Creating Social Stories for Inclusive Communities
Description
This interactive workshop is designed to provide you with the knowledge and practical skills to understand and write effective social stories. Social stories, also commonly known as social scripts or social narratives, are documents that use pictures along with storytelling techniques to assist individuals in understanding a new environment, event or task.
Social Stories are a valuable resource for neurodivergent individuals of all ages as they allow them time to mentally prepare for what to expect and bring along what they may need to cope in the environment.
Bryce Pace is an award-winning autism advocate and access consultant who proudly identifies as being neurodivergent. For almost a decade, Bryce has assisted organisations, events and universities throughout Australia in developing social stories and is excited to assist you in understanding how you could introduce this resource to your community.
Key Topics
· The principles of social stories: clarity, positivity, and individualisation
· Understanding the needs of neurodivergent individuals in the community and business settings
· Language and structure: how to write effective and respectful social stories
· Customising social stories for different environments (workplace, events, tourism, home, etc.)
· Real-world examples and case studies
For more information, head to https://www.brycepaceautismadvocate.com/creating-social-online or contact the host.
Lineup
Bryce Pace (They/Them)
Bryce is an award winning autism advocate who is passionate about creating a world that accepts, Includes and embraces human diversity. Bryce was diagnosed with autism at the age of 8 and in 2022 publicly came out as bisexual in their blog post on Autism & Sexuality published on their business’ website. In 2016 Bryce founded their autism consultancy business Bryce Pace - Autism Advocate with the goal of changing the stigma that surrounds the autism spectrum. Since then Bryce has had the pleasure of working with a diverse range of organisations, including The City of Melbourne, Midsumma Festival, Victoria University and Dylan Alcott’s Consultancy organisation, Get Skilled Access. Through their involvement with these organisations they have facilitated workshops around autism and disability access, performed accessibility audits and represented the autism community on panels at conferences, contributing to the creation of a world that is accessible to all.
Agenda
- 8:00 pm
Welcome & Introduction
- 8:10 pm
Introduction to Social Stories: their purpose and elements that make up an effective social story
Bryce will discuss what social stories are, how they can be used and the ways social stories assist neurodivergent individuals. Bryce will also talk about the important elements that make up an effective social story and provide a step by step guide of how you can easily create an effective social story from their combined lived and professional experience.
- 9:00 pm
Practical Activity: create your own social story
This activity provides participants with the opportunity to practice what they have learned by creating or drafting a social story of their own using the template provided as part of the participant package. During this time, participants can also utilise Bryce's expertise.
- 10:00 pm
Presentation time: share, receive support and disuss
Bryce will invite those who are comfortable to share their social story with the group and receive feedback and support from Bryce and other participants. This is also a great opportunity to discuss what participants have learned from this experience.
- 10:40 pm
Q&A and Wrap up
FAQs
- Who would benefit from attending?
We invite anyone who would like to learn a little more about social stories and how to write them. This includes:
Educators
Parents/Carers
Community Members
Employers
Event Organisers
Tourism Operators
NDIS Providers
Inclusive Employment Australia Providers (Formerly DES)
- Do I need prior knowledge of Social Stories to attend?
No, everyone is welcome to attend no matter your level of understanding of social stories. Whether you are only just beginning to explore social stories or already have them implemented in your organisation; we will be there to support you wherever you are on your accessibility journey.
- What if I can’t attend?
If you find you can no longer attend you can:
Apply for a refund
You can apply for a full refund anytime before the 12th of March 2026. To apply for a refund use the “manage order” button in your order confirmation email sent to you at the time of registration. Once you reach the manage order page on the Humanitix site head to the refund/cancel tab and follow the prompts to issue a refund. If you have any questions or need any assistance with this process feel free to reach out via the below details.
Resell Ticket
If you can’t attend however March 12th has passed or you would like to give your ticket to someone else you can resell your ticket through our ticketing partner Humanitix at no additional cost to you. To resell your ticket use the “manage order” button in your order confirmation email sent to you at time of registration. Once you reach the manage order page on the Humanitix Site head to the Ticket Resale tab and follow the prompts. If you have any questions or need any assistance with this process feel free to reach out to the event host.
- Can someone attend in my place?
If you can no longer attend or feel someone else would benefit more from attending you are welcome to transfer your ticket, however ask that you update the ticket details. To do this use the “manage order” button in your order confirmation email sent at time of registration. This will take you to the manage order page on the Humanitix website where you can update all the order details including name, email and accessibility requirements. If you have any questions or need any assistance with this process feel free to reach out via the below details.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
