Example Outlines

What's the Story?

Jan. 17, 2012

1. Hook (grabs the reader's attention)

• Social skills associated with ASDs
• Description of Social Stories™ and social stories
• Key social story criteria
• Evolution of social stories

2. Case study

• Description of teen with ASD
  • Academics
  • Talents
  • Deficits
  • Voice difficulties
• Goals for social story
  • Help teen understand importance of using strong voice
  • Participation of frequent communication partners
• Collaborative development of social story for teen
• Incorporate teen's interests in story
• Incorporate teen's desire for pictures
• Print and electronic formats and uses of each

3. Research Basis

• Conflicting effectiveness research
• Areas of agreement on effectiveness
  • Team approach
  • Functional behavioral analysis
  • Comprehension checks
  • Use of repetition
• Areas of disagreement on effectiveness
  • Reduction of problem behaviors vs. acquisition of social skills
  • Need for child to have strong language skills
• Strategies for developing social stories
• Sentence structure
• Accurate and individualized information

Protecting Children From Toxicants

Nov. 22, 2011

1. Hook

• Brain development in utero to adolescence
• Chemical exposure (and other factors) can interrupt development
• Effect depends on the toxicant and the amount, length, and timing of exposure
• Example – rubella and hearing loss
• Growth in prevalence of disabilities
• Growth in evidence of connections between neurotoxicants and disabilities (sidebar chart)
• Vulnerability of children

2. Limiting exposure

• Individual behavior change
• Policy reform to limit production and use of toxicants in products (e.g., lead)
• Educating families of children with developmental disabilities about the effects of various harmful substances
• Alcohol consumption
• Nicotine and tobacco smoke
• Lead
• Pesticides
• Mercury
• Solvents

3. Mitigation

• Exposure to enriched, nurturing social environments
• Prevention of continued and additional exposure
• Action steps for CSD professionals
• Take client's exposure history
• Provide educational materials to families
• Advocate for protective action locally and nationally

4. Sidebars

• List of toxicants and their association with developmental delays
• List of resources for additional information