[AuntLavender]

I'm trying to encourage my son to sleep in his bed. His bed is in my room. I am not trying to get him to go to sleep before he is ready. He goes to sleep when I do and that is around 10:30pm. He won't stay in his bed. He wants to get in my bed. He does not cry but everytime I put him back in his bed he inevitably gets out and gets in my bed many times a night. He has slept all night in his bed only getting up once so he can do it occasionally. He just got a new bed from IKEA since he outgrew his old Step Two Fire Truck bed that had a crib sized mattress in it. Now he has a single bed (a bit smaller than a twin but not much.)

1. When mommy says it is time for bed I get ready!

2. I ask mommy to make me some bunny milk in my water bottle.

3. If I need to go potty then I can use the toilet before I get in bed.

4. Mommy reads me a bedtime story.

5. Mommy gives me a kiss.

6. I can sleep with my cheepy birds. I can sleep with my puppy.

7. Mommy says "Good Night" and turns out the light.

8. I can sleep in my bed all night.

9. If I wake up I can see Mommy sleeping in her bed next to me.

10. I am safe in my bed. I sleep until morning time.

Please feel free to edit. Each number is a separate page. I plan on using digital photos and Boardmaker images.

My youngest doesn't seem to be impressed by the fact that his three older siblings sleep in their own beds so I didn't mention them. His dad sleep next to me but he is most attached to me. If I leave to go shopping he will pace the house looking for me and worrying about me and cry.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Debra, homeschooling mom of 4 ages 12, 10, 8, and 5 1/2

 

[LynnS6]

I'd add a page or two about what he can do when he wakes up:

9. If I wake up I can see Mommy sleeping in her bed next to me.

10. If I wake up, I can hug my puppy and my chirpy birds and close my eyes again.

11. If I wake up, I can close my eyes and breathe slowly until I fall asleep again.

12. I am safe in my bed. I sleep until morning time.

13. When I stay in my bed all night, Mommy gets to sleep all night too.

14. When Mommy sleeps all night, she has more energy to play and do things with the family.

 

[Multimomma]

What comes to mind first is that there should be a ratio of five descriptive sentences for each directive sentence.

As well, the suggestion I remember is that social stories are not "scripts detailing appropriate behaviors, rather, they are descriptions of social situations which set the stage for the child to design successful, positive interactions." So, instead of saying "I can sleep in my bed all night", I'd add a descriptor saying that it's hard sometimes, and then "I will try to sleep in bed".

When I heard Carol Gray speaking at a conference, she spoke specifically about setting the bar like that, and saying esp with new social stories or new situations, it made the situation much more difficult for the child to face. I really don't think any five yo is going to care much about how much sleep mommy gets, or make the connection between HER sleep and her energy level.

A story that I might have written for my daughter maybe would say

1. Every night I get ready for bed.

2. First I ask mommy to make bunny milk in my water bottle.

3. Next I try to go potty in the toilet.

4. Then mommy reads me a story and I get a kiss.

5. I like to sleep with my cheepy birds. I like to sleep with my puppy.

6. Mommy says "Good night!". That means it's time to stay in bed.

7. Mommy will turn out the light. Sometimes it's hard to stay in bed.

8. I will try to stay in bed all night.

9. If I wake up, I can see mommy next to me.

10. Mommy sleeps in her bed, and I sleep in mine. They are different beds.

11. That is okay.

12. My bed is safe. If I wake up, I will try to go back to sleep.

13. I can do ? to go back to sleep.

And I really like Lynn's ideas of adding in the ideas of going back to sleep. Telling him what is okay to do, is better than just saying to stay in bed. For my daughter, it meant having a notebook to scribble in (literally). For my son it meant thinking a line from his favorite story over and over. For everyone, it's different. And as Mrs Gray would say "That is okay!"

HTH....social stories are sooo important in our life, we still use them for our kids, and the older ones (for whom I originally learned them ) are 13 and 11. Now they're social stories about what to talk about in youth group and what kind of attention getting is okay and what kind is NOT okay

 

[bdavis337]

What MM said.

It's important to remember that you're setting the scene for them, not actually trying to change behavior. So using phrases like "I can try" or "Mummy MIGHT" are key to helping them learn the routine but not get trapped by it.

 

[mykdsmomy]

What great ideas everyone has!!! The only thing I might add is something more about his bed itself since you said it was new. Maybe something like

**I have a new bed.

** It's different than my old bed.

(Just so it's identified as being new but it's still in the same spot with the same blankets, and comfort items, etc?)

(I might steal a few ideas here...I've been wanting to do some social stories but didn't know much about them.....I learn so much from this forum!!!)

 

[AuntLavender]

I actually have a Carol Gray book of social stories and they look so easy to write except when you have to actually write one!

Sincerely,
Debra, homeschooling mom of 4

P.S. My oldest (12) my Aspie takes a wallet size list of inappropriate topics to talk about with his peers! He responds better to *rules* that stories.