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Printable social stories - social narratives on stimming and AAC paired with handmade soft toys

Printable social stories - my new Whoosh Upon a Star package features, not only a cute story and an adorable soft toy but also social narratives on both stimming and AAC, designed to support parents and educators of neurodivergent kids.

In my latest video featuring my Regulate Your Universe play set I shared Stef the Star's story, "Whoosh Upon a Star"

I wrote Whoosh Upon a Star for Owen, and it features some of his favourite books, auditory stims, and his AAC system. I've put together a Whoosh Upon a Star package which includes:

  • A copy of the story, Whoosh Upon a Star (which I think is a perfect story to read during quiet time or at bedtime)
  • A social narrative called What is Stimming?
  • A social narrative called What is AAC?
  • Stef the Star is available as an optional add on

I owe a big thank you to the autistic adults who gave me feedback on these materials. Their input was invaluable. Kim Crawley reviewed both Whoosh upon a star and What is stimming? and Alyssa Hillary, who is an autistic AAC user, reviewed both Whoosh upon a star and What is AAC?

Please remember - a portion of the sale proceeds for all play sets and supporting materials will be donated to Community Living Hamilton.

Social narratives

Whoosh upon a Star is a fun, cute story I wrote for Owen. It was important to me that my story featured a non-speaking autistic person, but that the story wasn't about their disability. However, I recognize that many adults and kids would likely have questions about both the auditory stimming and Owen's alternative communication system (AAC).

So the social narratives are an attempt to answer those questions. They give some basic information about, and a positive view of, both stimming and AAC. Designed to give parents and educators both concepts, and cognitively accessible language, they can then use to explain stimming and AAC to kids.
My goal is to provide (especially non-autistic parents of autistic children, like myself) a resource to help them understand why their autistic kids need to stim, and why they also need access to AAC. My hope is that these stories could also be used to help non-autistic siblings and peers understand their loved ones and friends better.

Owen's books

Here's a list of the books featured in Whoosh Upon a Star: 

Additional resources

  • FREE Planetary Sensory Walk guide - if you haven't downloaded it yet then grab this free digital download to help kids learn about planetary science through sensory play
  • The Regulate Your Universe play set and educational materials are available to pre-order. These contain all the toys, stories and materials from both the Whoosh upon a Star and Grumpy Moon packages.
  • The Grumpy Moon package (with or without Luna toy) focused on helping kids cope more effectively with change and overwhelm, is available to order now
  • If you're a parent or educator looking to be an effective communication partner to an AAC user, this resource from Assistiveware (the developer of Proloquo2Go) is terrific
  • My go-to resource on all things AAC is Praactical AAC, and this short post summarizes how to NOT communicate with AAC users!
  • Owen currently uses the AAC iPad app, LAMP Words for Life

If you like the idea of the Regulate Your Universe play set, the Whoosh Upon a Star package and Grumpy Moon package, then please do comment and let me know. Please also share this post with your fellow parents and educators who may be interested in handmade soft toys, made in Canada, that are both fun and educational.

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