Effective Use of Social Stories in OT

Course overview

In this 2-hour, view-on-demand, recorded professional development course, you'll learn how to use Social Stories effectively within occupational therapy practice to better support students' participation, self-regulation, and daily routines across school and community settings. This training breaks down what does and doesn't make a Social Story truly effective, how to individualize stories to a child's sensory, communication, and cognitive needs, and how to collaborate with caregivers and school teams for consistent carryover. At the end of this course, you will be able to (1) list the core principles and structure of Social Stories/social narratives, per Gray and successors; (2) identify the recent evidence on the efficacy of Social Stories, their limitations, and moderators of effect; (3) State two scenarios when Social Stories optimize occupation (e.g., individual characteristics for participation and targeted life skills) and two scenarios when they may not be the best tool; (4) identify the step-by-step process to develop a Social Story tailored to a client's needs (e.g., for social-behavior, transitions, self-regulation), and (5) list three uses of Social Stories for broader OT interventions (e.g., combining with modeling, visual supports, prompting) and plan for generalization and fading. This distance-learning, independent format is offered at 0.2 CEUs, Introductory Level, OT Service Delivery, and targeted to introductory- to intermediate-level OTs, OTAs, PTs, SLPs, educators, and other pediatric professionals. The course instructor, Aditi Mehra, DHSc, OTR/L, received her Bachelors in in Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University in 1998 and her Doctorate in Health Sciences from Midwestern University, Illinois, in 2016. Since then, she has practiced as a pediatric OT in various settings such as early intervention, hand therapy, NICU, inpatient/outpatient rehabilitation, and schools. During her doctoral studies, Dr. Mehra pursued a certification in Applied Behavior Analysis to improve and enhance collaboration within multidisciplinary teams. Once she delved deeper into this field, she discovered Fit Learning, an academic program based on the principles of ABA designed to build fluency and address all differences in learning (executive functioning, ADHD. etc.). Dr. Mehra is currently the Director of Fit Learning Labs in the Chicagoland area and continues to practice OT in both schools and private teletherapy services. She is passionate about Interpersonal Education and strives to foster multidisciplinary collaboration among OTs and other allied health professionals. She provides continuing education presentations for various allied health groups in her community and is an avid blogger for Psychology Today. For more information on our recorded courses, visit our website: https://www.sensationalbrain.com/ceu/on-demand-webinars. To stay abreast of our latest live and view-on-demand course offerings, sales, and FREEBIES, consider subscribing to our newsletter by scrolling to the bottom of our home page. Send questions to celeste@sensationalbrain.com.