We are a School Psychologist and Classroom Teacher, each with over 20 years experience working in Inner City schools. We are passionate about advocating for the exceptional abilities of educators, students and families, hoping to inspire others in the process!
We offer a range of educational and wellness resources, ranging from social stories, interventions, to lesson plans, digital prints and workbooks.
Please take some time to enjoy our Wellness Playground!
We are a School Psychologist and Classroom Teacher, each with over 20 years experience working in Inner City schools. We are passionate about advocating for the exceptional abilities of educators, students and families, hoping to inspire others in the process!
We offer a range of educational and wellness resources, ranging from social stories, interventions, to lesson plans, digital prints and workbooks.
Please take some time to enjoy our Wellness Playground!
This Social Story: Stimming is My Superpower, discusses the concept of Stimming, a common behaviour in children with. The story reframes stimming as a child’s SUPERPOWER - in that it helps students communicate their feeling and thoughts, and to self-regulate by calming their minds, bodies and voices. It talks about and validates the various moods that can bring on stimming behaviours, and how to best communicate (using words and/or pictures) to adults (teachers, parents) about their need to stim.
The social story provides 17 pages of visual, child-friendly content. It is in Powerpoint file, in 8.5x11 inch format, so it can be both presented (projector or Smartboard), and printed out on regular printer paper. It can be used individually or in small group or whole classroom settings. It is best suited for Grades K to 6, but can be used in junior high and high school settings as well, particularly with special education settings.
As always, please leave feedback and review so that I may continue to provide practical resources to my fellow educators. Thank you!
This is a social story meant to help children cope in healthy ways when things (e.g., their surroundings) get too loud!
Sometimes our students become anxious and overwhelmed when faced with too much noise, whether it be due to people or things. Settings such as busy classrooms, malls, recess and gym class, a noisy classroom, birthday parties (the list goes on!), can be simply too overstimulating and too loud for our students.
This social story guides the student through normalizing these experiences, and then providing some simple strategies to cope and calm down in healthy ways.
It is in PDF format (8.5" x 11"), and is presented in a simple, fun and visual format. This social story can be easily printed and laminated, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
This brief social story/script: Keeping My Hands to Myself, encourages students to keep their hands to self, and to discourage less desirable behaviours (e.g., touching, poking, etc.).
It is in PDF format (8.5x11 inches), and so can be easily printed and laminated. It uses simple language and engaging visuals, and can be used across all grades and developmental levels.
I have personally used this social story in individual and group format, and across nursery, elementary and junior high levels, in regular and special education settings.
I hope this resource helps you, help your students!
I welcome your reviews and comments, as I am always striving to create valuable tools and resources for my fellow educators. Thank you!
Sometimes our students struggle with the loss of a loved one. This Social Story: When Someone I Care About Dies, is meant to teach students about death and dying - in particular, losing someone they care about.
The social story guides the student through the concept of death (in basic terms), what death means (being alive vs. not alive), what various feelings we can experience after a loved one’s death, and what we can do to help support ourselves. It also touches on the various beliefs around death, including the afterlife. It goes on to normalize these feelings and emphasize that the grief process is healthy and we can do this on our own time, and with the support of family and others who care for us.
It is in PDF format (8.5 x 11 inches) and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple and visual format, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. As always, please leave feedback/review so I may continue to provide practical and meaningful resources to my fellow educators. Thank you!
This is a social story meant to encourage students to learn to control their emotions and make good choices, when they get upset or angry.
Sometimes our students struggle with the day-to-day social demands presented at school, home and other settings. This social story validates the student’s emotions, by reminding them that it is okay to be upset or angry. However, it then goes on to show what bad and good choices look like, and how to problem-solve in order to self-regulate, and make themselves and others happy.
It is in PDF format, and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple, fun and visual format, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
This is a social story meant to discourage students from Throwing Things, as a way to deal with strong feelings. The story goes through why a student may be feeling upset or frustrated, and outlines the potential dangers of Throwing Things. It goes on to present alternative behaviours and safe coping strategies, and allows the student to offer their own strategy ideas.
It is in PDF format (8.5x11 inches) and so can be easily printed and laminated. It is presented in a fun and visual format, that can be used across all ages and developmental levels.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
Please leave reviews, feedback and comments, so I may continue to provide resources to my fellow educators that are worthwhile in reaching our students. Thank you!
The sad reality is some of our students, in their already vulnerable state, lack the necessary coping mechanisms to manage strong behaviour, emotions and feelings, and events in their lives, and will choose to Self-Harm or Self-Injure in order to cope.
This is a Social Story meant to help children and youth to navigate and deal with Self-Harm/Self-Injury, by Choosing Safe and Healthy Alternatives, instead. This social story validates the student’s emotions, by acknowledging their desire to self-harm, but stresses that these are harmful choices, and that there are some very healthy and effective alternative behaviours that can keep them safe, while getting them the help they need. In addition to suggested strategies, there is a page for the student to list their own personal strategies, as well.
This is an important topic that warrants a frank discussion, and I hope this social story helps get the message across to youth, whether they be higher functioning or more developmentally vulnerable.
This 8-page social story is in PDF, 8.5 x 11 inch format, and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple and visual format, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
I always appreciate feedback and comments, so please feel free to leave your opinions and suggestions! Thank you.
Many of our students have difficulties managing their worries and anxiety. This is especially true with our students who are more on-edge and emotionally sensitive, as well as our students who have diagnoses such as: Anxiety Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, FASD, and Communication disorders.
This is a social story meant to help students manage their worry/anxiety in healthy ways. It provides an overview of what Worry and Anxiety looks like, and explains how a person may feel, and react when feeling anxious, and outlines effective and practical strategies to help them manage their worry/anxiety across all settings, but particularly at school, and in the classroom. The social story consists of 12 pages of visual teaching of these concepts, including specific breathing and worry strategies that can be cut out, laminated and used directly with students.
It is in PDF format, and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple, fun and visual format, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels. I have personally used it in individual and group format, in regular elementary and special needs classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
And, please feel free to leave your review and feedback, as I am always striving to provide valuable resources to my fellow educators. Thank You!
This Social Story is intended to provide students with awareness of their body, with emphasis on the fact that their body has private parts, and these parts should be respected. This story ideal for students across elementary and into junior high levels, in particular for students with special needs (intellectual disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, etc.). Some of the areas covered include:
Our body is private and has private parts
Definition of private parts
Fact that boys and girls have different private parts
Private parts should not be shown or touched in public
If private parts need to be touched, this should be done in private, such as bathroom or change room (in public), and bedroom or bathroom (at home)
Presents different reasons for wanting to touch private parts: bothering them, need to use washroom, or to fulfill curiosity
Covers topic of self-touching out of curiosity - that this is okay, but needs to be done at home, in private
That touching or staring at other people’s private parts is NOT okay
Reminder to respect others personal space and privacy
Reinforcing that reminding self to follow these rules will make them proud!
This story is in PDF format, and can be easily printed and laminated. It has developmentally appropriate language, and is full of engaging visuals.
As always, please leave your feedback/review, so I may continue to provide practical resources to my fellow educators. Thank you!
This is a social story meant to help early and middle years children to better understand their SENSORY NEEDS, and how to Self-Regulate. Many of our students (in particular, those on the Autism Spectrum, ADHD, etc.) are highly sensitive to their surroundings, and have various sensory sensitivities.
This social story talks about what our 5 Senses do, and why they are important for better understanding our world. The story talks about how students can become overwhelmed due to one or more of their senses being ‘Too Excited’!, particularly in certain settings/places. The story talks about how the student may react (e.g., yelling, crying, hiding, running away, etc.) and offers alternative, safer ways to cope with excited senses (e.g., deep breathing, calm space, headphones, etc.). It ends by validating the student’s emotions and reinforces the student’s safer choices, and reminds them that they can do this successfully with help from their friends, family and teachers.
It is in PDF Format (8.5 x 11 inch), and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple, fun and visual way, and while it is geared towards early and middle years, can be used across all ages and developmental levels.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
Many of our students have difficulties modulating and controlling the volume of their voices. This is especially true with our students who have issues with language, impulse control, and limited social awareness (e.g., language disorder, deaf/hard of hearing, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, FASD, etc.).
This is a social story meant to help children to practice controlling the volume of their voice, across all settings, but particularly at school, and in the classroom. The social story consists of 13 pages of visual teaching of these concepts.
It provides an overview of what Voice Volume looks like, from Not Talking at all, to Soft/Quiet, to Medium, to Loud and Extra Loud. This story explains that each volume level can be appropriate, but only in the right place and situation, and right time - providing examples of what this looks like.
Included in the story is a VOICE VOLUME METER visual, that incorporates a 1-5 rating scale, and corresponding visuals and descriptors. This visual aid can be laminated and used in the classroom and at home, either on the wall or in a binder.
It is in PDF format, and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple, fun and visual format, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels. I have personally used it in individual and group format, in regular elementary and special needs classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
And, please feel free to leave your review and feedback, as I am always striving to provide valuable resources to my fellow educators. Thank You!
Our students and children often struggle with managing their emotions and feelings, especially when these emotions are strong and overwhelming. It can be difficult to understand how to manage emotions in the midst of stress, and how to juggle more than one emotion at a time. This Social Story is meant to provide students with clear, step-by-step guidance and instruction around How to Manage Strong Emotions.
This includes:
A. Normalizing the experience of having strong emotions
B. Examples of common emotions
C. Examples of what being extremely excited, angry, and worried might look like, both mentally and physically
D. Introducing effective strategies to Calm and Process strong emotions
E. Offering space for the student to come up with their Own strategies
F. Reinforcing the importance of learning this skill!
This 11-page social story is in PDF format, and can be easily printed and laminated. It contains engaging visuals and developmentally appropriate language. It is best suited for elementary students (Gr. K-6) and students in special education/life skills classroom settings.
As always, I encourage you to leave a review/feedback, so I may continue to provide practical resources to my fellow educators. Thank you!
The Social Story: Coping with Change, was created in order to help students and children to learn about what change means, and more importantly, to share effective and practical ways to cope with change in our lives.
The story cites several examples of what change means, what change looks like (seasons, weather, time, family, friends, where we live, where we go to school, how we feel, our thoughts, looks, etc.), and how change can affect our daily life. It speaks to normalizing change and reinforces that change is normal and okay!
The story discusses how some change is expected and planned, while other change is unexpected and sudden. It goes on to outline how change may cause us to feel and react, and how we can self-regulate in order to handle change effectively at home and school, or other setting.
This 10-page social story is in PDF format, 8.5x11, and can be easily printed and laminated. It uses clear language and engaging visuals, and while tailored for elementary years, is suited to all developmental and grade levels, across regular and special education settings.
This resource called, FASD and ME: Social (Success) Story - Strategies for Life!, is really a manual and workbook for children and youth living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder - to use in order to empower and educate themselves on FASD, identify with others with FASD, and learn strategies to live and cope with FASD in healthy ways. This resource can be used independently, or the child can be guided through with the support of an adult (Teacher, EA, parent, etc.)
This resource is 37 pages, and in PDF format (8.5 x 11), and so can be easily printed. It contains developmentally appropriate language and engaging visuals in order to engage the child in a fun and interactive way. There are Two Parts, with Part 1 focusing on Education on FASD, and Part 2 focusing on Strategies to Live with FASD.
Part 1: Living with FASD - All About Me
What is FASD
Communication
Socialization
Attention, Hyperactivity, Impulsivity
Sensory
Emotions/Feelings
Learning Difficulties
Life Skills
Managing Change & Transitions
Emphasis on Strengths & Talents
Part 2: Living with FASD - Strategies & Ideas
Examples of Feelings and Emotional Reactions
Strategies to Process Feelings and Emotions
Strategies to Regulate Sensory Needs
Strategies to Incorporate Routine and Structure
Strategies for Communication
Strategies for Social Interaction and Making Friendships
Strategies to Navigate Bullying Behaviours
Mention of Medication as means to Moderate Behaviours
Emphasis on Strengths and Talents
Opportunity to Draw and/or Write About What It’s Like Living with FASD
As always, please leave feedback and review, so that I may continue to provide practical resources to my fellow educators. Thank you!
This Social Story, entitled My ADHD & ME: Strategies for Life! is something I created in order to not only educate, but to empower children and youth with ADHD, in order to better understand themselves, to advocate for themselves, and learn strategies to utilize their many strengths, in life.
Children and youth with ADHD need to be educated on what ADHD means, what it brings (both challenges and positive strengths) and how to best manage it, so that they may experience life to the fullest!
This 20 page social story is more of a Success Guide for Life, for children and youth with ADHD. It can be used independently, as well as alongside teachers and parents.
It includes the following:
Description of ADHD, including explanations of Inattention, Hyperactivity and Impulsivity
Analogy of ADHD as our brain and body being like a turbo-charged engine
Discussion on how Revving so fast can affect our learning
What feelings and emotions may come along with ADHD
Validation and examples of different emotions and how this can look when it overwhelms us
Analogy of learning how to apply the brakes to slow down, and be a happy driver and in control
Discussion of several practical strategies to help with applying the brakes and regaining control, including space for child to list their own strategies
Brief discussion on medication as a tool to help with staying on track
Emphasis on the ADHD child’s strengths, with examples and space to list their own!
Reminder that ADHD makes them extra special
Page for child/youth to write or draw what it is like for them to live with ADHD.
This 20 page story is in PDF format (8.5x11 inches), and is easily printable. It is full of engaging visuals, and uses developmentally appropriate language. It is geared towards elementary to early junior/secondary students, as well as students in special education and life skills settings.
As always, please leave a review/feedback so I may continue to provide practical resources to my fellow educators. Thank you!
This resource called, AUTISM and ME: SOCIAL (SUCCESS) STORY - Strategies for Life!, is really a manual and workbook for children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder to use in order to empower and educate themselves on ASD, identify with others with ASD, and learn strategies to live and cope with ASD in healthy ways.
This resource is 40 pages, and in PDF format (8.5 x 11), and so can be easily printed. It contains developmentally appropriate language and engaging visuals in order to engage the child in a fun and interactive way. There are Two Parts, with Part 1 focusing on education on ASD, and Part 2 focusing on strategies to live with ASD.
Part 1: Living with Autism - ALL ABOUT ME
Communication
Socialization
Sensory
Emotions/Feelings
Perseveration
Repetitive Movements & Behaviours/Stimming
Insistence on Sameness/Routine
Splinter skills/Interests
Emphasis on Strengths
Part 2: Living with Autism - Strategies & Ideas
Examples of Feelings and Emotional Reactions
Strategies to Process Feelings and Emotions
Strategies to Regulate Sensory Needs
Strategies to incorporate Routine and Sameness
Strategies for Communication
Strategies for Social Interaction and Making Friendships
Strategies to Navigate Bullying Behaviours
Mention of Medication as means to moderate behaviours
Emphasis on Strengths and Talents
Opportunity to Draw and/or Write About What It’s Like Living with ASD
While labeled a social story, this resource is really an in-depth manual or workbook on how to live successfully with ASD and to appreciate one’s strengths and talents, that do accompany living with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
As always, please leave feedback and review, so that I may continue to provide practical resources to my fellow educators. Thank you!