Sample Holiday Social Story: Thanksgiving
(continued from page 3)

If I get tired of playing, I can tell my mom or dad that I need a break.
My mom and dad will tell me it is 'OK' to take a break for a few minutes.
When my break is over, I can play with other people again.
Thanksgiving is fun!

Thanksgiving Activity

To make a Thanksgiving turkey, have your child place his/her hand on a piece of paper and then trace around it with a marker or a crayon. You can use the marker to then draw other parts of the turkey such as it's face and legs. Here's ways the activity can be used to work on therapy goals.

For Children with Expressive Language needs:
1) Before you sit down to do the activity, have your child tell you all of the supplies that you need. If he forgets something, don't tell him what it is. Start working on the activity and see if he can figure out what is missing. If he doesn't figure it out on his own, provide him with cues to help him.

2) This is also a good time to work on categorizing. For example since a Turkey can fly, ask your child to tell you other things that can fly. You can have your child name other animals, other things that remind him of holidays, etc. as well.

3) Word association games are fun as well. Start of by using the word "Turkey" and then tell your child "When I think of turkey, I think of the word 'bird' because a 'turkey' is a 'bird'". After you provide the initial association, you can tell your child "Now you tell me what you think of when you hear the word 'bird'". Providing your child with a visual cue may also be helpful

turkey ---- bird------ fly---------airplane-----vacation-------suitcase ----etc.

Accept any association your child comes up with as long as he can provide an explanation. Creativity is a good thing!