Autterpaw Press

Young elementary students and students with autism sometimes struggle when their favorite friend wants to play with other people. Kindergarteners, for example, often proclaim another child to be their “best friend” and might not understand that people can be still be friends even if they don’t always play together. This misperception can lead to many hurt feelings and tears! Using a social skills story can help explain that people can have more than one friend and that’s okay. The story talks ab

Beyond learning about stranger danger, it is important for children to understand that there are different ways to interact with people in their lives depending on how well they know them. Learning about social boundaries can help young students or students with autism or other special needs understand how much they should talk to, touch and trust the people around them. Navigating relationships can be confusing and and complex. This Social Boundaries Flip Book and social story is a simplified s

Social narratives are stories designed to help students better understand social situations and behavioral expectations. This visual social skills story bundle helps students to know what to do if other kids are not following the rules. Some students get frustrated when rules are broken and take on the role of "rule police”. Other students get excited or upset and engage with their peers in ways that escalate the situation. The “Sometimes People Don’t Follow the Rules” social story can help stud

Students with autism or any elementary student who needs extra support for social-emotional and behavior skills can benefit from visuals that help them to understand that the choices they make affect their day, their feelings and the people around them. Often children make choices without considering the outcome and are then surprised or confused when other kids don't want to play with them or grown-ups seem unhappy. It can sometimes be challenging to help students to slow down and consider the

Increase positive behaviors and play skills by helping young students or students with autism to consider the perspectives of others as they make choices when playing with their friends. This bundle includes social stories that help students to be a good sport, understand ways to play fair and handle not being first. It also comes with posters and simple guides that teachers or paraprofessionals can use to remind students of each social skill. The social narrative, Going First, can help kids le

Many teachers have students who blurt out answers in class or get upset when they raise their hand but don't get called on. Helping students understand how to participate in a group setting can increase student confidence and make classroom management easier. This set of social narratives helps students understand that it's important to raise their hands so their classmates can hear the teacher talking, and reinforces that they will be okay if they don’t get called on. The set contains two socia

Many students struggle with expressive language and these challenges can make it difficult for them to interact with their peers. For some students with special needs, not knowing what to say in different social situations may cause them to attempt to interact in ways that are not expected. Scripts can help students with autism to develop the confidence needed to begin a social interaction. This product shows students in different school settings and offers suggestions of six simple things th

Students that need help regulating their strong feelings may benefit from access to a break area where they can calm down before rejoining their class. Having a break area and an “I need a break” card can help prevent emotional meltdowns, give students a sense of control over their big feelings and provide a quiet space for anyone feeling dysregulated. This product provides a way for special education or general education teachers to quickly set up a comprehensive break routine with students.

Supplement your classroom or homeschool calendar with this collection of 36 holiday cards. Holidays include: New Year's Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day Chinese New Year Groundhog Day Valentine's Day President's Day Mardi Gras Dr. Seuss Day St. Patrick's DayPi Day April Fools Day Easter Earth Day Cinco de Mayo Mother's DayMemorial Day Flag Day Father's Day Fourth of July Labor Day Grandparent's Day Talk Like a Pirate Day HalloweenVeteran's Day Thanksgiving Hanukkah Christmas Kwanzaa Arbor Day I

Young elementary students and students with autism sometimes struggle when their favorite friend wants to play with other people. Kindergarteners, for example, often proclaim another child to be their “best friend” and might not understand that people can be still be friends even if they don’t always play together. This misperception can lead to many hurt feelings and tears! Using a social skills story can help explain that people often have more than one friend and that’s okay. The story “More

Some students have difficulties regulating their voice volume. This set can quickly help students understand the different levels of their voice and when to use them. Teaching the expected voice volume in different settings can help special education students and general education students to improve their ability to monitor how loud they are talking. This product includes a social story about voice volume that can be used whole group or individually, visual cue cards, voice level strips for

Social narratives are stories designed to help students better understand social situations and behavioral expectations. This social skills story addresses a common problem that some children have a difficult time handling: not getting a chance to say what they really, really, really wanted to say in class. Sometimes when a student works hard to patiently raise their hand instead of blurting out their ideas and answers, it is even more discouraging to them when the teacher is not able to call

Social narratives are stories designed to help students better understand social situations and behavioral expectations. This visual social skills story helps students to know what to do if other kids are not following the rules. Some students get frustrated when rules are broken and take on the role of "rule police". This social story can help students to understand that when kids have a hard time remembering the rules, the teacher is there to help that situation, and they do not need to corr

Play skills are important to teach in early intervention, preschool and life skills classrooms. This bundle combines visual steps for joining a friend in play with visual steps for inviting a friend. Learning these social skills by breaking them into simplified steps can help students to feel confident approaching peers during free choice and recess times. Direct instruction in play skills can also prepare students to accept the times when the friend they invite does not want to play. The visua

Quickly set up a break routine for a student using this easy-start set. Product includes a break explanation visual for the student, visuals to post in the break area and cue cards that can be placed on the student's desk and referenced by the student or teacher. The desk cards can help a student identify when they are feeling ready to learn and when they are having stronger feelings that might necessitate taking a break. For a more comprehensive break routine product, check out the enhanced

Social narratives can help young students or students with autism begin to learn about good sportsmanship. This social skills story helps kids understand what it means to “be a good sport” by emphasizing staying calm if they lose, not over-celebrating if they win, and following the rules of the game. The social story includes visual supports for concepts and key words and helps kids begin to think about what their friends are thinking and feeling when they play with them. As students learn to co

Do you have students who zip through their assignments as fast as they can, make careless mistakes or produce barely legible work? Visual supports can help remind students to slow down and do their best work. Neurotypical and neurodiverse students (I use them with students with autism!) may benefit from a visual checklist that helps them to see what “doing their best work” looks like. These visual support cards can be laminated and placed on student desks as cues to put spaces between words, wri

When young kids or students with autism play, they are sometimes unsure of how to play in way that is fair and friendly. This social story helps introduce the idea that if you think about what your friends are thinking and feeling, you can make choices that help others to enjoy playing with you. Although playing with peers can be complicated, this social narrative simplifies the nuances into three options kids can use when playing together: Sharing, Trading and Taking Turns. The social story use

Do your students participate in book trivia competitions like the Battle of the Books? Quiz-bowl style reading competitions are organized in several states, including Oregon (OBOB), where teams of students read 16 books at the 3-5 grade level and battle until a state champion is found. Book trivia competitions encourage students to read books in genres they may not have chosen on their own and promote positive teamwork and attention to detail. After reading their books, students study details fr

Helping young students learn to problem solve with their peers is an excellent social emotional skill to teach. Sometimes, however, students need to learn how to ignore distracting behaviors from peers. When students engage in attention seeking behaviors, the best way to prevent the disruption from escalating is often by helping their classmates to focus on their work instead of responding to the behavior. If students are able to model what should be happening in the moment (e.g. quietly listeni