Social stories were first developed by Carol Gray. She developed them to help children learn how and why we should act in a certain way during a social situation using relevant terms a child can understand.
My particular case study child has a speech and language impairment. My study child will communicate with his teachers and with myself when I come to observe, but he will not communicate with his peers. He will play alongside and even with them, but he will not speak any words to them.
The social story for my child will be to help him learn to communicate with his peers. There are several reasons it is important for him to learn this social skill. One is because he can learn from his peers and the conversations that they hold. Also, learning how to express his feelings through words will prevent any undesirable behavior from either him or another child. Socialization is key in young childhood and if he doesn’t socialize, he is really missing a major point in the developmental process.
Reference:
The Gray Center. (2011). Social Stories. Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://www.thegraycenter.org/social-stories
When he communicates with you, does he use like one and two word phrases? I have a child who will play with others but doesn't communicate with them very much. He constantly comes up to me during the day and says one and two words phrases but if he has a problem with a child he comes to me he wont tell the child.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. It has been proven that children learn a lot simply from peer interaction. One of those influences comes in the form of learned social interaction. It is great that you recognize and are encouraging socialization through peer contact. That will open up other doors for development in other areas from which he can learn from his peers. I think it is interesting that you observed that he does play with the other children even, but won't speak. Do the other children speak to him? Does he have siblings that encourage or even discourage him from speaking at home? These are ideas that could influence this perhaps.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Socialization is so important in young children. I hope your story will help your child open up and talk more.
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