Please Note: The following is a sample only. Social Stories™, self- monitoring systems and reward systems must be individualized for each student based on their needs and abilities. This sample provides ideas for how one could teach a student to use an organizational system in a positive and supportive way.

Learning to be Organized

I have helped to create a system to keep me organized at school. Students who keep their information and assignments organized usually do much better at school than those who do not. Organized people usually have more time for fun because they are not spending all their time trying to find what they need to do their work.

Learning new habits can be difficult and I know I might need some help to develop the habit of keeping things organized. My parents and teachers will check and remind me to use my organizational system while I am learning. They want me to be successful because they know I am smart. I can also check and remind myself.

When learning something new it is often a good idea to set a goal. I have set a goal of trying to be as organized as I can without reminders and help. This is called self-monitoring. In self monitoring systems a person can earn rewards or reward themselves as they get better. Here is my self monitoring system which I will try to do at the end of each day:

I will give myself points if I have completed all the steps of my checklists for each subject during the day and enter them on my chart:

Points
5 / I completed everything on my checklists for every class today without reminders or help.
4 / I completed everything on my checklists for 4 out of 5 classes today without reminders or help.
3 / I completed everything on my checklists for 3 out of 5 classes today without reminders or help.
2 / I completed everything on my checklists for 2 out of 5 classes today without reminders or help.
1 / I completed everything on my checklists for 1 out of 5 classes today without reminders or help.
0 / I was having trouble today and needed reminders or help in each class.

My Self Monitoring Chart

Mon. / Tues. / Wed. / Thur / Fri / Weekly
Total
Math
Socials
Science
English
Art
Phys. Ed.
French
Daily score

 = I used my checklist in class for that subject that day.

Rewards for weekly totals

21 - 25 points = Trip to the arcade for two hours or a movie in the theater on the weekend.

16 – 20 points = Purchase a new comic from the comic book store.

11 – 15 points = An extra hour of computer time on the weekend.

6 – 10 points = I get to pick the game we play on family game night.

0 - 5 points = I get to make fruit salad for my lunch on Monday.

Please note: This is only example and would not fit the needs of every student with ASD. If you set up a system and the student rejects it, becoming non-compliant or argumentative, we would recommend that the team try to determine whythe student was not willing to use the system and adjust it as necessary. A functional behaviour assessment might be necessary in this case.