The last step: fading out your social story

Now that you have gotten the perfect social story crafted and it is in use, what do you do next? It is not practical to expect a student to need a story before every potential incident. But, stop using it too quickly, and you could end up right where you started.

There are 3 main ways to gradually fade out the use of a social story while still retaining its intended effect.

1. Start eliminating some additional supports

I mentioned in previous posts that social stories are rarely used as a standalone tool. Most often, it is just one tool we use to combat a problem behavior. We often add things like token boards, prompts, and even modeling. We are always looking to set our students up for success, especially at the beginning. But once your student is successfully utilizing the replacement behavior, you can start eliminating some of those additional tools you were using.

As with all things, I recommend only making one change at a time. That way, if a problem occurs, you have a good idea where it came from. Look at any additional supports you may be using. Eliminate the most intrusive ones first, like modeling. If, after a few days, all is still good, try eliminating some prompts.

➡️If you are using token boards along with your story, you may actually want to consider fading the story first and keeping the token board in place. Token boards are a powerful visual tool for many students. They serve not only as motivators but also as great tools for self-monitoring. For that reason, I often ended up eliminating the story (using the steps below) while keeping the token board in place.

2. Start decreasing the frequency

This is possibly the most obvious way to fade the use of a successful social story. If you are using the story 5 days a week, try going to 4 days a week, eliminating Friday. If that has not caused any regression, then go every other day. Finally, I would go one day a week. I typically choose Monday to start the week on the right foot. Plus, we all need that extra reminder after the weekend.

Once you have eliminated reading the story completely, don’t get rid of it! I still like to review it periodically. I also liked to keep a copy for substitutes to read, either just to themselves, or with the student. That way, the student knows the same rules apply even with a new teacher.

➡️Lastly, my students LOVED when I put “retired” social stories in the independent reading center. Most could read the story on their own after hearing it so many times. It also had a positive message. In addition, it was a story they could relate to on a very personal level. As long as you follow the best practice of never using the social story as a punishment, then this strategy will work great.

3. Shorten your story…. WHAT?!?

I know, rewriting or even editing your social story may not sound that appealing. But it is not that hard, I promise. I even have a before-and-after story you can download to see what I mean.

First, remove any “extra” pages you may have added to engage the student at the beginning. Maybe you talk about their favorite superhero and how they would approach the situation. Or, you talk about how a famous celebrity would be so proud of them for following through with the actions outlined in the story. For me, it was taking out some pages that students found hilarious in the story I wrote about staying in your chair. They loved the word “Yuck” at the time. So, I put in several pages of how dirty the floor was in various places, followed by the word Yuck! They loved it, but these pages were the first to go.

You can also eliminate some of the examples you may have. If you talk about how the negative behavior can upset the teacher and their friends, then just talk about one or the other. If you talk about how excited their parents or teacher will be, then just keep one of those two examples.

Another strategy is to reduce the number of words on the page. Shorten up the sentences, or eliminate a sentence or two. Remember, your students know this story by now. It is okay to give them the Cliff Notes version.

In the example you can download below, I took a 19-page story and shortened it to 7 pages!! And, it still worked. (Just a side note, the version I put in the independent reading area for the whole class was the full, complete version.)

So, if you never thought about systematically fading out your social story before, I hope you now feel you have a clear plan of action for doing so.

➡️You can download my complete social story on Staying in My Chair as well as the shortened version by clicking the button below. (This story assumes the function of the behavior is escape and NOT attention.)

 Download social story