This is a selection of notes from over two years of behavioral intervention sessions with a young child who ultimately recovered completely from autism. It includes 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: 

Proper reinforcement is the key to learning. Much more common in these notes is DRO, which stands for "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 spontenaity. 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.

See also: Sumlin Program Notes and Teach Me to Play and a personal statement on overcoming autism 

Italiano: Jim e Megan Sumlin - Storie sociali

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Everything after this point was written by Megan and Jim Sumlin. 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 b/c 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 beg of some of the series were for check off/initialing by therapists (so we could keep track that they're 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.

Here is an abbreviated version of the graph we used throughout the programs to keep track of how many times each story had been taught:

  Week 4/17 Week 4/24 Week 5/1 … (etc.)
1. Time out                                                                    
2. No answer from others                                                                    
3. Asking questions you know the answer to                                                                    
4. Other's property                                                                    
… up to 24.                                                                    

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, 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 & 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 &/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.

Social Sentences

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

2. NO ANSWER FROM OTHERS - Sometimes people don't answer when you talk to them

3. ASKING ?s YOU KNOW THE ANSWER TO - It's not good to ask questions that I know the answer to.

4. TOUCHING OTHER'S PROPERTY - I should not touch other people's things.

5. CIRCLE TIME - In circle time I listen to the teacher.

6. LEAVING ACTIVITY - I talk to the kids that I'm playing with.

7. TUNING IN TO PEOPLE - I only think about what people are saying or doing.

8. PREDICTING - I should not try to guess what's going to happen later

9. CALLING OUT - Whenever I want to talk to someone, I need to walk over & speak to them.

10. NOT LISTENING - It's important to look at people and stop what I'm doing when they have something to tell me.

11. RULES - I'm not allowed to make up rules.

12. LEAVING OBJECTS WHEN GROWN-UP CALLS - When a grown-up calls me I need to immediately stop what I'm doing and go to them.

13. STEPPING ON THINGS - When I'm walking someplace I need to look everywhere in front of me.

14. INTERRUPTING - I can't interrupt when others are having a conversation or are busy with something.

15. PERSONAL SPACE - When I talk to people I need to give them their space and stay away from their faces.

16. WALKING FROM CONVERSATION - I never turn away from anyone when I'm in a conversation.

17. LISTENING THE FIRST TIME - It's important to listen to grown-ups the first time.

18. TASK LAZINESS / DOING BEST - It's important to do my best in everything I do.

19. I MUST TALK - Sometimes I want to say things very badly, it feels like I have to say it right that second.

How social stories work

Each story consists of three sections:

1. 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)]

2. BULLET POINTS

[Our original stories were titles w/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.

3. Always end with a CONFIDENCE STATEMENT ("I can do it.", etc.)

These stories give a rationale for "why" you do things in certain situations.

These stories also work hand in hand with perspective taking.

EXPANDED EXPLANATIONS OF BULLET POINTS

1. After reading the OPENING STATEMENT (as close to verbatim as possible), 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.

3. Other themes can bleed across boundaries ("getting stuck" fits in many places).

***ALWAYS CLOSE WITH A CONFIDENCE STATEMENT

TO GET A COMPLETE PICTURE OF THE VARIATIONS ON DELIVERING THE BULLET POINTS, CHECK OUT THE VIDEO WHERE WE WORK "LISTENING TO A GROWN UP THE FIRST TIME" TO DEATH THROUGHOUT THE TAPE. [this was probably a videotape from a follow-up workshop w/our consultant]

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., SD: "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., SD "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

1. NO ANSWER FROM OTHERS

2. WAITING MY TURN

3. NOT LISTENING

4. TOUCHING OTHER PEOPLE OR THEIR THINGS

5. LEAVING ACTIVITY

6. TIME-OUTS

7. STANDING AND SITTING STILL

8. BELL RINGS

9. MY HANDS

10. TASK LAZINESS / DOING MY BEST

11. RULES

12. EARNING STARS

13. WEIRD THINGS

14. I MUST TALK

15. CALLING OUT

16. LISTENING THE FIRST TIME

17. LOOKING WHERE I'M GOING

18. PACING

19. GROWN UPS ARE DIFFERENT FROM KIDS

20. WALKING FROM CONVERSATION

21. DAYDREAMING

22. CIRCLE TIME

23. ANSWERING THE FIRST TIME

24. DOING THINGS QUICKLY

Set Original B

1. TIME-OUTS

2. NO ANSWER FROM OTHERS

3. ASKING ?s YOU KNOW THE ANSWER TO

4. TOUCHING OTHER'S PROPERTY

5. CIRCLE TIME

6. LEAVING ACTIVITY

7. TUNING IN TO PEOPLE

8. PREDICTING

9. CALLING OUT

10. NOT LISTENING

11. RULES

12. LEAVING OBJECTS WHEN A GROWN-UP CALLS

13. STEPPING ON THINGS

14. INTERRUPTING

15. PERSONAL SPACE

16. WALKING AWAY FROM CONVERSATION

17. LISTENING THE FIRST TIME

18. TASK LAZINESS / DOING BEST

19. I MUST TALK

20. ANSWERING THE FIRST TIME

21. PACING

22. WEIRD THINGS

23. WAITING YOUR TURN

24. MY HANDS

Set Original C

1. TIME-OUT

2. NO ANSWER FROM OTHERS

3. ASKING ?s YOU KNOW THE ANSWER TO

4. TOUCHING OTHER'S PROPERTY

5. CIRCLE TIME

6. LEAVING ACTIVITY

7. TUNING IN TO PEOPLE

8. PREDICTING

9. CALLING OUT

10. NOT LISTENING

11. RULES

12. LEAVING OBJECTS WHEN GROWN-UP CALLS

13. STEPPING ON THINGS

14. INTERRUPTING

15. PERSONAL SPACE

16. WALKING AWAY FROM CONVERSATION

17. LISTENING THE FIRST TIME

18. TASK LAZINESS / DOING BEST

19. I MUST TALK

20. ANSWERING THE FIRST TIME

21. PACING

22. WEIRD THINGS

23. WAITING YOUR TURN

24. MY HANDS

Set 1 A

1. NO ANSWER FROM OTHERS

2. WAITING MY TURN

3. NOT LISTENING

4. TOUCHING OTHER PEOPLE OR THEIR THINGS

5. LEAVING ACTIVITY

6. TIME-OUT

7. STANDING AND SITTING STILL

8. BELL RINGS

9. MY HANDS

10. TASK LAZINESS / DOING MY BEST

11. RULES

12. EARNING STARS

13. WEIRD THINGS

14. I MUST TALK

15. CALLING OUT

16. LISTENING THE FIRST TIME

17. LOOKING WHERE I'M GOING

18. PACING

19. GROWN-UPS ARE DIFFERENT FROM KIDS

20. WALKING AWAY FROM CONVERSATION

21. DAYDREAMING

22. CIRCLE TIME

23. ANSWERING THE FIRST TIME

24. DOING THINGS QUICKLY

Set 1 B

1. TIME-OUT

2. NO ANSWER FROM OTHERS

3. ASKING ?s YOU KNOW THE ANSWER TO

4. TOUCHING OTHER'S PROPERTY

Sometimes I notice things that belong to other people.

5. CIRCLE TIME

6. LEAVING ACTIVITY

7. TUNING IN TO PEOPLE

8. PREDICTING

9. CALLING OUT

10. NOT LISTENING

11. RULES

12. LEAVING OBJECTS WHEN GROWN-UP CALLS

13. STEPPING ON THINGS

14. INTERRUPTING

15. PERSONAL SPACE

16. WALKING AWAY FROM CONVERSATION

17. LISTENING THE FIRST TIME

18. TASK LAZINESS / DOING BEST

19. I MUST TALK

20. ANSWERING THE FIRST TIME

21. PACING

22. WEIRD THINGS

23. WAITING YOUR TURN

24. MY HANDS

Set 1 C

1. NO ANSWER FROM OTHERS

2. WAITING MY TURN

3. NOT LISTENING

4. TOUCHING OTHER PEOPLE OR THEIR THINGS

5. LEAVING ACTIVITIES

6. TIME-OUT

[Parent's note: WE DON'T LIKE USING WORD "BAD", THOUGH I SUPPOSE (with some embarrassment) WE DID USE IT HERE FOR AT LEAST A WHILE. WE LIKE TO USE "INAPPROPO BEHAV" OR "NOT GOOD" INSTEAD]

7. STANDING AND SITTING STILL

8. BELL RINGS

9. MY HANDS

10. TASK LAZINESS / DOING BEST

11. RULES

12. EARNING STARS

13. WEIRD THINGS

14. I MUST TALK

15. CALLING OUT

16. LISTENING THE FIRST TIME

17. LOOKING WHERE I'M GOING

18. PACING

19. GROWN-UPS ARE DIFFERENT FROM KIDS

20. WALKING AWAY FROM CONVERSATION

21. DAYDREAMING

22. CIRCLE TIME

23. ANSWERING THE FIRST TIME

24. DOING THINGS QUICKLY

Set 2 A

1. NO ANSWER FROM OTHERS

2. TEACHER TALKS

3. NOT LISTENING

4. LEAVING ACTIVITY

5. STANDING AND SITTING STILL

6. TASK LAZINESS / DOING MY BEST

7. RULES

8. WEIRD THINGS

9. BULLYING

10. I MUST TALK

11. LISTENING THE FIRST TIME

12. LOOKING WHERE I'M GOING

13. PACING

14. GROWN UPS ARE DIFFERENT FROM KIDS

15. WALKING FROM CONVERSATION

16. DAYDREAMING

17. ANSWERING THE FIRST TIME

18. DOING THINGS QUICKLY

Set 2 B

1. NO ANSWER FROM OTHERS

2. TEACHER TALKS

3. NOT LISTENING

4. LEAVING ACTIVITY

5. STANDING AND SITTING STILL

6. TASK LAZINESS / DOING MY BEST

7. RULES

8. WEIRD THINGS

9. BULLYING

10. I MUST TALK

11. LISTENING THE FIRST TIME

12. LOOKING WHERE I'M GOING

13. PACING

14. GROWN-UPS ARE DIFFERENT FROM KIDS

15. WALKING AWAY FROM CONVERSATION

16. DAYDREAMING

17. ANSWERING THE FIRST TIME

18. DOING THINGS QUICKLY

19. PERSONAL SPACE

Set 2 C

1. NO ANSWER FROM OTHERS

2. TEACHER TALKS

3. NOT LISTENING

4. LEAVING ACTIVITIES

5. STANDING AND SITTING STILL

6. TASK LAZINESS / DOING BEST

7. RULES

8. WEIRD THINGS

9. BULLYING

10. I MUST TALK

11. LISTENING THE FIRST TIME

12. LOOKING WHERE I'M GOING

13. PACING

14. GROWN-UPS ARE DIFFERENT FROM KIDS

15. WALKING AWAY FROM CONVERSATION

16. DAYDREAMING

17. ANSWERING THE FIRST TIME

18. DOING THINGS QUICKLY

19. PERSONAL SPACE

Set 3 A

1. FOLLOWING THE GROUP

2. TEACHER TALKS

3. NOT LISTENING

4. STANDING AND SITTING STILL

5. BULLYING

6. LISTENING THE FIRST TIME

7. LOOKING AT PEOPLE

8. ANSWERING THE FIRST TIME

9. WATCHING OTHER KIDS

10. NO HITTING - LISTENING TO TEACHERS

Set 3 B

1. FOLLOWING THE GROUP

2. TEACHER TALKS

3. NOT LISTENING

4. STANDING AND SITTING STILL

5. BULLYING

6. LISTENING THE FIRST TIME

7. LOOKING AT PEOPLE

8. ANSWERING THE FIRST TIME

9. WATCHING OTHER KIDS

10. NO HITTING - LISTENING TO TEACHERS

Set 3 C

1. FOLLOWING THE GROUP

2. TEACHER TALKS

3. NOT LISTENING

4. STANDING AND SITTING STILL

5. BULLYING

6. LISTENING THE FIRST TIME

7. LOOKING AT PEOPLE

8. ANSWERING THE FIRST TIME

9. WATCHING OTHER KIDS

10. NO HITTING - LISTENING TO TEACHERS

MASTER LIST STORIES

"Master Lists" 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

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

SOCIAL STORIES MASTER LIST B

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

SOCIAL STORIES MASTER LIST C

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

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, T.O. warning. When I had him sit on the chair, he refused, got o/o control & pushed my hands away. T.O. 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 T.O. story to make him aware of his nonsense, babbling, etc. Talked about why adults give time outs to little kids b/c 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 b/c I didn't look at teacher - Perspective taking. #13 - Told story about me stepping on nail b/c 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 T.O. 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 T.O. Took chair away. Talked about what he learned from T.O. - 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 T.O.s 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 b/c 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" b/c 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 T.O. 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 b/c 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 b/c 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 T.O. b/c he didn't pay attn. It was a long one b/c he tried to make me open my eyes. He finally gained control and we went over T.O. He understood why he had the T.O. 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 b/c 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 T.O. (and "[playdate] leaving"). Was good a few more minutes but ultimately results with another T.O. 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" b/c 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 T.O. & 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 T.O. 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 b/c 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 b/c he answered & listened to stories.

P.N. - GREAT!

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

Did 13-16 b/c 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 T.O.s 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 b/c 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 b/c 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 b/c 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 b/c 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 b/c 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 b/c poor e.c. WAS IMPACTING ON PERF.) Heavily DRO'd improved e.c. He didn't get chance to read a story b/c 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 SD is delivered in ALL VERBAL DRILLS. DO NOT USE "no equivalents" DURING stories...Treat the stories as if the entire story was an SD. 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 SD. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should a NO be delivered for eye contact during the SD (story).

P.N. (continued):

SOCIAL STORY + ???? = SD (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 (SD), 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 b/c 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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