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Let's make cooking accessible for everyone! Accessible Chef is a collection of visual recipes and other resources that help persons with disabilities build the skills and confidence necessary to navigate food preparation.

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Accessible Chef - Accessible Cooking for Budding Chefs

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Visual recipes make use of task analysis, which is an evidence-based approach for breaking down a complex task into manageable steps. Each task is separated into discrete skills, and individuals can learn to complete skills in a specific order to learn new tasks.

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Fostering independence.

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You might not realize how many skills you employ regularly as you go through your daily lives. This could be because you may not have broken a sweat learning how to do simple everyday tasks such as eating, dressing yourself, or maintaining your personal hygiene. But for children with special needs, these life skills may be harder to master due to their cognitive or developmental disabilities. So, their education should include instructions targeted at teaching valuable life skills for special needs children.

Communication is the bedrock of our social relationships. So, children with special needs should be encouraged to use multiple modalities to convey their thoughts and emotions. For those with speech and language difficulties, introducing AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) starting at 16 months of age has been found to be beneficial. The earlier they get access to tools and strategies to support them, the better.
Download free Vocabulary Book to Encourage communication
Let's take a list of daily living skills that people with special needs will require support with learning:
1.Personal care
Teach students with special needs about the importance of balanced diet, exercise, good dietary habits, and proper nutrition. Focus on developing personal hygiene habits and provide required support to ensure they practice them regularly.

Talk to them about how to get healthcare and deal with their illnesses such as fever, allergies, and the common cold. Train them to get dressed and make themselves look presentable. You can use visual schedules to help them with their daily routine.
2.Essential Math​
Teach children to count money, make correct change, tell time, and make a personal budget. They can be taught how to safeguard their money, and to take responsible financial decisions.

Encourage them to learn to manage their finances and monitor their spending. Talk to them about good spending habits and about the importance of savings. Teach them how to manage a bank account and keep track of their transactions, and to pay taxes and all their bills on time.
3.Household Skills
People with special needs can be trained to have practical living skills such as maintaining the safety of a house. They can also learn how to get their house repaired, and to service the heating/cooling systems, and other appliances, if and when necessary.

Discuss with them about how to rent or lease a house, and renew or cancel the corresponding agreements. Cleaning the house and shopping for groceries are some of the things they can be taught to do. They can also learn how to store food properly, and check the expiration date of meat, canned food, and other edible items.
4.Essential Reading
Since the internet has become an indispensable part of our lives, people with special needs can be taught how to use search engines to look up information. They can also be trained to read maps and signs, so that they can travel within the community by themselves. They can also learn to read and understand important documents.
5.Leisure and Recreation
Every individual should be encouraged to pursue their passions and develop their talents. Even as you teach them important job skills, you can also guide them to participate in social events. Whether they like music or movies, they can learn how to get access to their favorite form of entertainment. They can also be taught about how to plan and enjoy vacations.
6.Community Living
Focus on giving them an education that imparts knowledge of citizens' rights, the law, and how to abide by it. Teach them how to report a crime, get emergency care for themselves or those around them, and get legal aid.

You can use social stories to explain how to be a responsible citizen and follow the rules. Encourage them to observe political developments and exercise their right to vote.
7.Safety
Teach students with disabilities about safety signs and their meanings. They should be aware of fire and other safety hazards, and ways to get themselves to safety in case of an accident. In the event of building evacuation, they should be aware of the exit pathways.
8.Self-Awareness and Self-Confidence
Children with special needs should be able to identify their emotional, physical, and psychological needs. Encourage them to acknowledge and receive praise and criticism. Focus on developing their sense of self-esteem.
9.Occupation Skills
Schools should prepare them to look for job opportunities and recognize the requirements of each job. They can be taught about the need for financial independence and the value of having an occupation.

Teach students with disabilities about expectations in a work environment and how to adapt to work demands. They can also be taught how to be professional at the workplace.

They can be coached to follow directions and how to work as a team. They must be ready to accept supervision and be aware of safety procedures. Teach them about the importance of attendance and maintaining performance standards.

Pre vocational training should be part of their curriculum and opportunities must be created for simulating work experiences in the school. They should also receive vocational training and on-the-job training depending on their specific abilities.

Parents of children with special needs dedicate a huge amount of their time and energy doing their best for the children. But the most precious gift they can give their children, and themselves, is their children's self-dependence. So, they must actively supplement the skills training received from school. They should consistently motivate their children to do everyday activities with little or no assistance. Such an approach will impress the merits of being independent upon them.
Read inspiring stories of Advaith, the young entrepreneur, Nishant's choice making, and Dipak Ghosh's activism here. Do you have any ideas about useful life skills for special needs children? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below. Learn about how Avaz app increases self-confidence and choice-making of children and adults with complex communication needs here.

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9 Essential Life Skills for Special Needs Children - Avaz Inc.

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You might not realize how many skills you employ regularly as you go through your daily lives. This could be because you may not have broken a sweat learning how to do simple everyday tasks such as eating, dressing yourself, or maintaining your personal hygiene.

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This is a great resource in developing life skills for the blind.

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Art
YouTube video: Creature YouTube video: Loom YouTube video: Stepping Stone
Buttoning
YouTube video: Learn To Button Word document: Learn To Button PowerPoint slideshow: Learn To Button
Cafeteria Skills
YouTube video: Cafeteria Skills for the Blind/VI Student Simple Text Outline: Cafeteria
Cooking Tips
YouTube video: Fruit and Veggie Prep YouTube video: Making a Sandwich YouTube video: Microwave Use YouTube video: Oven Use YouTube video: Pouring Liquids Word document: Pouring Liquids PowerPoint slideshow: Pouring Liquids YouTube video: Stovetop Use
Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI)
YouTube video: Understanding CVI
Folding Clothes
YouTube video: Folding Clothes Word document: Folding Clothes
Folding Money
YouTube video: Folding Money Word document: Folding Money PowerPoint slideshow: Folding Money
Labeling
YouTube video: Labeling 1 YouTube video: Labeling 2
Lync Classroom
YouTube video: Lync Math Class 1 YouTube video: Lync Math Class 2
Making a Bed
YouTube video: Making a Bed Word document: Making a Bed
Matching Clothes
YouTube video: Matching Clothes- Part 1 Word document: Matching Clothes YouTube video: Matching Clothes- Part 2
Prosthetic Eye
YouTube video: Prosthetic Eye Word document: Prosthetic Eye
Room Familiarization
YouTube video: Perimeter Search- Part 1 Word document: Perimeter Search YouTube video: Inside the Room- Part 2 Word document: Inside the Room YouTube video: Compass Help- Part 3 Word document: Compass Help PowerPoint slideshow: Compass Help YouTube video: Building Familiarization- Part 4
Science Techniques
YouTube video: Lab Prep YouTube video: Lab Experiment
Self Medicating
YouTube video: Self Medicating Techniques Word document: Self Medicating Techniques PowerPoint slideshow: Self Medicating Techniques
Shaving Techniques
YouTube video: Shaving Techniques for the Blind Word document: Shaving tips PowerPoint slideshow: Shaving tips
Sighted Guide Technique
YouTube video: Sighted Guide Techniques Word document: Sighted Guide Techniques PowerPoint slideshow: Sighted Guide Techniques
Strategies for Integration
YouTube video: Integration Strategies
Strength and Core Training
YouTube video: Core Word document: Core PowerPoint Slideshow: Core YouTube video: Strength Word document: Strength PowerPoint: Strength
Sweeping Skills for the Blind/VI Person
YouTube video: Sweeping Skills
Tying Shoes
YouTube video: Learn to Tie a Shoe Word document: Steps for Tying Shoes PowerPoint slideshow: Learn to Tie a Shoe Resources Word document: Tying Shoes
White Cane Techniques
YouTube video: Two Point Touch/Shore-lining- Part 1 Word document: Two Point Touch PowerPoint slideshow: Two Point Touch YouTube video: Constant Contact/Approaching Doors- Part 2 Word document: Constant Contact PowerPoint slideshow: Constant Contact YouTube video: Locate a Bus Stop- Part 3 Word document: Locate a Bus Stop PowerPoint slideshow: Locate a Bus Stop
WSSB LIFTT Program
YouTube video: WSSB LIFTT Program
Zipping
YouTube video: Learn to Zip
OTHER VALUABLE LINKS!
http://www.fredshead.info/2013/07/youtube-videos-for-people-who-are-blind.html#.Ug0CrDLn-Pw
A starter list of videos for or by people who are blind and visually impaired, originally compiled by Jonn Paris-Salb, an APH Ex Officio Trustee from California. This is meant to be a resource for teachers, parents, students, and others who are blind or visually impaired or who work in the field of blindness. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list yet, but videos will be added to this list in the future.

Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities

The Minger Foundation has prepared a Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities (PDF, 885 KB). This Guide is the work product of a team of fire safety and disabilities experts and is designed to help the fire safety educator who is experienced in teaching fire safety but may need some guidance when working with an audience of students with disabilities.
http://www.mingerfoundation.org/projects/fire-safety-info/guide-to-teaching/
DO-IT serves to increase the success of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs and careers. It promotes the use of computer and networking technologies to increase independence, productivity, and participation in education and employment.

Programming for the Blind http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBQYP-1SwWo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC1mOSdmzFc&feature=channel&list=UL http://www.washington.edu/doit/Video/Search/ http://www.doit.wisc.edu/accessibility/video/ Accessible Powerpoint Tutorial http://www.youtube.com/user/afb1921#p/u http://www.youtube.com/videoTSBVI Equal Access in the Classroom Perkins School Webcasts Pathways to Independence - Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Directions for Me - a website featuring preparation directions, nutrition facts, warnings, ingredients and other important information in an easy to use and accessible format.

Encounter - What to do when meeting a blind person (Youtube videos).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5hRU9p6nWY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPhcnauJs1I

Classroom Techniques (Youtube videos).
http://www.youtube.com/VideoTSBVI#p/p
Tips for deaf-blind children.
http://www.nationaldb.org/ISModules.php http://www.wsdsonline.org/deafblind/videotopics.html
Baby Jamboree Clips
2009 Video Footage - Includes "S.A.I.L"
WSDS Video Clips
"Judah on the Stairs"

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YouTube video: Creature YouTube video: Loom YouTube video: Stepping Stone YouTube video: Learn To Button Word document: Learn To Button PowerPoint slideshow: Learn To Button YouTube video: Cafeteria Skills for the Blind/VI Student Simple Text Outline: Cafeteria YouTube video: Fruit and Veggie Prep YouTube video: Making a Sandwich YouTube video:

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Independent living skills (ILS) are the tasks students need to manage their daily life, such as housework, hygiene, and time management.

Checklists

These documents help you track what students should be able to do at each grade level.

ILS Checklist

Use the ILS Checklist to document when a student is able to accomplish each skill.

ILS Guides

These guides outline what skills are appropriate by the end of each grade. The skills are included on the ILS Checklist.

ILS Modules

The ILS Modules were designed to help regional and local districts easily set up an ILS program to help children who are Blind/Visually Impaired (BVI) to learn the skills necessary for managing daily life. ILS is one component of the nine categories of the expanded core curriculum (ECC) and includes cooking, cleaning, dressing, hygiene, home maintenance, laundry, organization, and more. These skills are essential for students' immediate use as well as use in the future as they go on to seek and maintain employment.

These easy-to-follow, downloadable ILS modules contain sample lessons, templates, checklists, and embedded trainings.

ILS Calendars

These calendars provide suggestions for practicing one ILS task each weekday. The tasks are to be completed at home, and the sheet may be returned to the student's teacher at the end of each month.

Tips and Lessons

These resources explain how to teach different ILS.

General

Five-Minute ILS [PDF]
This MDE-LIO document lists ILS activities students can complete in five minutes or less.

Video Clips on Blindness Tips
The Washington State School for the Blind hosts videos that show how to teach various skills.

Kitchen and Food

Leisure

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Independent living skills (ILS) are the tasks students need to manage their daily life, such as housework, hygiene, and time management. These documents help you track what students should be able to do at each grade level. Use the ILS Checklist to document when a student is able to accomplish each skill.

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Evidence based, best practice research in the area of positive behavior.

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Who is PENT?

PENT is dedicated to supporting positive educational environments which use evidence based, positive strategies to achieve high outcomes for all students by disseminating resources and materials for educators throughout the state of California.

PENT Provides...

Annual Forums for Cadre members.

Evidence based, best practice research in the area of positive behavior.

Functional, usable and educator friendly resources and documents.

Training resources and materials that are FREE to use.

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Positive Environments, Network of Trainers (PENT)

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Positive Environments, Network of Trainers (PENT)

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PENT is dedicated to supporting positive educational environments which use evidence based, positive strategies to achieve high outcomes for all students by disseminating resources and materials for educators throughout the state of California. Annual Forums for Cadre members. Evidence based, best practice research in the area of positive behavior.

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What is a lesson Plan?

A lesson plan is the instructor's road map of what students need to learn and how it will be done effectively during the class time. Then, you can design appropriate learning activities and develop strategies to obtain feedback on student learning. Having a carefully constructed lesson plan for each 3-hour lesson allows you to enter the classroom with more confidence and maximizes your chance of having a meaningful learning experience with your students.

A successful lesson plan addresses and integrates three key components:

Learning Objectives

Learning activities

Assessment to check for student understanding

A lesson plan provides you with a general outline of your teaching goals, learning objectives, and means to accomplish them, and is by no means exhaustive. A productive lesson is not one in which everything goes exactly as planned, but one in which both students and instructor learn from each other. You may refer to an example of a 3 hour lesson plan here.

Before Class: Steps for preparing a lesson plan

Listed below are 6 steps for preparing your lesson plan before your class.

1. Identify the learning objectives

Before you plan your lesson, you will first need to identify the learning objectives for the lesson. A learning objective describes what the learner will know or be able to do after the learning experience rather than what the learner will be exposed to during the instruction (i.e. topics). Typically, it is written in a language that is easily understood by students and clearly related to the program learning outcomes. The table below contains the characteristics of clear learning objectives:

Characteristic

Description

Clearly stated tasks

Free from jargon and complex vocabulary; describe specific and achievable tasks (such as 'describe', 'analyse' or 'evaluate') NOT vague tasks (like 'appreciate', 'understand' or 'explore').

Important learning goals

Describe the essential (rather than trivial) learning in the course which a student must achieve.

Achievable

Can be achieved within the given period and sufficient resources are available.

Demonstrable and measurable

Can be demonstrated in a tangible way; are assessable; achievement and quality of achievement can be observed.

Fair and equitable

All students, including those with disabilities or constraints, have a fair chance of achieving them.

Linked to course and program objectives

Consider the broader goals - i.e. course, program and institutional goals.

The Bloom's Revised Taxonomy of Educational Objectives ( link) is a useful resource for crafting learning objectives that are demonstrable and measurable.

2. Plan the specific learning activities

When planning learning activities you should consider the types of activities students will need to engage in, in order to develop the skills and knowledge required to demonstrate effective learning in the course. Learning activities should be directly related to the learning objectives of the course, and provide experiences that will enable students to engage in, practice, and gain feedback on specific progress towards those objectives.

As you plan your learning activities, estimate how much time you will spend on each. Build in time for extended explanation or discussion, but also be prepared to move on quickly to different applications or problems, and to identify strategies that check for understanding. Some questions to think about as you design the learning activities you will use are:

What will I do to explain the topic?

What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way?

How can I engage students in the topic?

What are some relevant real-life examples, analogies, or situations that can help students understand the topic?

What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better?

Many activities can be used to engage learners. The activity types (i.e. what the student is doing) and their examples provided below are by no means an exhaustive list, but will help you in thinking through how best to design and deliver high impact learning experiences for your students in a typical lesson.

Lecture

Convey concepts verbally, often with visual aids (e.g. presentation slides).

Quiz

Exercise to assess the level of student understanding and questions can take many forms, e.g. multiple-choice, short-structured, essay etc.

Student presentation

Oral report where students share their research on a topic and take on a position and/or role.

Simulation

Replica or representation of a real-world phenomenon that enables relationships, contexts, and concepts to be studied.

Discussion

Formal/informal conversation on a given topic/question where the instructor facilitates student sharing of responses to the questions and building upon those responses.

Feedback

Information provided by the instructor and/or peer(s) regarding aspects of one's performance or understanding.

Guest Speaker

Feelings, thoughts, ideas and experiences specific to a given topic are shared by an invited presenter.

Concept Mapping

Graphical representation of related information in which common or shared concepts are linked together.

Real-world projects

Planned set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and other limitations, either individually or collaboratively

It is important that each learning activity in the lesson must be (1) aligned to the lesson's learning objectives, (2) meaningfully engage students in active, constructive, authentic, and collaborative ways, and (3) useful where the student is able to take what they have learnt from engaging with the activity and use it in another context, or for another purpose.

3. Plan to assess student understanding

Assessments (e.g., tests, papers, problem sets, performances) provide opportunities for students to demonstrate and practice the knowledge and skills articulated in the learning objectives, and for instructors to offer targeted feedback that can guide further learning.

Planning for assessment allows you to find out whether your students are learning. It involves making decisions about:

The number and type of assessment tasks that will best enable students to demonstrate learning objectives for the lesson.

Examples of different assessments

Formative and/or summative

The criteria and standards that will be used to make assessment judgements.

Student roles in the assessment process

Self-assessment

Peer assessment

The weighting of individual assessment tasks and the method by which individual task judgements will be combined into a final grade for the course.
Information about how various tasks are to be weighted and combined into an overall grade must be provided to students.

The provision of feedback
Giving feedback to students on how to improve their learning, as well as giving feedback to instructors how to refine their teaching.

To learn more about designing assessment, click here.

4. Plan to sequence the lesson in an engaging and meaningful manner

Robert Gagne proposed a nine-step process called the events of instruction, which is useful for planning the sequence of your lesson. Using Gagne's 9 events in conjunction with Bloom's Revised Taxonomy of Educational Objectives ( link) aids in designing engaging and meaningful instruction.

Gange's Nine Events of Instruction by CourseArc is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

1. Provide guidance: Advise students of strategies to aid them in learning content and of resources available. With learning guidance, the rate of learning increases because students are less likely to lose time or become frustrated by basing performance on incorrect facts or poorly understood concepts.
To find out more about scaffolding student learning, click here.

2. Practice: Allow students to apply knowledge and skills learned.

Allow students to apply knowledge in group or individual activities.

Ask deep-learning questions, make reference to what students already know or have students collaborate with their peers.

Ask students to recite, revisit, or reiterate information they have learned.

Facilitate student elaborations - ask students to elaborate or explain details and provide more complexity to their responses.

3. Assess performance: To evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional events, test to see if the expected learning outcomes have been achieved. Performance should be based on previously stated objectives.
Utilise a variety of assessment methods including exams/quizzes, written assignments, projects, and so on.

4. Enhance retention and transfer: Allow students to apply information to personal contexts. This increases retention by personalising information.

Provide opportunities for students to relate course work to their personal experiences.

Provide additional practice.

5. Create a realistic timeline

A list of ten learning objectives is not realistic, so narrow down your list to the two or three key concepts, ideas, or skills you want students to learn in the lesson. Your list of prioritized learning objectives will help you make decisions on the spot and adjust your lesson plan as needed. Here are some strategies for creating a realistic timeline:

Estimate how much time each of the activities will take, then plan some extra time for each.

When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how much time you expect it will take.

Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions and to sum up key points.

Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left.

Be flexible - be ready to adjust your lesson plan to students' needs and focus on what seems to be more productive rather than sticking to your original plan.

6. Plan for a lesson closure

Lesson closure provides an opportunity to solidify student learning. Lesson closure is useful for both instructors and students.

You can use closure to:

Check for student understanding and inform subsequent instruction (adjust your teaching accordingly)

Emphasise key information

Tie up loose ends

Correct students' misunderstandings

Preview upcoming topics

Your students will find your closure helpful for:

Summarizing, reviewing, and demonstrating their understanding of major points

Consolidating and internalising key information

Linking lesson ideas to a conceptual framework and/or previously-learned knowledge

Transferring ideas to new situations

There are several ways in which you can put a closure to the lesson:

State the main points yourself ("Today we talked about...")

Ask a student to help you summarize them

Ask all students to write down on a piece of paper what they think were the main points of the lesson

Bibliography

1. Ambrose, S., Bridges, M., Lovett, M., DiPietro, M., & Norman, M. (2010). How learning works: 7 research-based principles for smart teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

2. EDUCAUSE (2005). Potential Learning Activities. Retrieved April 7 2017, from EDUCAUSE website: https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/NLI0547B.pdf.

3. Fink, D. L. (2005). Integrated course design. Manhattan, KS: The IDEA Center. Retrieved from http://ideaedu.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Idea_Paper_42.pdf .

4. Gagne, R. M., Wager, W.W., Golas, K. C. & Keller, J. M (2005). Principles of Instructional Design (5th edition). California: Wadsworth.

5. Gredler, M. E. (2004). Games and simulations and their relationships to learning. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research for educational communications and technology (2nd ed., pp. 571-82). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

6. Richardson, J.C., & Swan. K. (2003). Examining social presence in online courses in relation to students' perceived learning and satisfaction. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 7(1), 68-88.

7. Schuell, T.J. (1986). Cognitive conceptions of learning. Review of Educational Research, 56, 411-436.

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A lesson plan is the instructor's road map of what students need to learn and how it will be done effectively during the class time. Then, you can design appropriate learning activities and develop strategies to obtain feedback on student learning.

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Example for creating a schedule in your class.

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The visual schedule presents a sequence of events for what will happen throughout the day. We can best support our students by providing an individual schedule and displaying a much larger classroom schedule. Teachers should often reflect on this classroom schedule, prompting students to move their icon to "done" and introduce the next topic. Note: The individual schedule might differ if the student is pulled for services or push-ins.

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Token economy, First/Then visual, "I am working for... "and provide a few choices, 3 or 4 max, they pick 1, and break cards. Please ask how to implement these in your classroom!

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Example Template of Teacher/Para Schedule

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Example Template of Teacher/Para Schedule

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Example of schedule- Solano_Widenman- Wyman 

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Lopez. (2021). Morning Routine. Steffan Manor Elementary.

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Making numbers part of your daily routine.

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Store photos and docs online. Access them from any PC, Mac or phone. Create and work together on Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents.

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Classroom Management Strategies to Support Special Needs Students

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Print on cardstock paper and laminate. Use during math group or individually.

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Label where items can be found in the kitchen.

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6 Tips for Teaching Students With Autism | Teach For America

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With a growing number of children who have autism in school, here are some steps teachers can take to help them learn, academically and socially

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Social stories are a fantastic way to help prepare our students for what is to be expected.

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Summit County Developmental Disabilities Board

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Ever get nervous before a big event? Maybe you're going to be around people you've never met or experience something new for the first time? We can all relate to that building anxiousness of the unknown. This feeling can be intensified for children with disabilities or sensory sensitivities. Fortunately, there are some tools you can use to help prep your little one for a wonderful new experience. That's where social stories come in.

A Social Story is a visual preview, typically including a picture and caption of what to expect prior to a new experience. "A social story is an aid to help children with social or sensory needs that prepares them for what to expect as well as what to do or how they might feel in an event or unfamiliar situation," explained Abby Cureton, Speech Language Pathologist at Summit DD. "But you can really make one for anything!"

Social stories have a wide variety of applications from understanding others' actions and emotions, developing self-care skills, (i.e. cleaning teeth and washing hands) and general safety techniques (i.e. crossing the street) to specific events or changes in routine. Check out this online library of social stories to see the variety of uses.

Visual cues make the information more digestible for kids who aren't able to conceptualize an image when someone verbally explains what to do or what to expect. "Having that visual as preparation can really help kids who are still developing their symbolic thought," added Abby. "It's beneficial to kids who are working on their ability to translate what's being expressed into a picture in their minds and to help them understand what's expected in new situations."

The key is taking a concept and presenting it in a concrete, visual way. For example, below is Summit DD's Social Story of a "Day at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo." It breaks down different exhibits and sensory experiences a child may have while visiting the zoo.

While some social stories like this one cover broader topics or events, social stories are often tailored individually to a child. Our specialists work with families to explore specific needs and then create tailored resources that will help the child most. Abby noted, "You might have one child who gets really anxious around new people waiting in line for tickets. On the other hand, another child might get super excited and want to hug everyone in line." Every child's experience is unique. "Social stories are so effective when they are tailored to meet the need of one, specific child," she concluded.

The most exciting part of social stories is that it encourages kids to step into the unknown and explore new possibilities. "I think it gives kids an opportunity to be included," added Abby about the inclusive benefits of social stories. "It gives kids an opportunity to try new things!"
Check out our Social Stories 2016 Winter Fest Social Story Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Social Story Akron Children's Museum Play for All! Learn more about our Developmental Specialists

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Ever get nervous before a big event? Maybe you're going to be around people you've never met or experience something new for the first time? We can all relate to that building anxiousness of the unknown. This feeling can be intensified for children with disabilities or sensory sensitivities.