Holiday Deployment

As we enter into the "Holiday Season," some of us are facing dealing with a deployed loved one. This can be a hard time for our families. It can be especially difficult for families who children that may not understand why their mommy or daddy can't come home for the holidays. This social story was created to help children understand deployment during the holidays. 

Thanks for all you do as a military family & Happy Holidays!! 

Click here to download the Holiday Social Story

Dealing with deployment and a child who has special needs

If you are a military family, you know that the possibility of a deployment is always there. This is always a tough thought! It may be even more difficult trying to explain this to a child, especially if they have special needs. Below are two different versions of social stories to help explain what a deployment is and how to deal with it. There are both a booklet version and a one page version of these stories. These options are available so you can choose which option you think will be best for your families. It is my sincerest hope that they will be of help to your families as you deal with going through a deployment. Please note that there are also book versions of these social stories available for you to download if you think they will better serve your kiddo. Please scroll to the bottom of the page for these versions. I wish your family a smooth deployment and safe return!!

Click here to download "Dad" version

Click here to download "Mom" version

Book Version- Dad

Book Version-Mom

OPSEC & PERSEC Social Story

For those of you who are familiar with military life, you know we have acronyms for everything! You are probably very familiar and aware of OPSEC (Operation Security) and PERSEC (Personal Security) with all of the scary things going on in our world right now. Although we may be aware, our children may not understand the importance of this. Included in this resource are two different social stories that can help your child have a better understanding of this. The first social story targets OPSEC and the second focuses on PERSEC. It is my hope that these two resources will help your child have a better understanding of how important these things are in both civilian life and military life.

Click here to download these stories!

 © 2014 SymbolStix LLC.

 © 2014 SymbolStix LLC.

 © 2014 SymbolStix LLC.

 © 2014 SymbolStix LLC.

Back to School Resources

Hello all!

As we go through another season, the end of summer is fast approaching. With that in mind, it is time to start thinking about going back to school. The blog resources that have been created for you  most recently are intended to help both you and your families transition back into "school life." Included in the resources for this time period are a couple of different items to help you and your family with the transition. There are two versions of "Back to School" social stories. The second version is intended for our kiddos who do best with less verbal information. You will find the same for "Things I Need to Know." This resource were created to help your child put structure into thinking about getting ready to go back to school. The last resource you will find is a social story reminding students about how to ride the bus appropriately. As we head into another school year, we wish you a happy & healthy transition and 2014-2015 year!

Click here to download & print this month's resources:

                                                 Back to School Resources

Time to go back to school!! 

(version 1)

I am on summer break, it has been fun.

When I am on summer break, I don’t have to go to school.

When I am summer break, I get to do a lot of fun stuff with my family and friends.

But, it is almost time to go back to school. Summer break is almost finished.

When summer break is finished, it will be time to start a new school year.

When summer break is over, I will go back to school.

When I go back to school, I will meet my teacher and learn a lot of great stuff.  

When I go back to school, I will say hello to my school friends.  

When I go back to school, the bus will pick me up in the morning and take me to school.

When I go back to school, the bus will take me home in the afternoon.

When I go back to school, I will make good choices.

When I go back to school, I will follow the school rules.

When I go back to school, I will eat lunch at school with my teachers and friends.

Going back to school is fun!

I will make good choices and have fun at school!!

Summer break is almost finished. 

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Riding the bus!!

It’s time to go back to school.

When I go to school, I will ride the school bus.

When I ride the bus, I will follow the bus rules.

I will follow the bus rules to stay safe.

I will sit in my seat. 

I will make good choices.

I will stay in my seat.

I will sit quietly in my seat. 

The bus will pick me up at home in the morning and take me to school.

The bus will pick me up at school in the afternoon and take me home.

It’s time to go back to school.

I will ride the bus to and from school.

It will be fun!

--------------------------------------------

Let’s get ready to go back to school!! (version 1) 

Things I need to know

·        School starts on: _____________________________________ (date)

·        My teacher is: ______________________________________

o   The other helpers in my classroom will be:

§  _______________________________________________

§  _______________________________________________

·        I will have to wake up at: _____________________________ A.M.

·        My school friends will be:

o   ___________________________           _________________________

o   ___________________________           _________________________

o   ___________________________           _________________________

o   ___________________________           _________________________

o   ___________________________           _________________________

·        My bus number is: #___________________

·        My bus driver is: ____________________________________________

·        My classroom number is: Room #___________________

·        I will go to school at ____________________ A.M. 

·        I will go home at ____________________________ P.M.

·        I have to go to bed at _______________ _________P.M. 

Emergencies Social Story & more!

Below is a social story to help children understand what an emergency is. It is also intended to help your family be prepared in case of an emergency and what might happen during an emergency.

Link to: Emergency Social Story & what to expect---

Transitions into Adulthood- Part 3, Independent Living

As we move further into the discussion about helping our young adults transition into the real world, let's next address the area of Independent Living. Independent Living skills are the the tools that are going to be able to let our kiddos learn to live by themselves, or to live as independently as possible. There are many different activities that you can do to help your child learn and maintain these types of skills. Here are some ideas for you to try:

• Take your child into the community as frequently as possible. There are many important life skills to be learned while in the community. 
• Teach your child how to find the appropriate bathroom independently
• Work on letting your child figure out what they want to eat, think about letting them order independently
• It is SO important to also bring and use any type of augmentative communication device they may be using. The more they use this in a variety of settings and with a variety of instructors, the more likely they will be to generalize and really solidify these skills. 
• Point out and discuss common survival sight signs, especially signs that will help your child be safe. 
• Look for signs that are common in the community and discuss them, maybe even practice using them
• Some examples are: Exit, Slippery When Wet, Please Seat Yourself, etc. There are 100's of signs so the earlier and more exposure to them the better.
• Have your child pick out recipes they are interested in cooking. Once they do this, have them create a shopping list from this recipe. Next, take them to the grocery store to find all of the items on their shopping list. Help them follow the recipe, step-by-step to see the entire process. 
• Break down recipes so they are listed in sequential steps that make it easier for children to follow
• Create a cookbook with appropriate sections (i.e.-breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, etc.) 
• Once your child completes a recipe have them add it to their cookbook for future reference
• Let your child earn an allowance for completing chores at home. Take them to deposit their money in their accounts every couple of weeks. 
• Help them get a debit card connected to this account that they can use when they are out in the community. 
• Let them use this card if they go on Community Based Instructional Outings in school. 
• Keep the receipts and have them keep track of their money. Here is an example of a modified register they can use to keep track of their money. 



Click here to download & print

• Let your child pick different activities in the community they would like to participate in like going to the movies, which restaurants to eat at, stores they want to shop in. 
• Let them pick out the clothes they are interested in
• Create a size chart they can keep in their wallet to reference when picking out the clothes they want. Here is an example: 

  

  Click here to download & print

• Discuss and explore different options for transportation in your community. Take some time to help your child learn how to use these different types of transportation. 
• Practice reading the schedules, buying tickets and appropriate behavior on the transportation 

While there are many different types of activities you can do to help your child transition into adulthood, these tips are intended to help you help your child with their independent living skills. It is my sincere desire that some of these activities and tips will help you and your family during this process! Best wishes!

Helping Children with Special Needs through Deployment