Coronavirus Social Narrative.
I have been avidly following the the Coronavirus crisis and now find myself wanting to fulfill my civic duty.
I have created a FREE Coronavirus Social Narrative to help alleviate fears and anxiety many children may be experiencing at this time.
It seems inevitable now that schools will have to close in an attempt to curb the pandemic Coronavirus crisis.
I posted to my Instagram stories this morning querying if parents required a Social Narrative to help their children navigate the coming days.
I was met with a resounding yes.
I have been following Dr. Lisa Gutherie’s advices on her instagram channel where she has been providing essential advice and supports to the public.
You can find all of her Coronavirus advices here.
I have created the social narrative in a page by page format, so you the parent can include or exclude whatever information you feel is pertinent to you and your family.
It is highly probable at this juncture (11/03/2020) that schools will close so I have allocated a countdown box within the social narrative. This will help your son or daughter to understand in a concrete sense when school will reopen (if known).
regarding symptoms and advice.
Update– due to the overwhelming demand for the Coronavirus Social Narrative I have updated the link with a visual to help you locate it. I am receiving a great many messages requesting a copy to be sent directly. If you click on the above “Click to download visual”, you will receive an instant download.
I hope this is helpful.
Update – Additional Translations
I have also been in contact with many schools around the globe this morning seeking to print off multiple copies of the aforementioned social narratives to give to students. You absolutely have my persmission to do so. Absolutely no need to request permission. It is expressly given here.
I hope you find this Social Narrative helpful.
Best wishes,
Amanda
In the meantime you can find me most consistently over on my family blog on instagram – @littlepuddins.ie
For additional FREE printable downloads, go to my family blog www.littlepuddins.ie by clicking on the image below.
Update December 2020
I have been overwhelmed these past almost 10 months with the response globally to the Social Narrative I designed and released for FREE on the eve of Ireland’s premier lock down in March 2020. The Social Narrative has been recommended around the world by academics and professionals I have long admired who work in the field of autism. It has been recommended by charities and organisations renown for their progressive advocacy on behalf of autistic individuals and their families. I have been contacted by families, by parents, by teachers, therapists, by so many; each offering thanks for my helping their family member, student or friend understand what was happening in the world at that moment in time when we as a global community stood still and stopped what had been our normal daily lives. It overwhelms me now to think of those moments back in March, April, May.. even now online, weekly I am thanked by a member of our global community who has found their way to The Autism Educator in search of a social narrative to help their loved one understand.
I owe thanks to the creative genius that is Smarty Symbols. I have long been a subscriber to Smarty Symbols Communication System, as they have really helped me connect with my sons who are non-speaking, they have helped my speaking son, Jack make sense of his world, every day. We would be lost without Smarty Symbols and it is a testament to how magnificent and effective Smarty Symbols are, when I think of all the children who have read my Social Narrative and it helped them to understand what to most, at one time or another, has been incomprehensible.
To name but a few organisations, government bodies and charities who recommend my “What is the Coronavirus”? Social Narrative I attach their logos below.
Stay safe one and all. We will endure.
Amanda
Hi Amanda, I have a son who has ASD and severe learning difficulty and I think he would benefit from the social story. I would be very grateful if you can email me the social story.
Kind regards
Hi Barmak, you can download the FREE Printable immediately by clicking on the Download tab. Many thanks Amanda
I would love one of these social stories my son has autism and bad anxiety very worried about the virus.This social story might give him a better understanding 😉
Hi Mary, you can download the FREE Printable by clicking on the highlighted Download Tab. Many thanks Amanda.
I’d love this
Thanks so much this is a useful tool for passing information on to children and families
I have a boy with asd, spd, learning difficulties, adhd, speech and language disorder and he is a ball of worry. This will help.
Thank you
Thank you so much for this. Much appreciated
I will find this useful in my occupation
Please can I have access to this for work
Thank you for creating such a helpful tool to explain the disruption to the routine for all children.
Would you mind if I shared this via email to the families I work with?
Thank you again.
Not at all Kayleigh. Please attach the link to the original post. Many thanks. Take care. Amanda
Hi, may I please get this for my adult child with ID? Thank you for putting this together.
Hi Angie, it is free to download. Click on the download visual and it will become available immediately.
Many thanks
Amanda
Please send
Social story please
Thank you so much! I have an 8 year old autistic son. We’ve just had a conversation about coronovirus and a posibility of school closing. As many other kids, my son does not like to brake his usual rutine, but I feel like he understands the importanse of that safeguards. I am going to use this story tomorrow in order to make sure he understands everything clearly and to prevent anxiety. I appriciate you for this opportunity!
I also ask your permition to share your social story in a Ukrainian thematic group, so other parent can help their kids to reduce anxiety? If you do not mind I can translate this story into Ukrainian and Russian, and more people will be able to use this amazing material. I am sure they will blass you for your help.
Absolutely you have my permission.
Kind regards,
Amanda
Thank you so much for producing such a good quality social story and mist importantly for allowing us to access the resource for free I shall be reading this with my little man a number of times. Could I please post a picture of your cover on my school website to show other parents please.
Absolutely you can. I hope
The students find it helpful. Stay safe. Amanda
Is is great. Please send my way.
Amazing. Can you please share with me as well?
Please send me the social story for my 9yo and 11yo autistic daughters so they can understand what this pandanmic means and why washing your hands is even more important to due along with extra work at keeping up personal hygiene
Hi Crystal, you can download the Social Story directly from the download link visual. It is the large black box within the article which states to “click to download”.
Many thanks
Amanda
Social story please
Hi Emmy, you can download the story directly from the blog post by clicking on the download visual
Many thanks
Amanda
I very much appreciate this story. Just a recommendation to include that some of their favorite places may close too and they will be unable to visit. I know this is a conversation I am not looking forward to my son. When he is “off” from school – or on a weekend day he always has a “plan” to visit aquarium or amusement park, etc. and I’m afraid if these will close he will not understand exactly why….. thank you for sharing this!!! I’m going to share on our Bacon and Juice Boxes blog page.
Hi Jo-Ann, Many thanks for your reply. I will create an additional resource tonight to supplement this social story and will include your suggestions. Many thanks Amanda
Thank you so much for creating this social story. My son has fragile x syndrome and will definitley have trouble understanding all this. Thank you again!
Hello fello Fragile X Family
Hi, Just checking – are you happy for me to share the link to this page to our ASD Family Help facebook pages as I think our parents will find this extremely useful (especially as we are making adjustments to our sessions with the children to increase handwashing and hygiene etc)?
Thanks so much
Rachael
Absolutely Rachael. I hope it is of help.
Thanks – I’m tagging your FB page too 🙂
It was a very useful find this evening to support our families and children as I know some will be confused as we are having to make adjustments to sessions (even why we are making them all wash their hands before they come in will be unusual to them)! x
Thanks so much . If I can be of further assistance let me know . Stay safe.
Thank you so much! I have three kiddos w ASD and this social story will help so much. Keep healthy!
Thank you so much. This is an amazing resource. My 7 yo ASD son has alot of anxiety about getting sick and dying. I think this will help him alot.
Thank you so very much for creating this social story and for providing it free to use. We really appreciate it.
Not at all. I am delighted to be of help. It would not sit well with me to charge parents, professionals and therapists for a resource so needed for children and adults with additional needs. I hope you are safe and well where you are. Amanda
Thanks so much for the resources. The additional resources at the bottom will be put to use as well.
Thanks so much for the help.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for creating such a helpful tool to explain the disruption to the routine for all children.
Would you mind if I shared this via email to the families I work with?
Thank you again.
Thank you so much for this story. It is amazing and I look forward to sharing it with my students!
I am delighted to be of help. It’s in these times of crisis we should all band together and try to support each other all over the world.
Amanda,
I thank you as a member of the Autism community and as someone who used social stories when a child to a late teen. Times like these are UNNERVING for us. Espeically those of us who are nonspeaking or are much younger. I am not only on the spectrum myself, but I also work as a floating PCA (think it of it as an oncall position). You have done a good service to both the NT (Neurotypical/ nee “normal”) and Autistic community by doing this. may it return to you threefold. I express my grattitude to you as I would have when I was much younger, by playing my piano and singing as loud as is permitted. Maybe you hear it.
Thank you so much! I teach a self-contained autism small group class and just sent this to all of my families. 🙂
You are so welcome Amy, I am delighted to be of help. I hope you are all safe and well.
Amanda
Thank you so much for sharing this information!! Our family is very appreciative and grateful.
Many blessings,
Sharon
Thanks for the wonderful material , can I download and translate it to Spanish? I do work with Hispanic children in the spectrum, we dont have resources for this part of our community. Thanks in advance
Hi Angelica, absolutely. Please ensure all copyright credits remain attached with the document. Many thanks. I hope you are all
Safe and well. Best wishes Amanda
Thank you so much for this. I work with parents of children with disabilities, so I’ve been looking at ways to help them with explaining this. You’ve saved me a lot of work!
I am
Delighted to be of help. I hope you are all safe and well.
Amanda
Hi Amanda,
This is a wonderful resource thank you for creating this! You are going to help so many kiddos with this resources in these uncertain times. I read your copyrights page. I wanted to ask if it would be ok to share this on a padlet with multiple teachers? All credit and the copyright page would be included. Thanks! Stay well!
Absolutely. Many thanks
This is great thank you. Any chance you could create a second version for adults? Just with some adaptations to language and some of the focus?!
Hi Fiona, will you send me an email
with your suggestions and I can try and add an additional resource to the one already available. Many thanks Amanda
This is just what I needed to send to my families. Thank you very very very much!
Tayvan Stapleton
I am a pediatric SLP and I just wanted to say THANK YOU so much for this resource. It was very needed and very well done!
Hi Amanda. I’m SLP from Bosnia&Hercegovina. Can i translate and share on my FB site @logopedica.ba
Thank you 🙂
Hi Zijada, absolutely but please ensure there is a link to the original post on my website with your post. Many thanks Amanda
Thank you so much for creating this.
If you have the time (and it isn’t too much trouble), is there any way you could add a page for children that are still going to school? In the UK, children with an EHCP plan are still going to school, although a lot of their friends will not be there from Monday, which may be confusing for some children. I fully understand if you can’t do this.
Stay safe.
Hi Ian, I will update the story tonight. I’d you can, can you let me know in an email exactly what you would like it to say. I want to get it right the first time. Many thanks Amanda
Thank you for sharing so much. Let me share it with my family and friends. Stayathome.
Thanks for sharing this information.
Thanks
This is what I’ve been looking for! I am an ABC High School teacher. My students would benefit from having a copy of this. Could I share it with my students and their parents on my Google Classroom?
Yes absolutely. Stay safe.
Hi Amanda, I have a close friend who is deaf, but communicate’s very well, and has her adult daughter living with her during this recent COVID-19 crisis, her daughter has Autism but is also high functioning who would normally live in her own flat, with some support. Her daughter understands that she has to live with her mother to stay safe, but is not totally understanding why. Do you know if there is any Social stories for adults who are are high functioning, but still needs explanation at her level of understanding. Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks Chris
Hi Chris I have actually been emailed an adult version of the Corona Virus Social Story. Send me an email when you can and il forward it to you. I hope I can be of help. Many thanks.
Amanda
Thanks for the littlepuddins printables.
I saw some other printables and useful stuff from this site:
https://alldigitalschool.com/resources/categories/special-education/
They also have a ton of resources for Special Education. I think you should add it to your list here too.