Social Stories™ • In-Person

A special two-day event: January 22 & February 13

Developed by Carol Gray, Social Stories™* are a popular, evidence-based instructional strategy used worldwide with autistic students, as well as those with other social communication disorders.

As a member of Carol Gray's Team Social Stories, Aaron Lanou provides official Social Stories 10.4 workshops and helps Carol and the team to continually update and refine the Social Stories philosophy and approach.

Social Stories are a wonderful ‘go to’ intervention for an infinite variety of purposes, but unfortunately they are frequently misused and misunderstood—resulting in stories… but definitely not Social Stories. Learn how to develop a Social Story (or Social Article for adults) according to the recently updated and revised Social Stories 10.4 Criteria. Participants will finish the workshop understanding and knowing how to develop Social Stories, with a certificate to prove it.

At the end of this interactive workshop you will be able to:

• Define the term Social Story
• Describe the Social Story philosophy, Social Humility
• List the current Social Stories 10.4 Criteria
• Explain the difference between a Social Story and a story
• List the five most frequent Social Story errors and how to avoid them
• Summarize five case examples of Social Stories that teach concepts and skills
• Explain how Social Stories improve parent and professional responses to the children, adolescents, or adults in their care
• Research, write, and illustrate a genuine Social Story for an infant, toddler, or child, or a Social Article for an adolescent or adult

Participants receive:

• An official Carol Gray Social Stories certificate of completion for 5 contact hours of PD
• Social Stories Quick Reference Guide
• Materials to turn-key core learnings to colleagues
• A surprise freebie to help your students (or you!) to learn, get organized, and self-regulate

The workshops provide teachers with a strengths-based lens and practical take-home strategies to make their classrooms inclusive and accessible to all students.

Workshops are limited to 20 participants to ensure participants have the materials, attention, and opportunities to interact that allow them to make this a valuable learning experience.

The location in downtown Brooklyn is accessible by many trains: 2 /3 / A / C / F / R / B / Q. Parking is also available.

About your facilitator

Aaron Lanou is an inclusive education coach working with teachers, schools, and organizations to implement strengths-based instruction and supports for autistic students and all kids with a variety of academic, executive functioning, and social support needs.

Through the lens of Universal Design for learning, Aaron works with educators to consider the kid in context, examining the environment, demands, and expectations as the starting point for helping students be successful. He specializes in helping teachers use clear and purposeful visual supports, focused graphic organizers, clarity and structure in instruction based on principles of learning and memory, and a range of executive functioning supports and other scaffolds. Committed to centering disabled perspectives, Aaron has learned from and alongside his students with disabilities and collaborates frequently with autistic colleagues and presenters.

A member of Carol Gray’s Team Social Stories, Aaron also provides Social Stories(TM) workshop and collaborates with Carol and the team to continually update and refine the Social Stories philosophy and approach.

Aaron started his career as a special education teacher and was previously Executive Director of the Nest Support Project at New York University, leading the nation’s largest inclusion program for autistic students. Aaron has presented nationally and internationally and has been adjunct faculty at Hunter College and NYU.

Find more info on Aaron's website

Sign up for Aaron's newsletter

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Orchard Workspace by JLL, 15 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, United States