It is the time of year when we review the progress of our students and decide which kids are ready to move on and be on their own.
How can you help a student get ready for termination of services? Here is a sample social story I recently wrote with a high school student I had been working with for 3 years.
How to keep Devora out of my life…
For the past 3 years, but it feels like 15, I’ve worked with Devora. In fact, I’ve worked on 374 powerpoint slides of goals and behaviors. I’ve
learned how to be a student, how to make friends, how to be responsible for my own learning, how to integrate into high
school, how to be normal, how to be cooperative, how to have a pleasant demeanor around family and friends, how to be
friendly with peers, how to improve my vocabulary, how to study on my own, how to take perspective, how to keep my room
clean, how to initiate conversations, how to be more mature, how to manage time and be punctual, (I’m never late to school
anymore and I haven’t sat detention for at least 2 years), and so forth.
I’d like to be done with Devora. What can I do so that I don’t have to go back to getting her help?
I need to keep up with my high school academics, I need to socialize with my peers, and I need to keep up with all the above goals that I’ve accomplished all these years.
What if I have a relapse?
A relapse means a slip. ALL PEOPLE SLIP UP ALL THE TIME! THAT’S OK. Just because I have relapse, that is to be expected. All I need to do is get myself back on track. Slipping is not a problem. Staying stuck is. It’s ok to slip. I just need to get back up and get back on track. I will try to remember that whenever I slip, I will forgive myself, and work hard again. The only time that I’ll know that I need Devora again is if I slip and stay stuck for a few weeks. And as much as I’m trying to get myself out of that stuck rut, I’m too stuck. That’s when I’ll know that I might need Devora for a little boost to get myself out of my stuckness. Even then, I might need Devora for a few sessions. She’ll help me move on again, and I’ll be on my own again. Here and there I might benefit from Devora, but it won’t be a regular weekly thing anymore.
Making Progress On My Own
I look forward to moving on and making progress on my own, having some relapses, getting myself unstuck, making some more progress, having some more relapses, and not giving up. I’ll just keep on trucking!