{"id":276,"date":"2016-06-21T05:08:31","date_gmt":"2016-06-21T05:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/genesisbehaviorcenter.com\/stpeters-mo\/2016\/06\/20\/printable-social-stories-summer-activities-and-outdoor-safety\/"},"modified":"2025-03-21T09:27:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T09:27:16","slug":"printable-social-stories-summer-activities-and-outdoor-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/genesisbehaviorcenter.com\/stpeters-mo\/2016\/06\/21\/printable-social-stories-summer-activities-and-outdoor-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Printable Social Stories: Summer Activities and Outdoor Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you seen\u00a0the viral photo<\/a>\u00a0of police officer Tim Purdy helping a young adult with autism who had wandered away from school? The simple shot is worth a thousand words, as Officer Purdy sits down in a parking lot next to the young man. His posture bespeaks kindness, and his patience helped to de-escalate a potentially dangerous situation. Lindsay Naeder, the autism response team director at Autism Speaks, spoke about the incident, saying, \u201cThere was a lot of empathy and trying to meet [the young man with autism] where he was at \u2026. A challenge for our community can be communicating and dealing with social interactions.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This recent story illustrates the important connection between social communication and safety. Since individuals with autism often struggle to make their feelings and needs known, emergency situations can prove particularly fraught. Through social stories, you can help prevent wandering and emergency situations while preparing yourself and your community for any potential conflict and confusion.<\/p>\n

Why are\u00a0social stories<\/a>\u00a0useful tools to help illustrate safety? The use of pictures with explanatory text has been found to be useful when explaining common social situations to children with autism. We discuss them in our post\u00a0Printable social stories and visual schedules for students with autism<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Summer Activities and Outdoor Safety<\/h3>\n

Are you feeling nervous or stressed out about the summer ahead? Never fear–we\u2019ve compiled a list of free downloadable social stories to help you and your family navigate the next few months. With these materials in hand, you can stress less and enjoy the season:<\/p>\n

\"sunshine-sm.png\"\u00a0The\u00a0Kansas Technical Assistance Network (TASN)\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0Autism and Tertiary Behavior Supports Resource Center is a treasure trove of free social stories for summer activities such as\u00a0bike safety<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0miniature golf<\/a>. On the safety side, explore the\u00a0stay with your family<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0If-Then safety<\/a>\u00a0social stories.<\/p>\n

\"sunshine-sm.png\"\u00a0Positively Autism<\/strong>\u00a0is a great place to find free social stories. This summer, you won\u2019t want to miss the\u00a0Swimming Pool Safety<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Fourth of July<\/a>\u00a0social stories. The\u00a0Ouch Cards<\/a>\u00a0can also help your child to communicate the location of an injury or insect bite. Finally, the\u00a0Waiting While Riding in the Car<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Share the Road and Shoe Box Games<\/a>\u00a0kits will help make road trips more fun.<\/p>\n

\"sunshine-sm.png\"\u00a0The\u00a0Monarch Center for Autism’s<\/strong>\u00a0extensive collection of\u00a0free visual supports<\/a>\u00a0includes a\u00a0daily summer schedule<\/a>\u00a0checklist and a topic display board to\u00a0request summer activities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Social stories include instruction on\u00a0summer-fun safety<\/a>\u00a0tasks such as putting on sunscreen, drinking water, and wearing a bike helmet. Finally, there\u2019s also a detailed visual schedule and checklist for\u00a0attending a sports game<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"sunshine-sm.png\"\u00a0Autism Speaks<\/strong>\u00a0offers a free customizable\u00a0social story to prevent wandering<\/a>, a comprehensive\u00a0wandering prevention<\/a>\u00a0resource guide, and a resource library of\u00a0Visual Tools<\/a>\u00a0with links to recommended online social story creators.<\/p>\n

\"sunshine-sm.png\"\u00a0The National Autism Association’s AWAARE Collaboration<\/strong>\u00a0site contains a wealth of\u00a0safety materials<\/a>\u00a0designed to prevent wandering-related incidents.<\/p>\n

\"sunshine-sm.png\"\u00a0Looking for social stories for different scenarios?\u00a0FirstPath Autism<\/strong>also offers free compilations of printable social stories for\u00a0birthday parties<\/a>,\u00a0emergency situations<\/a>, and\u00a0visiting family during the holidays<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Assistive Communication Tools Promote Independence<\/h3>\n

The social stories linked above can help you and your family to have a safe, fun, and memorable summer. At the same time, they can empower your child with autism to communicate effectively and develop a greater sense of personal independence.<\/p>\n

Too often, people assume that an inability to communicate verbally indicates a lack of intelligence. But that\u2019s simply not true. When individuals with autism have the tools and supports they need to make their voices heard, what they have to say is astonishing.<\/p>\n

Gordy Baylinson, a nonspeaking teenager on the autism spectrum, recently composed\u00a0an insightful letter to a police officer<\/a>\u00a0about how to treat individuals with autism. Using his assistive communication device, Baylinson wrote,<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brain, which is much like yours, knows what it wants and how to make that clear. My body, which is much like a drunken, almost six foot toddler, resists.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Baylinson\u2019s communication device helps him begin to bridge the gap between his mind and body, and this summer, social stories could help your child to do the same.<\/p>\n

Did you find this post helpful? If so, please share it with your network and help others be prepared for a safe and fun summer!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you seen\u00a0the viral photo\u00a0of police officer Tim Purdy helping a young adult with autism who had wandered away from school? The simple shot is worth a thousand words, as Officer Purdy sits down in a parking lot next to the young man. His posture bespeaks kindness, and his patience helped to de-escalate a potentially […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[27,28],"class_list":["post-276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-stories","tag-social","tag-summer"],"yoast_head":"\nPrintable Social Stories: Summer Activities and Outdoor Safety - St. Peters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/genesisbehaviorcenter.com\/stpeters-mo\/2016\/06\/21\/printable-social-stories-summer-activities-and-outdoor-safety\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Printable Social Stories: Summer Activities and Outdoor Safety - St. Peters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you seen\u00a0the viral photo\u00a0of police officer Tim Purdy helping a young adult with autism who had wandered away from school? 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