting into control. Prompted self-pride statements.

#2,4,5,14 - Nat. Reinforcer - Playing Chutes & Ladders. Lots of hand stuff but constant gesturing worked. He was out of control. Talk of Chutes & Ladders stopped this. He was very reluctant to accept prompts.

#10,11,19 - Got my dose of Time Out with him. He wasn't listening & did hand stuff. Soc Stories were really good. He listened to them and I let him tell his own story as a reinforcer. I think he's beginning to memorize them.

#16,1,5,9 - Social stories using events of the school day. He was interested. Needed some prompting for sitting (a bowel movement was imminent), but overall did a great job.

#2,5,9,11,13,15 - He was grimacing & tensing body. Needed Time Out Took chair away. Talked about what he learned from Time Out - that & promise of Pepsi got him under control. He started the drill on a bad note, then ended on great one. DRO for doing well. Got to play w/dolls but kept talking to himself so he got called back to work.

P.N. - Perfect. Thanks for doing so many!

Jim and I did stories #1-11. We read them to him & when he was sitting very quietly, he got to read one. He tried occasionally to repeat lines I was saying. By end of this he would stop himself from repeating with only a gesture. Heavily DRO'd this.

P.N. - There are now THREE sets of stories. Next do #12 to 19 on Version #1.

Set #1 - Stories #12-19. Still had to work on sitting still & remind him to not repeat. Observ learning - when he was reading to me, I made noises with my hands and he went back to reading story on interrupting to me (really cute -- he has the idea). DRO'd quiet sitting. Perspective taking.

P.N. - Please do set 2, #1 - #10.

Did Set 2, #1-10 and 15. He got to read 15 to me as a natural reinforcer. He sat well with great hands & e.c. DRO'd for this.

P.N. - Please do set 2, #11 - 14 and #16 - 19.

Did #11-14 and 16-19. He had a few Time Outs for not listening. They were long and we went over them while reading stories. He interrupted a few times. Jim had him read the interrupting story and answered lots of ?s about it. Snapped back into shape towards the end.

Set 3 - #1-10. 10: he read to me. Beautiful sitting. Constant DRO for good hands/no faces & feet when they were still. Great job. EC [eye contact] not great, but also DRO'd when possible.

P.N. - Please do set 3 - #11-19.

Set 3 - #11-19. Read stories. Had to stop a couple of times because he interrupted. Used one story as natural reinforcer for him to read when good. Sitting was terrible. He sat sideways and look was also off. He concentrated on books so I stopped reading and said "where's [his name]?"

P.N. - Please do set 2 - #1-10 (in random order).

Set 2 - #1-10 (random). Needed gesture prompts to keep hands & feet quiet but when he was able to sit quietly through 2 stories, he got to read me one. Overall nice job - DRO (-: [the smiley face was right-side up with a circle around it].

P.N. - Pls. do set 2, #11-19.

Allowed him to read "rules" and "predicting" because he was so great while I read to him. Needed gesture prompts, first for hands, then for feed, but got under control later. DRO.

P.N. - Pls. do set 1, #15-24 (random order).

Lots of hand/feet stuff. This responded to gestures, but facial expressions did not respond to gestures, phys interv. Got a Time Out for making interrupting noises when I was scripting about facial stuff, then did story #24. Got in beautiful control at end. Got break but didn't get chance to read because he wasn't in control (prompted a conversation about this).

P.N. - [name of therapist]: pls. do set 2, #1-5 and #21-24 (random). P.N. - [name of therapist]: pls. do set 3, #6-10 and #21-24 (random).

So zoney - tried task - didn't work well. Only for a second. He was talking while I was talking. Blowing cheeks out w/air and said it was because he was thirsty. Labeled it an "excuse".

Set 3, #6-10 & #21-24. He was great. Sat beautifully & paid great attn. Nice job w/answering questions I THREW OUT AT HIM. He got a natural reinforcer (read a story) for being great.

P.N. - Pls. do set 1, #1-12 (random).

Did 1, #1-12. Started out nicely but had to do Time Out because he didn't pay attn. It was a long one because he tried to make me open my eyes. He finally gained control and we went over Time Out He understood why he had the Time Out and why it was so long. I made him listen to the "calling out" story 3x so that he can show me he could listen. He gained nice control towards end. DRO'd good sitting. Hand stuff was problem in the beginning.

P.N. - [therapist name], please do set 1, #13-24 (random).

He did really well -- I was very pleased w/his affect and response. He drank all his milk during this drill. Huge reinforcement. As soon as he finished we went on to "let's play" [drill] as a natural reinforcer (go back to this drill later). He wanted me to tell him a story about a little boy who couldn't control himself. He said "make sure after each Q&A you go back to what he did wrong" bizarrely with the exact words and in the same tone I've said it so many times. I labeled that as "repeating". DRO'd for everything else.

P.N. - [therapist name], please do set 2, #13-24.

Social stories rel to school stuff. Needed prompts not to saliva swish & make faces. DRO'd quiet face. Worked on foot stuff.

Set 2, #13-24. Really nice job. He sat beautifully & I reviewed stories by asking questions in reverse & by giving him personal examples. He did a little of the mouth stuff but stopped as soon as we did "weird" story. DRO'd this because I didn't have to point it out and he said it himself.

P.N. - Pls. do set 3, #1-12.

Did above. He had some trouble sitting still. Was rocking sideways and doing weird hand things. I scripted good behaviors, had [playdate] point things out to him too. He finally sat better and paid attn. when I threatened a Time Out (and "[playdate] leaving"). Was good a few more minutes but ultimately results with another Time Out and Jim intervening.

P.N. - Please do Set 3, #13-24 (random).

Did set 3, 13-24. He needed multiple reminders about hands & paying attn. Seemed very distracted by others. DRO'd any opportunity. I had when I saw good behaviors. Used reading story to me as natural reinforcer.

P.N. - Please do Set 1, all EVEN #s in random order (2,4,6...to 24).

Set 1, even #s random: Needed prompts & stories for hand stuff but responded to non-verbal prompts. No face stuff. DRO. At 1st he requested story that he wanted to read. I used prediction story & surprise and didn't let him read it. Later on when he was behaving well and didn't ask for specific story, I gave it to him and reminded him that when he doesn't guess, good things happen.

P.N. - Pls. do set #1. All odd #s in random order (1,3,5...23)

Did set 1 all odd random. DRO'd no face stuff. Hands were pretty good. Sometimes seemed glassy & not paying attn when I read. I'd ask him what that was about and he'd guess. I then turned around & pretended to read to other people. He promised he'd pay attn and he did. Answered ?s and spontaneously told me what story I was on. DRO'd attn & listening first time. Got to read a story as natural reinforcer.

P.N. - Pls. do set 2, even #s in random order (#2,4,6....24).

Said he wanted to read "tuning into people" because he always reads that one.

P.N. - Watch for this. Be careful not to announce names.

Talked about rules, making noises & stretching. Talked about doing weird things. Heavily reinforced appropriate behavior. Prompted about making noises. Said he wasn't. Ignored. He touched my face and I left. This happened 2x during this drill, 2nd time while I was explaining why it happened. Got into control then for a nice period of time and gave him natural reinforcer (story) at end.

Did set 2, odd #s random. Really difficult at beg. Making faces and not looking. Tilting head. Heavily DRO'd any control he showed. Tried to engage me in argument about excuse he was making. I immediately put my head down. He grabbed my head to try to make me look at him. I left room. He started to scream but then calmed down & was able to sit quietly for duration of Time Out & think about what he did. DRO. Remainder of stories went well (w/heavy DRO for control & no faces). ALMOST....he lost it again in the end, so he couldn't get natural reinforcer. Got huge Time Out for hitting w/screaming.

P.N. - Pls. do set 3, #1-12 (random).

Did 3, 1-12 (random). Not too bad. A little zoney but I managed to sustain his attn. i.e., started reading in very low voice & he said I can't hear you. Asked ?s in various forms. If he didn't answer because of not listening, I simply told him "forget it" and "I'm skipping this since you're not interested in what I have to say." This got him to pay attn again. Heavily DRO'd very good sitting & tried not to attract any attn to bad behaviors. Let him read one story because he answered & listened to stories.

P.N. - GREAT!

P.N. - Pls. do set 3, #13-24 (random).

Did 13-16 because Megan said to do just four. Did great job w/most except for looking -- gesture prompt took care of that. DRO'd for no noises/faces.

P.N. - Pls. do 17-20 (pick from different sets, random order).

Set 3, #17-20; set 2, #20. Very good job. Sat nicely. This went quickly. He asked me "why didn't you ask me what stories you read?" I said "Well I saw you were listening so I didn't need to ask you any ?s" He smiled & named all the stories I read to him. Told him the "names" weren't important. DRO'd listening. He was very proud -- I scripted this for him.

P.N. - Please do #20-24 (from different sets, random order).

Set 2 - #20, 3 - #23, #22, 1 - #21. He kept asking to read story. I told him he has to listen 1st time & sit quietly to read. Finally he got into control & got to read "pacing". Gesture prompts worked for hand & face stuff. DRO'd absence of these behaviors. Still hands & face.

P.N. - Pls. pick any four (4) from any set!

Set 2 - #8, 3 - #2, 1 - #1 & #10. Had him stand up while I read stories. DRO'd standing still. Needed reminder not to touch hands & to look while I'm talking. Overall not too bad considering all the Time Outs he had earlier.

P.N. - Pls. pick any four (4) except 8, 2, 1 & 10, from any set!

Set 3 - #3 & 5, 2 - #11 & 14. Practiced standing still. Lots of leaning. This stopped with mention of natural reinforcer for good behavior. I'd pop out the seven dwarfs in book for him. This worked. He got to read story for standing. One face -- gesture prompt took care of it and then DRO. Tried to climb under my knee. I just said his name & he stopped. DRO for listening 1st time.

P.N. - Pls. do random sets #4,6,7,12.

Nat reinforcer - Pepsi & reading story to me. Did standing. Interrupted me 2x. Didn't get natural reinforcer until he didn't interrupt & stood nicely in one place. Then got natural reinforcers. Listened to last story perfectly!

Set 2 - #18, 1 - #5, 3 - #17. Heavy, heavy DRO for beautiful sitting, paying attn & eye contact. DRO'd no weird mouth stuff. He got to read two stories because he was so good. Nice job.

P.N. - Pls. pick four (4) that haven't been done this week.

9, 15, 20, 24 various sets. He did great. Stood perfectly. Heavy DRO. Everything wonderful: e.c., attn. Got to read story of his choice.

P.N. - Pls. ask a ? or two after each story to probe comprehension (don't grill him though). Notes please!

P.N. - Pls. do 1-4, 6-18, 12 & 13.

Did pretty well. Able to answer most ?s except for last two stories (12 & 13). He was trying to read them through the back of the paper. DRO'd when he didn't do this & did look nicely and sat well. Talked about natural reinforcer - reading story himself. Didn't get opportunity because of behavior at end.

2-11, 2-15, 3-16, 1-20. Nice job. Lots of DRO for e.c. Presented two choices of reinforcer in the beg. Worked nicely. Only weird thing he keeps doing is trying to read back of pg. when you read to him. Questioning comprehension was very good. He was really w/it. DRO'd rapidity of answers too!

P.N. - Please do 1,14,7,12,13,14,17,19,20 (random).

Excellent job. Sat beautifully. Listened and answered ?s immediately. Lots of DRO for great behaviors. He got to read "grownups" story for good listening.

P.N. - Please do 1,4,7,12,13 (& 3 others, random).

1,4,7,12,13,10,11,6 - Not great. He was looking at back of sheet again trying to read words as I said story. I heavily DRO'd e.c. & paying attn & answered quickly & correctly -- this was ok, but at end he threw fit (crying & crawling on me) when I started to read "grownups" story. Said that only HE reads that story. I told him neutrally that I'm not going to argue w/him & he needs to sit down & get in control. He yelled "stop!" and "no!" as I spoke & tried to grab stories from me, but after about three min calmed down & went to his seat. I read story & DRO'd getting in control. He didn't get to read a story this time.

P.N. - Vary sets & order 1,4,7,12,13 (& 3 others not done this wk).

Did above plus 8,18,20. Rigid at 1st about how his toy was positioned. Took a long time to come back to chair. Neutrally told him I have to put it away. He stopped. DRO'd flexibility. Let me read all of stories w/o looking at back of paper or arguing. DRO'd both. Sat beautifully. Got to read stories. Nat reinforcer when finished.

2, 14-17, 19. Random order & sets. Decided in beg that he'd get to read grownup story if he listened the first time, answered ?s & was attentive. He didn't get to do it because he couldn't answer ?s Did "daydreaming" incidentally to sort of remind him about listening. DRO'd good sitting & e.c. when he gave it. Also watched for his reading bulk of stories. DRO'd as soon as he gave me good e.c. This was hard for him. I redirected a lot of this "back reading" by putting the paper down & completely improvising or saying some stories from memory. I picked up again when e.c. was good. DRO'd this heavily. Better by the time we were finished.

P.N. - Pls. do 3,5,9,21,22 (plus 3 others, random sets & order).

8,18,2 and all of the above. Lots of DRO for not reading back of stories. Challenged him not to do it. He liked this and lived up to his side of bargain. There were lots of S behaviors w/his mouth - lip biting, some grimacing, lots of yawning & stretching too. I physically intervened while reading stories (stretching - neutrally lowered his hands). DRO'd when these behaviors decreased in any degree.

P.N. - Pls. do any 8, random sets & order.

3,5,9,11,14,16,19,21 (random order/sets). He was great. Lots of DRO. Only tried to look at paper 1x. No faces, great e.c. & sitting. Asked me to read "grownups are NOT different from kids". Funny.

P.N. - Pls. do any 7, random sets & order.

He sat quietly. No weird things, except a little glassy-eyed, but this didn't interfere w/answering ?s to stories. Did 1,4,7,9,11,15 16,20. He got to read 1 story as natural reinforcer. Interrupted about 2x while I read but then stopped midway and let me finish up. DRO'd this after I was finished. Also DRO'd great sitting & paying attn.

2,3,6,12,13,17,18. Sitting was good. Some shirt-twirling that didn't interfere or escalate so I let it go. He answered ?s well. Asked to read "daydreaming" story but I gave him "I must talk" instead and he was ok with that. DRO'd lack of rigidity. At the end DRO'd sitting quietly, paying attn., etc. Stressed being polite & listening to grownups as alternative to being rude in answered ?s. Prompted self-pride at end by asking ?s.

P.N. - Pls. do 8, random set & order.

3,5,7,1,15,20,22,12 [by this time, one of these was always circled denoting the one HE got to read, sometimes w/his name next to it]. Beautiful sitting. No weird stuff. There was a little daydreaming so I did that story. He "woke up" and I reinforcer this later. Answered ?s nicely. DRO'd attn & e.c. Got to do #12 as a natural reinforcer. Nice job.

20,21,22,8,10,14,19,5, random set & order. Great job. Talked about being quietly in beg & why he did well at end because he was being quiet. Got to read one -- he knows what number EVERY story is.

4,7,8 [- name], 10,11,19,5 - Bookeneded not interrupting. Did a great job. Sat quietly during stories. Lots of DRO. Answered. ?s well.

P.N. - The order of the stories are now changed.

3,13,15,14,22,19. Pretty zoney. I tried to be very animated & upbeat. Asked ?s about the stories & tried to relate them all to his experience at [location] today. When I talked about this he seemed to wake up more. DRO'd his answering & sitting nicely.

P.N. - [therapist name:] pls. do set 1, 8-12. Any set 11 & 19 and 4 more, random sets & order.

(1) 8 & 12, 11, 19, 2, 5, 7 [-name], 14. With [brother] in room. He was sorta zoney. Looking at things on floor & playing w/sock. Gesture prompts worked for things that interrupted w/listening. DRO'd paying good attn.

P.N. - [therapist name:] please do set 2, #8 & 12; any set #11 & 19 and four more, random sets & order.

2,8,12,11,19,24,21. Brother was in rm. Did #8 - came back later to finish when brother was out so he can pay better attn. Did #12 twice and he didn't pay attn. Totally daydreaming so I did "daydreaming". Did others throughout session because he was so rigid when I had stopped initially. Better later on in session. DRO'd flexibility.

P.N. - Pls. avoid doing this when [brother] is in the room and NEVER do this as your opening drill in a session.

P.N. - [therapist name:], please do #2, 14 and four more.

All random - set 1 - #2,14,7,9,15,10. Totally zoney w/this drill. Brother was in room but that wasn't the problem. I had him stand up while I did some. This improved his attn slightly but not enough. Tried to break it up w/other things like categories & answering quickly for attn.

P.N. - Please do 2 and 14 and four more.

2,5,8,11,12,14 - Random order & sets. Eye contact was very down in beg and was impairing his performance as he couldn't answered ?s (I used no equiv. during answered to ?s and occasionally during stories because poor e.c. WAS IMPACTING ON PERF.) Heavily DRO'd improved e.c. He didn't get chance to read a story because his attn was not good enough.

P.N. - Please continue targeting eye contact whether or NOT it impacts performance! This is something to key into AFTER the Discriminative Stimulus is delivered in ALL VERBAL DRILLS. DO NOT USE "no equivalents" DURING stories...Treat the stories as if the entire story was an Discriminative Stimulus. We're not targeting e.c. DURING the story yet -- still need to work on processing the information. Remember this is SHAPING. Instead, read the story, ask the Q and if he zones give a "no equivalent" like "uh uh; pay attention and you'll get it" and go back to Discriminative Stimulus. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should a NO be delivered for eye contact during the Discriminative Stimulus (story).

P.N. (continued):

SOCIAL STORY + ???? = Discriminative Stimulus (Don't require e.c. - reinforcer (Processing) if you get it though!) (Response)

3,4,6 [name], 13,16,17 - random order/sets. Did not require e.c. during story & question (Discriminative Stimulus), but dro'd it & put it in DRO for correct answered w/self pride - e.g., "I'll bet you gave me such a beautiful answer because you looked at me and listened carefully." He used concept of paying attn carefully here. Lots of DRO. Some squirming in chair but great attn & e.c. Answered ?s beautifully. P.N. - Perfect!!!!

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